10 Actors Who've Deserved More Recognition in the Last 10 Years

Some movie stars seem larger than life.

Say, for instance, Scarlett Johansson, the internationally renown A-lister whose stronghold on the box office this past weekend was remarkable. As Marvel’s ass-kicking Black Widow, Johansson played a major role in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, the superhero blockbuster that now holds the title for the biggest April theatrical opening of all time. On the smaller scale, meanwhile, Johansson gave a career-best performance as an alien seductress in the beguiling indie Under the Skin, which grossed $140,000 in only four theaters and posted the second biggest independent film debut, trailing behind only Wes Anderson’s The Grand Budapest Hotel. From multiplexes to art-houses, Johansson was everywhere this weekend, proving that Hollywood megastars can still dominate.

For every Scarlett Johansson, however, there are dozens of movie stars who seem much more of our own reality. They’re the film industry’s blue-collar workers, often vastly talented and always tireless, yet rarely, if ever, receiving even half as much mainstream notoriety as the ScarJo’s of the game. They’re the kinds of performers who’ll be in movies like Captain America, steal scenes away from the cast’s bigger name players, and then head to work for their next role while the superstars get all the press.

And when these perennially overlooked actors do finally land those desirable leading roles, they’re in films like Cesar Chavez, the humbly made biopic starring the great character actor Michael Pena—what should’ve been Pena’s mainstream coming-out party has barely registered beyond diligent critics’ reviews since opening last month.

Yet, as long as they keep giving first-rate performances, cinephiles will continue to support. With that, familiarize yourself with the best of the lot—here are 10 actors who’ve deserved more recognition in the last 10 years.

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Best performances: Danger Barch in Million Dollar Baby (2004), Jay in Knocked Up (2007), Kevin Sandusky in Tropic Thunder (2008), Kirk in She's Out of My League (2010), Hiccup in How to Train Your Dragon (2010), Victor in Good Neighbours (2010), Pat in Goon (2011), Jay in This is the End (2013)

Of all the actors who fly flags and twist fingers up for the Judd Apatow gang, Jay Baruchel is the most slept on. The wry, scruffy, cig-smoking, hockey-loving, proud Canadian stringbean lacks James Franco’s heartthrob good looks and oddball omnipresence. He doesn’t have Jonah Hill’s legitimizing Oscar nominations for dramedic supporting roles. And he’s yet to build a leading-man résumé like Seth Rogen, Michael Cera, Paul Rudd, or Jason Segel. (Of course, it doesn’t help that you don’t see his face in his biggest grossing hit, DreamWorks’ animated franchise-starter How to Train Your Dragon.)

Maybe, as indicated in the riotous comedy This Is the End, where he and friends Rogen, Franco, and Hill play exaggerated versions of themselves in the apocalypse, the Montreal native is simply not as keen on L.A. and Hollywood stardom as the rest of them are. Regardless, he’s every bit as talented and deserving of recognition as his more celebrated peers.

With his slight frame and big hair, Baruchel often plays geekish underdog roles (or, occasionally, slick hipsters, as in Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist and RoboCop). Whether portraying a self-doubting TSA agent dating a “10” in She's Out of My League or a foul-mouthed minor league hockey fan who clearly wishes he had the body to check someone into the boards in Goon, he possesses a defensive, jittery, wiseass comedic quality that’s as believable as it is hilarious.

He's also capable of real pathos. In How to Train Your Dragon, Baruchel's voice breathes life into Hiccup, an awkward and disappointing Viking son who befriends a dragon instead of slaying it. Anyone who’s ever fallen short of their parents’ expectations will recognize the truth in the performance. The same goes for Baruchel in Million Dollar Baby, where he turns wispy, big-hearted, and hopeless aspiring boxer Danger Barch’s comedic moments (constant put-downs, a one-sided beatdown in the ring) into sympathetic drama. It seems entirely possible, given the right live-action role, that the next time Jonah Hill goes to the Oscars, Baruchel could be sitting in the seat next to him. —Justin Monroe

Best performances: Daniel in Crash (2004), T.K. Poole in The Lucky Ones (2008), Dennis in Observe and Report (2009), Frank Garcia in Everything Must Go (2010), Enrique Dev'reaux in Tower Heist (2011), Officer Zavala in End of Watch (2012)

You probably know his face, but you can't remember his name. It's time to burn this into your brain: Michael Peña. He's the man who's in everything. Like, actually. If you look closely, dude was even in American Hustle (as the fake Sheik). The man is a chameleon. Comedy? Check out Tower Heist and episodes of Eastbound and Down. Drama? Watch Crash, Million Dollar Baby, The Lincoln Lawyer, or Lions for Lambs. Dramedy? Turn on Everything Must Go. Action/crime drama? Take your pick: End of Watch, Shooter, or Gangster Squad.

Chock that up to the fact that Peña, a 38-year-old Chicago native, is an everyman who can fit in anywhere. And for years, Hollywood's been exploiting just that. Need a dependable actor who can cover a small but crucial role? Every casting director has pulled Peña out of their Rolodex. Despite the number of bit parts he's accumulated throughout his 20-year career, the man never mails it in—take that unforgettable scene in Crash with him, his on-screen daughter, and their standoff with a gun-crazy old man as proof.

But it's when Peña's given a starring role that the depth of his talent is finally given an outlet. Those who watched the found-footage cop drama End of Watch can attest, Peña can carry a dramatic role and seamlessly infuse it with comedic relief, and he's also got a knack for developing palpable on-screen chemistry with his co-stars. His banter with co-star Jake Gyllenhaal plays as if they've been friends for years. 

This year, however, with his titular role in the biopic Cesar Chavez, Peña is getting the chance to stand alone with a weighty role that deserves to be seen. He's not just "the best friend," "the husband," or "detective no. 2" anymore, he's the man whose name is sprawled across the marquee: the leading man.  —Tara Aquino

Best performances: Wendy Christensen in Final Destination 3 (2006), Lee Montgomery in Grindhouse: Death Proof (2007), Ramona Flowers in Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010), Kate Hannah in Smashed (2012), Holly Keely in The Spectacular Now (2013)

The term "scream queen" is a divisive one. Depending on where you stand when it comes the horror movie genre, it's either a compliment or a downgrade. Horror loyalists view their beloved actresses with the utmost fondness, both admiring their on-screen gifts and deeply appreciating their lack of pretension and willingness to frequent a film genre known for its not always positive public reputation. Folks who frown upon horror, though, are quick to denigrate scream queens. They're quick to consider them second-class citizens in the acting world, unable to ever exist on the same playing field as Amy Adams, Anne Hathaway, and Jennifer Lawrence.

Mary Elizabeth Winstead was once a prime example of that industry prejudice. From 2006 through 2011, Winstead was a Hollywood horror regular, and not always in recommendable genre films. Her scary movie stint began with Final Destination 3, in which she played your typical "final girl" atypically, layering an otherwise standard character with a tenderness and depth that the superficial Final Destination franchise hasn't seen before or after. She then did whatever she could with a barely written role in the altogether terrible 2006 remake of Black Christmas, where she was only asked to stare wide-eyed at gore and idiocy. The following year, thankfully, Winstead avenged the Black Christmas shit-show with a small but memorable role in Quentin Tarantino's underrated slasher-flick-via-car-movie contribution to the Grindhouse double feature project, Death Proof.

Genre enthusiasts remember all of those performances with admiration and warmth, considering Winstead to be one of the new millennium's best scream queens thus far. But cinema's more highfalutin critics, bloggers, and pundits? They can't be bothered by Winstead's horror dabbling, hence why those higher-brow talking heads acted liked they'd seen the emergence of some highly promising unknown when the 2012 indie Smashed blew people away at that year's Sundance Film Festival.

Smartly challenging herself and stepping away from the genre realm, Winstead turned heads and opened eyes as Kate Hannah, an elementary schoolteacher whose bouts with intense alcoholism catastrophically ruin her career and her marriage to husband, and fellow alcoholic, Charlie (Aaron Paul). It's honest, uninhibited, and often devastating:

The glowing reviews poured out of Sundance with haste. Early Oscar buzz began accompanying her name. For many who'd previously laughed off watching, let alone critiquing, films like Final Destination 3 and Black Christmas, Winstead's Smashed breakthrough might as well have been her feature film debut.

Raw, vulnerable, and blessed with a few powerfully emotional monologues, Winstead's performance in director James Ponsoldt's film was one of 2012's best, without question, and a disappointing snub come Academy Awards nomination time. Oscar bloggers let their affinity for Winstead's Smashed work be known, and through those kinds of accolades, including a much-deserved Independent Spirit Award nomination, the once-ignored genre mainstay became properly revered. No longer could anyone dismiss her as "that girl from that one Final Destination movie," or even "the cheerleader in Tarantino's Death Proof."

Of course, she'd never have been trivialized like that by those whose genre sensibilities can best be described as "Comic-Con ready." If Winstead hadn't landed the Kate Hannah role in Smashed, her standing as a cult movie icon wouldn't have been affected. To lovers of comic books and comic book movies, Winstead will always be Ramona Flowers, the dreamgirl at the center of Edgar Wright's adaptation of Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. Beautiful yet approachable, Ramona represents the gorgeous female who's as unconventional as the nerds and doesn't reside on a higher social or esteem plane. She's the beauty queen who doesn't realize she is one. Such charming aloofness transmits loudly through Winstead's understated and endearing performance.

Scott Pilgrim fans who've seen Smashed aren't surprised by Winstead's bare-bones, gritty turn as a glamour-free alcoholic who's trying to get through the bottle-fueled nightmare. Ramona Flowers and Kate Hannah are kindred spirits, two lovely and empathetic women who haven't fully grasped their worth. The same can be said for Winstead herself, who, at 29, hasn't come close to reaching her peak as an actress. As Smashed greatly exhibits, she's only just beginning to utilize her best strength.—Matt Barone

Best performances: Anna in Itty Bitty Titty Committee (2007), Alma in Be Kind Rewind (2008), Ivonne in Hamlet 2 (2008), Sophina in Fruitvale Station (2013)

Melonie Diaz makes acting look like it's second nature. Just watch her. When Diaz moves about a scene, when she says her lines, when she gives a simple look, it's all with the sense that she doesn't even realize the camera is there.

Take her most recent feature film, Fruitvale Station. As Sophina, the late Oscar Grant's wife, Diaz conveys the disappointments, frustrations, and the pain of a complex, real-life-inspired character with such empathy you'd think the actress could literally see through Sophina's eyes.

It's as if being born and raised in New York City, surrounded by every personality type you can think of, has had an effect on the 29-year-old actress. Judging by her performances, one could presume Diaz has an endless well of experiences to draw from for any given role. Whether she's playing an awkward teen in Raising Victor Vargas or portraying a sexually fluid woman in the cult hit Itty Bitty Titty Committee, Diaz has the ability to make her characters feel so lived-in that it's difficult to separate the actress from her roles. 

Diaz has been thriving in the independent film world—in 2008 alone, she premiered four films at Sundance (American Son, The Assassination of a High School President, Be Kind Rewind, and Hamlet 2). Finally, though, she's taking center stage in her own HBO drama, Laughs Unlimited, where she'll play a war veteran dealing with PTSD. It's weighty role that'll undoubtedly get viewers to start appreciating her talent. —Tara Aquino

Best performances: Nicholas Jasenovec in Paper Heart (2009), Jeff Schwensen in Safety Not Guaranteed (2012), Luke in Drinking Buddies (2013), Basel in The Pretty One (2014)

Unpopular opinion time: Jake Johnson is more known in Hollywood for his lead role in the Fox series New Girl than for any of the numerous films he's appeared in, and that should not be the case. Now, before I get some rabid Tumblr users calling for me to be shunned from the Internetz…

Let's be clear: That's not to knock against New Girl or his work on the Fox sitcom—Johnson remains one of the best parts of the increasingly confused comedy, and that’s all due to his range and abilities as an actor. It is, however, to say that Johnson’s film career is sorely unappreciated in Hollywood. Especially after his part in last year’s fully improvised film Drinking Buddies, that's a damn shame.

Let’s start from the beginning: Johnson actually hasn’t been around that long in Hollywood. Though he pursued comedy for years prior (and attended NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts for Dramatic Writing), it wasn’t until 2007 that he began appearing in small roles on television shows, and not until 2009 that he appeared in his first major film role, playing Nicholas Jasenovec in Paper Heart. An indie movie (it starred Michael Cera, come on) perhaps not seen by many, but still—it was the first time that the world was formally introduced to Johnson.

In the films that followed, including Safety Not Guaranteed, we gradually became familiar with his ability to remain extremely likable despite portraying deeply flawed characters. Not to mention, his ability to convey a spectrum of convincing, touching emotions with one simple look. He makes you empathize with him.

Plus, who else can make a perfect turtle face as well as he can? That alone deserves all the recognition in the world.

It wasn’t until last year’s Drinking Buddies that we really got a true look at his capabilities, though. Co-starring Olivia Wilde, Anna Kendrick, and Ron Livingston, the film was fully improvised, no surprise considering it was directed by DIY indie favorite Joe Swanberg. The actors were only given an outline of the direction they were supposed to steer their characters into; the rest was up to them, forcing Johnson and his co-stars to fully embody their characters. It’s a tough thing to pull off, but Johnson managed it effortlessly and smoothly.

With some actors, it’s easy to see the previous characters they’ve played in some roles, whether it be with movements they make or tones they use—however, that's never the case with Jake. Nick from New Girl, Jeff from Safety Not Guaranteed, and Luke from Drinking Buddies are completely detached from one another.

Hopefully, Johnson’s slept-on status in Hollywood won’t last much longer. This summer, he'll get his R-rated comedy on alongside New Girl colleague Damon Wayans, Jr. in Let's Be Cops. And next year, he’s set to appear in the long-awaited next Jurassic Park film, Jurassic World, for which he'll reconnect with his Safety Not Guaranteed director, Colin Trevorrow.

It shouldn't be long until all positive opinions about Johnson are popular. —Tanya Ghahremani

Best Performances: London in Kaboom (2010), Danielle in Dirty Girl (2010), Lily in Little Birds (2011), Dottie in Killer Joe (2012), McKenna in Afternoon Delight (2013), Alicia in Magic Magic (2013)

Save for one credit in 2000 (as Emma Southey in Pandaemonium), Juno Temple has only been active in Hollywood for eight years. But she's worked more in those eight years than you probably have in your entire life.

Ever since she starred as Cate Blanchett's daughter in Notes on a Scandal, Temple hasn't stopped working. Count 'em, she's got 31 credits through 2014, and four more expected this year—Disney's Maleficent, Truck, Far From the Maddening Crowd, and Sin City: A Dame to Kill For. You can't help but wonder when the girl's got time to be a regular 24-year-old. 

Then again, regular was never in the cards for Temple. Born in England, Temple grew up watching her parents, producer Amanda Pirie and film director Julien Temple, surrounded by lights, camera, action. For those who didn't grow up head-banging, her father is best known as the man behind your favorite rock docs, namely a bunch of shorts with the Sex Pistols, a few Rolling Stones videos, and the 1980 mockumentary The Great Rock N' Roll Swindle. 

Perhaps growing up surrounded by Joe Strummer and some of the craziest personalities in entertainment does something to a kid, because on screen, Temple is absolutely fearless. Whether she's playing an uncomfortably overexperienced tween who has an affair with Matthew McConaughey in Killer Joe or an unabashedly confident stripper with a heart of gold in Afternoon Delight, Temple doesn't shy away from a role's most taboo demands. 

And it isn't for the sake of shock value either. Temple revels in the crazy, the misunderstood and the broken. Finding cracks in otherwise typical personalities is where she shines. She can just as easily move from tugging her hair out in utter madness in Magic, Magic to conveying the confusion and anxiety of growing up with just a simple look in the coming-of-age flick Little Birds.

At every film festival she goes to (which is literally every single one), Juno Temple is listed as a breakout talent. But she just booked a regular role on Martin Scorsese's upcoming '70s rock 'n' roll drama for HBO. Yup, it's time to acknowledge Temple for what she is: a bona fide star. —Tara Aquino

Best performances: Al Melvin in The Manchurian Candidate (2004), Winston in Broken Flowers (2005), Bennett Holiday in Syriana (2005), Felix Leiter in Casino Royale (2006) and Quantum of Solace (2008), Colin Powell in W. (2008), Muddy Waters in Cadillac Records (2008), Dr. Rutledge in Source Code (2011), Beetee in The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013)

Like all great character actors, Jeffrey Wright completely disappears into roles. Beyond his physical appearance, which often changes greatly from project to project, he captures nuances of characters that are so distinct and true to life that viewers feel like they’re gazing upon an actual living person, not a portrayal of one. These traits, as well as the 48-year-old Washington D.C. native and Brooklyn resident’s low-key personal life, and Hollywood’s tendency to treat any black actor who’s not named Denzel Washington, Will Smith, Jamie Foxx, or Tyler Perry like an invisible man, have made him a virtual spirit moving from vessel to vessel. (And this is a man with roles in the Bond and Hunger Games franchises, and with Tony, Emmy, and Golden Globe awards for his work in the stage and screen versions of Tony Kushner’s AIDS drama Angels in America.)

Wright’s disappearing act, and his ability to find the voice and physicality of his characters is perhaps best appreciated when he’s playing real-life people like Haitian-American street artist Jean-Michel Basquiat (Basquiat) or legendary bluesman Muddy Waters (Cadillac Records). Actors who loom larger than their characters ruin biopics, but in Wright’s work, which seems to embrace the devil in the details, it’s easy to mistake his performance for archived documentary footage.

He’s no less brilliant bringing to life imaginary characters, such as CIA operative Felix Leiter in the James Bond films Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace, investigative D.C. attorney Bennett Holiday in the oil thriller tapestry Syriana, and Hunger Games survivor Beetee Latier in that dystopian adventure series. (We’re talking film acting here but it would be criminal to not mention Wright’s work on season four of Boardwalk Empire. His portrayal of "Doctor of Divinity" Valentin Narcisse, a complex and murky man who preaches the upliftment of black people while also looking down his nose at them and flooding their communities with heroin that he imports with white men he loathes, is one of the finest and most nuanced in TV or anywhere.)

Wright's relative anonymity, as unjust as it is, ultimately allows him to build a filmography of characters he inhabits without the interference of celebrity, so it would be a shame if the fame garnered from young adult blockbusters (he has the Catching Fire: Mockingjay movies on deck in 2014 and '15) makes it so the actor towers over his roles. But even if tongues begin to speak the name Jeffrey Wright more than the words "that guy," his abilities are such that he'll likely find a way to overcome notoriety, curl up into a shrinking ball, and vanish once more. —Justin Monroe

Best performances: Jake Mazursky in Alpha Dog (2006), Charlie Prince in 3:10 to Yuma (2007), The Stranger in 30 Days of Night (2007), Staff Sergeant Will Montgomery in The Messenger (2009), Patrick Wheeler in Ain't Them Bodies Saints (2013)

The best actors can do the most with the smallest roles. Think the Oscar-nominated performances from Michael Shannon and Viola Davis in Revolutionary Road and Doubt, respectively. Neither character appears on screen for longer than 10 minutes, yet both bit players own their brief moments and leave the most unforgettable impressions. Because, indeed, Michael Shannon and Viola Davis are two of Hollywood's best, even if they're typically overshadowed in the media by their starrier peers and colleagues.

Ben Foster shares that caliber of time-constrained impact, and in the most unlikely of movies in this kind of discussion. Anyone who's seen the better-than-expected 2007 adaptation of Steve Niles' graphic novel 30 Days of Night certainly remembers Ben Foster. In a violent, grim film about vampires who actually kill people, rather than, you know, glisten like a Cullen, Foster steals the entire first act as the enigmatic presence simply known as The Stranger.

In the story's context, he's the undead bloodsuckers' hired messenger of doom, their errand boy who secretly buffers the unprepared community of Barrow, Alaska, for his homicidal overseers' impending month-long parade of destruction. Under Foster's startling command, though, The Stranger is scarier than any of the film's vampires. He's nearly inhuman, despite his flesh-and-blood appearance, reacting to interrogations with an unflinching menace that truly disturbs. But when it's time for his vampire bosses to dispose of their eventually unnecessary chore guy, Foster injects a last-minute sadness into the character, off-setting his prior intensity at the perfect moment and with pure believability.

That's been Foster's M.O. from jump, too. Foster radiates tension and internalized anguish in all of his performances. Watch the 2006 "based on a true story" drama Alpha Dog and try not to flinch anytime Foster lashes out as the unhinged, protective, on-a-warpath older brother Jake Mazursky.

The movies themselves can be disposable fluff, like his serviceable but whatever collaborations with Jason Statham (The Mechanic) and Mark Wahlberg (Contraband), but Foster doesn't let the material define his presence. If it's a thankless friend-turned-enemy part, like in Contraband, well, dammit, he's going to be make it the most committed and energized friend-turned-enemy character you've seen in a long time. You'll never catch Foster phoning anything in, not even a silly role like Angel in Brett Ratner's universally maligned superhero dud X-Men: The Last Stand.

It's that degree of sheer commitment that, fortunately for Foster and his growing fan base, has afforded him the chances to act opposite some of the industry's finest rather than languish in B-grade Hollywood fare. The primary villain in James Mangold's strong 3:10 to Yuma is Russell Crowe's Ben Wade, yet it's Foster's combustible and electric performance as Wade's loose-cannon righthand Charlie Prince that supersedes Crowe and leading man Christian Bale in terms of the film's praise.

The marquee name in the excellent 2009 indie drama The Messenger is Woody Harrelson, and he's brilliant as a relapsing alcoholic, but it's Foster's work as a war hero tasked with alerting families that their loved ones have died in battle that anchors the film. Harrelson received a Best Supporting Actor nomination, though if you asked Woody, he'd almost certainly give credit to Foster for giving him such character-driven power to play against.

Last year, Foster toned down his usual intensity to play a softer, atypically romantic role in the haunting indie drama Ain't Them Bodies Saints. It's an emblematic part for him: the most overlooked, if not best performance, in a movie led by former Oscar nominees, in this case Rooney Mara and Casey Affleck. Sooner or later, Ben Foster's name will be mentioned as an Academy Award nominee. Don't be surprised if it's through something as minimal as The Stranger but as undeniably dominant as Michael Shannon in Revolutionary Road. —Matt Barone

Best performances: Wendell in No Country for Old Men (2007), Ed Miller in The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007), Krug in The Last House on the Left (2009), Sheriff Baskin in Winter's Bone (2010)

In Hollywood, there are very few cosigns stronger than one from Joel and Ethan Coen. One from Martin Scorsese, perhaps, might hold more weight, but it's a toss-up. Let's wait and see whose 2013 breakthrough translates into a bigger, more in-demand career: Oscar Isaac, star of the Coen Brothers' magnificent folk rock odyssey Inside Llewyn Davis, or Margot Robbie, the gorgeous and charismatic leading lady in Marty Scorsese's The Wolf of Wall Street?

One actor who'd be quick to vote for the Coen siblings is Garret Dillahunt, a movie industry journeyman whose busy and prestigious last seven years owe a great deal to sirs Joel and Ethan. Plucking the TV veteran, best known for HBO's Deadwood, out of mainstream obscurity, the Coens cast Dillahunt to play the soft-spoken but narratively important sidekick cop Wendell in their Oscar-winning No Country for Old Men. Wendell's are the ears through which Tommy Lee Jones' grizzled and emotionally jaded Sheriff Ed Bell delivers most of his the-world's-gone-to-shit monologues; required to mostly stand there, listen to Bell's cynical musings, and react with a golly-geez innocence, Dillahunt nails the necessary blend of sturdiness and slowly dissolving optimism. Bell is shattering Wendell's worldview, and the disintegration is written all over Dillahunt's expressive face.

With No Country for Old Men expanding Dillahunt's reach beyond merely Deadwood viewers, the chiseled but somewhat boyish-looking actor channeled more of that vulnerability in a film that's just as good as No Country but hasn't been given the same amount of acclaim: Andrew Dominik's The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. His role is brief, but Dillahunt more than holds his own next to Brad Pitt's Jesse James, playing a powerless gang member whom James manipulates to gain information from and then dispatches of with ease. Like his muted and complementary performance opposite Tommy Lee Jones, Dillahunt turns what could have been a throwaway part in Jesse James into one that leaves the viewer wanting to know more about the guy who just made the almighty Brad Pitt seem a bit less larger-than-life.

The standout co-starring roles in star-powered films have continued for Dillahunt post-No Country and Jesse James. That's him upgrading a minor henchman assignment near the end of Rian Johnson's impressive 2012 sci-fi thriller Looper. That's also Dillahunt who shows up in the current Oscar front-runner for Best Picture, 12 Years a Slave, playing one of Michael Fassbender's evil slave owner's underlings. And, yes, that's Dillahunt giving Jennifer Lawrence plenty of subtle acting to play off of in Winter's Bone, the film for which the Internet's present sweetheart won her first Academy Award.

The quintessential character actor, Dillahunt signifies the blue-collar darling, the hard-working actor's actor whom directors like Steve McQueen and the Coen Brothers gravitate towards but who doesn't need the spotlight thrust over him. So much so that he's been the star of a popular Fox sitcom, Raising Hope, for the past four years and you wouldn't even know it. He doesn't need to appear on The Tonight Show or Late Night to validate his career. The work speaks for itself, and the game's top filmmakers are paying attention.

Which means that, yes, the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences' favorite directors will, at one point or another, take a look at the 2009 remake of Wes Craven's exploitation horror classic The Last House on the Left. Why? Because it's home to the best Garret Dillahunt performance to date. He plays the sadistic ringleader Krug, a father/brother/boyfriend who's the head of a quartet of killers (which also includes Breaking Bad's Aaron Paul). Krug and his crew kidnap two teenage girls, rape them, and murder one while unsuccessfully trying to eliminate the other. A human monster, Krug has the disarming ability of a cult leader, but also the physicality and cold-blooded malevolence that's foreign to someone like a Charles Manson or Jim Jones—you fear and loathe him as much as you like him (however much that pains you).

That's right, that slightly dim yokel officer in No Country for Old Men emerges from The Last House on the Left as one of the last decade's scariest horror movie baddies. That is the range of Mr. Garret Dillahunt, the tireless scene-stealer you're likely to see in several more future Best Picture nominees. You'll probably even see him on the stage, too, standing next to the winning film's A-list stars without making any efforts to push himself into the TV camera's frame. He'll just be happy for the acknowledgement in and of itself. —Matt Barone

Best performances: Larry Gopnik in A Serious Man (2009), René Tabard in Hugo (2011), Lew Wasserman in Hitchcock (2012), Dr. Flicker in Blue Jasmine (2013)

Outside of Woody Allen/Martin Scorsese/Coen bros. enthusiasts, viewers know Michael Stuhlbarg as Arnold Rothstein on HBO's Boardwalk Empire, if they know him at all. Probably that won't really change. Stuhlbarg, with his theater background and fretting hangdog face, won't be a leading man, and the Philip Seymour Hoffman's of the world are always few. No, he'll continue to take on small parts in big movies, like Scorsese's Hugo, or lead in movies that not enough people see, like the Coens' A Serious Man.

A Serious Man is the best place to start for a showcase of Stuhlbarg's abilities. The Coen brothers' most personal, most explicitly Jewish picture follows the downward spiral of one physics professor's life after his wife, Judith, demands a divorce.

The film takes the Uncertainty Principle as its thesis on life and the world, and strip-mines it for every last, black chunk of dark humor available. Stuhlbarg anchors the film as the nebbish Job who is molly-whopped at every turn by problems at home, at his job, next door—just about every direction possible.

That, for instance, is Larry taking a beating from the man his wife is divorcing him for. Good times.

Stuhlbarg turns on the haplessness for comedy in A Serious Man, but in Woody Allen's Blue Jasmine he shows off a gross underbelly to his droopy cold-fish routine. Bespectacled and softly grinning, Stuhlbarg's Dr. Flicker is Jasmine's first employer after she moves to San Francisco. In the film's most uncomfortable scene, he sexually harasses her. He does it without transforming into some kind of maniacal villain. It's all the more disgusting for how seamless the transition is from milquetoast dentist to terrible pig. It's a bold role in a movie with much bigger performances, which is why many might forget about it. But they shouldn't. —Ross Scarano