The 2025 film awards season is in full swing. As in most years, some good performances will get loads of buzz, while others will be overlooked. People will argue about who deserved which award and who had no business even being nominated.
Online, people are getting into a conversation aboutfilms, too, but from a different angle. Recently, one netizen wanted to know which actors people think are way too underrated. So, theyasked: “Who is such a gifted actor who was absolutely wasted in their acting role?”
And folks had a lot of names to share—from well-knownactorswho didn’t quite fit one role or another to thespians who might’ve disappeared into obscurity after one convincing but unpopular role. See people’s opinions below, and don’t forget to share the talented actors you’d like to see in more roles!
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Henry Cavill was so wasted in the Witcher series. Man was born to play that role but the stupid writers who thought they knew better wasted him.
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John Leguizamo as Tybalt in Romeo + Juliet (1996). He outshone every other actor in any scene he was in. And compared to the utterly wooden performances of DiCaprio and Danes, it was a stark contrast.
It can be hard to be an actor. A lot can depend on the way you look, or how your voice sounds. Your past work also often defines you: some people can’t imagine an actor outside of the one role they’ve seen them in once. That’s how they get typecast – that’s the bane of any ambitious actor’s career.
The author of this thread, u/sheerduckinghubris, believes that no actor wants that. “I think in most cases, actors choose roles they’re passionate [about], only for the project to change in one way or another to a point that it no longer resembles what was initially marketed to them.”
Raul Julia in Street Fighter, he had just been diagnosed with cancer when he was offered the role, and since his children loved the game, he accepted as a last gift for them. So far so good, but the problem is he was the only person treating the movie and his role with any respect. He was bending over with pain between takes, and still playing his role like it was Shakespeare, while Jean Claude Van Damme was snorting coke and arriving 8 hours late for filming, and nobody confronted him about it cause he was the “big name” attached to the movie.
I wish Henry Cavill had been allowed to play Superman in any other live-action continuity that wasn’t the DCEU.
Luckily, not all movie stars get stuck acting one type of role their whole careers. u/sheerduckinghubris thinks thatWedding Crashersactor Vince Vaughn is a good example. “Vince Vaughn brought life back into his career with more serious movies likeHacksaw RidgeandBrawl in Cell Block 99and showed how ranged he truly is, able to prove he can command any scene he’s in.““Though, “I have liked a lot of his comedy movies likeDodgeballand Wedding Crashers,” the netizen admits. “Like [with] Adam Sandler, I prefer his more serious roles where he’s able to add more gravitas and immersion,” the Redditor tells Bored Panda.
Luckily, not all movie stars get stuck acting one type of role their whole careers. u/sheerduckinghubris thinks thatWedding Crashersactor Vince Vaughn is a good example. “Vince Vaughn brought life back into his career with more serious movies likeHacksaw RidgeandBrawl in Cell Block 99and showed how ranged he truly is, able to prove he can command any scene he’s in.”
“Though, “I have liked a lot of his comedy movies likeDodgeballand Wedding Crashers,” the netizen admits. “Like [with] Adam Sandler, I prefer his more serious roles where he’s able to add more gravitas and immersion,” the Redditor tells Bored Panda.
Alexander Dane in Galaxy Quest. The man played Hamlet!
I’d say many of the A-list actors in Cats. Judy Dench, Ian McKellen, Idris Elba just to name a few.
Christian Slater was on his way to greatness. And then he decided that Jack Nicholson was the greatest actor ever, and from that point on, all he did was Jack Nicholson impersonations.
We also wanted to know if any recent films showcased an actor’s talent in a new light for u/sheerduckinghubris. The Redditor points to Hugh Grant in the 2024 movieHeretic. “[It] was most definitely a surprise for me, though he has been taking a wider range of roles in recent times,” the author says.“Seeing him in a darker role than what I’ve seen him in was honestly a thrill and he was utterly great inHeretic. I also loved seeing Brendan Fraser back inThe Whale,” the Redditor adds. “Though I’ve been a Fraser fan for a while,The Whalebecame my favourite movie of all time because of his emotional performance,” the netizen praises the actor.
We also wanted to know if any recent films showcased an actor’s talent in a new light for u/sheerduckinghubris. The Redditor points to Hugh Grant in the 2024 movieHeretic. “[It] was most definitely a surprise for me, though he has been taking a wider range of roles in recent times,” the author says.
“Seeing him in a darker role than what I’ve seen him in was honestly a thrill and he was utterly great inHeretic. I also loved seeing Brendan Fraser back inThe Whale,” the Redditor adds. “Though I’ve been a Fraser fan for a while,The Whalebecame my favourite movie of all time because of his emotional performance,” the netizen praises the actor.
A lot of international actors get typecast in typically villainous or stereotypical roles. I think of Mads Mikkelsen or Antonio Banderas or Hiroyuki Sanada or Marion Cotillard. When you see the work they do and the kinds of roles they get in their native languages, you realize just how much Hollywood wastes them.My number one actor for this kind of thing is always Hong Chau. Chameolonic, tremendously talented and she’s always in like 5 minutes of a movie. Drives me crazy.
Steve Buschemi on every Adam Sandler movie.
The fact that Alyson Hannigan never did drama after Buffy is truly wild. I think it was her choice, as she much preferred working on sitcoms, but she was a devastatingly incredible serious actor. NO ONE can cry like Alyson Hannigan can cry.
I think John Boyega got s***wed in the sequel movies as Finn.
Robin Williams was far, far better as a serious actor than a comedian.
John C. Reilly in basically every project he’s ever done with Will Ferrell. He’s basically a case study in being too good but not taking yourself seriously about it.
I’m consistently amazed at the number of s**t movies that Sir Ben Kingsley signs on to.
I always feel bad watching Teri Garr playing such a nothing role in Dumb and Dumber. You’re talking about one of the biggest and most talented stars of the 80s, and she plays the old stepmom who has like two throwaway lines.
I feel bad that Sean Williams Scott played Stiffler so fg well* that he was only ever allowed to play that role with another name.
Adam Driver as Kylo Ren is the most obvious one I can think of.Absolutely brilliant actor, f*****g horrible directing and screenwriting.
Sarah Michelle Gellar in everything that’s not Buffy. Someone give her a good role in a continuing show! (I know she’s in the Dexter prequel right now, but haven’t heard anything positive about the show).
Andrew Garfield as Spider-Man.So many bad creative decisions in those movies, but Andrew Garfield is an amazing actor.He was my favorite of the three Spider-Men in No Way Home.
Both Jeremy Irons and John Malkovich in Eragon.
Jeremy Irons in the 2000 Dungeons and Dragons movie.
Adam Sandler was great in the few serious roles I’ve seen him in, but the general public doesn’t want serious Adam Sandler so he just gets paid $20 million to film movies in exotic locations with his best friends. I would do the same.
Gary Oldman in The H****n’s BodyguardHe is given like 1 good scene to really portray his character and its great but then he’s just a background piece the rest of the movieComplete waste of Gary Oldman right there.
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Rufus Sewell in Man in the High Castle. He was exquisite in his role, but the show as a whole was pretty bad.
Lee Jung Jae in The Acolyte.The guy tries his hardest but if you get a trash script, there is not much you can do. Still can’t believe they had this Squid Game superstar on hand and didn’t do anything with him, just randomly [ended him].
Cate Blanchett in Borderlands. She’s won multiple Oscars for drama and now at 55 they want her to be an action star??? WTF.
I was really looking forward to seeing Wes Chatham in Ahsoka because he was so good in The Expanse and then he was not only barely in it, he was stuck inside a helmet.
They really didn’t use Christoph Waltz properly as Blofeld in Spectre imo.
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Antonio Banderas in the last Indiana Jones. I thought it was just a guy who looked like him.
Nicholas Cage. They keep putting him into a role as himself rather than an actual actor.
Patrick Stewart in the Emoji movie.
James Marsters in that abomination Dragonball Evolution.
Idris Elba in 99% of his projects.
Coleman Domingo in Fear the Walking Dead. Honestly, everyone in FTWD after S3 was wasted. Garrett Dillahunt, Kim Dickens, Jenna Elfman, Mo Collins, Lenny James…
Zendaya in the Spiderman movies. Like please give the girl something to work with.
Jeffrey Wright. He so undervalued. He is versatile like a MF. I thought he was hilarious in Shaft. Then he goes on to do other roles and I didn’t believe it was the same person.
Will Smith is a very expressive actor with a distinct charming personality and wide range of emotional variance. Lets cast him as the lead in our sci fi thriller, a hardened war hero who trained for years to display no emotions at all and have him deliver every single one of his lines like he’s been waiting for three hours at the DMV and just was told that the form he brought expired yesterday.
Tatiana Maslany in She-Hulk. Without exaggeration one of the greatest actors to have ever lived and she did that.
Josh hartnett , dude had such a wide range and could have done so many roles instead he just kinda disappeared and when he does show up he’s just a side character that dies for no reason.
Scott adkins? Maybe not wasted in his roles but his material arts and stunts are on top and amazing, the guy should get more recognition.
Might be controversial but possibly Ariana Grande.TLDR during the Wicked press tour she all but said she had wanted to do stuff like this her whole career but nickelodeon and I guess “the powers that be” forced her into her over synthesized music pop princess role.I say possibly because it sounds like she never really got a chance to show people if she’s a powerhouse songstress, based on interviews during the tour it sounds like they wanted another miley cyrus cash cow and shoved her into this role with the promise that if she did that she could do what she wanted later. So her exact capabilities have yet to be seen.It makes sense in theory; she’s always had an amazing voice, her breakout role was on broadway at 14 but so much of her music was generic and technologically altered which seemed weird for someone who could honestly sing. In Wicked there was this moment where she’s upset that elphaba is leaving and her face REALLY shows some authentic emotion that’s made me go “whoah, now THAT’S acting”.That could also not apply at all and it’s all some made up BS for the press tour. At the very least her voice has certainly been wasted for decades.I also know Jessica Alba talked about how she wanted to give a real authentic performance on fantastic 4 silver surfer and she was SPECIFICALLY told to prioritize looking aesthetically pleasing while crying instead of like, actual emotion.She never seemed like oscar winner material in her roles but you’ve got to wonder, was she told c**p like that all her career? Was she never given a chance to really act and was regulated to just being “Hot”? If so, no wonder her acting was hollow and never developed.Makes you wonder how many of these subpar actress are only subpar because they’ve been directed that way. How many of these people are amazing actors that we will never get the chance to see because hollywood will only let them be hot eye candy?
Shia Lebouf - guy is so underrated and goes 100% in every role. Little wacky too.
Kristen Stewart in “Twilight.”.
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