12 Underrated Actors & Actresses Who Deserve More Recognition

7. Joan Allen

With three Oscar nominations, four SAG nods, and countless other nominations and wins, Joan Allen might be the least underrated actress on this list, at least as far as critics and awards shows go. Without much bravura or limelight attention, Allen has crafted one of the most consistently solid bodies of work of any actress of her generation, deftly balancing roles in big-budget mainstream films (Face/Off, the Bourne series) with smaller dramatic roles in the likes of The Ice Storm, Pleasantville, and The Contender. So why is she on this list? Despite her critical acclaim and awards success (though no major wins to speak of, yet), Allen is not nearly as well-known nor as widely recognized as some of her contemporaries such as Michelle Pfeiffer or Susan Sarandon, despite the fact that she has shown time and time again that she has the dramatic chops and ability to choose meaty roles rivaling those of her contemporaries. And yet, Joan Allen remains the unsung star of her generation, quietly delivering a string of subtle performances and refusing to take the spotlight. Her career highlight is probably her Oscar-nominated performance as a powerful vice presidential nominee with some dark, sexy secrets opposite Jeff Bridges and Gary Oldman in The Contender, though Allen's output throughout the 90's was incredibly solid overall, including her other two Oscar-nominated roles in The Crucible and Nixon. KEY ROLES: The Crucible (1996), The Contender (2000), The Bourne Supremacy/Ultimatum/Legacy (2004-2012) NEXT SEEN IN: A Good Marriage (2013)