The 25 Most Underrated TV Drama Actors Right Now

Whether you like the golden age label or not, it’s undeniable that TV is flourishing right now. But for every hit series that your timeline stays spoiling for you on Twitter, there are several others that fly under the radar. By the same token, there are a ton of great actors whose performances deserve to be mentioned during the live documentation of this era, but who aren’t getting their due.

Underrated has multiple meanings. Some of the actors on this list are on shows that just concluded their debut seasons, and are thus just warming up. Others are doing fantastic things on series that Emmy boards, and maybe even critics, will never recognize or give props to. Still others have both notoriety and acclaim...with nary a statue or nomination even, to show for it. Of course, hundreds of great actors go unnoticed by the voting board, but the sting is worse when there’s a bevy of fans and critics alike all clamoring for it.

Those main three categories comprise the bulk of this selection, which is focused on actors who are currently on a series. To clarify—dramas that are on now, recently concluded this year, or are on hiatus, set to return soon. A collection of men and women who are next to blow, have been criminally overlooked, and/or grossly snubbed in the past. It’s time to take notice. Read on for the 25 Most Underrated TV Drama Actors Right Now.

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Notable TV roles: Don Draper, Mad Men (AMC)

Yes, we’re aware Jon Hamm is one of the most recognizable names on TV right now, with one of the most recognizable faces, portraying a character that’s a step away from being labeled iconic. We’re all aware of his powers in front of the camera, still reeling from the instantly classic Hershey’s pitch in the show’s sixth season finale.

And yet, after six seasons of killing it, the man’s Emmy shelf is bare. He’s been nominated each year, and lost every time to the deserving likes of Bryan Cranston and Damian Lewis. But still. There’s only one season of Mad Men left. If the show bows without giving Hamm just due, it’ll be a tragic oversight for the history books.

Notable TV roles: Dylan Massett, Bates Motel (A&E)

On a show where everyone’s only quietly creepy, Thieriot’s Dylan is refreshingly in your face, the most inconspicuous psycho in a town full of them. His character may be a little over the top, but along with on-screen mom Vera Farmiga, the lead performances on this show are becoming too good to ignore. If the show’s popularity rises next year, look for him to become a breakout along with it.

Notable TV roles: Dean Winchester, Supernatural (The CW); Jason Teague, Smallville (The CW, The WB)

Supernatural used to be one of the most entertaining shows that you weren’t watching. It’s since become another show that The CW won’t let die a dignified death, because the network is that thirsty for a loyal fanbase. Through the ups and the downs Jensen Ackles has endured as a reason to watch.

The show is a weird mash-up of tones. Whether Ackles is playing the hero in a horror movie, crying through a super-serious revelatory monologue, or being a goofball, he’s great and has been acting circles around co-lead Jared Padalecki since damn near day one. (It’s a somewhat fixed fight—Padalecki isn’t very good to begin with, but at a certain point the show started doing everything it could to make you side with Ackles/Dean against Padalecki/Sam, even when Dean is wrong.)

On a show that routinely gets away from itself with over-sized plots (the civil war between angels in heaven, say no more) Ackles is the anchor that keeps the human element in place. But the series’ best years have given him meaty material that’s so well-acted we find ourselves wishing the impossible for him, i.e. Emmy recognition. Instead, we’re hopeful of a more realistic outcome—leading man on a more deserving series.

Notable TV roles: Kristina Braverman, Parenthood (NBC); Sarah Krajicek-Hunter, Trust Me (TNT); Lori Colson, Boston Legal (ABC)

Parenthood is quietly one of the best family dramedies out right now, and the show really went for the heartstrings this past season with Kristina's (call her the Claire Dunphy of the Braverman clan) breast cancer-arc. It’s hard to worry about emotional manipulation when an actress sells the heartbreak as well as Potter. The Emmy ballot for Best Actress just got even more crowded.

Notable TV roles: Sloan Sabbith, The Newsroom (HBO); Leigh, Perfect Couples (NBC)

Economist and journalist Sloan Sabbith marks Olivia Munn’s, of G4 and Daily Show fame, first high-profile acting gig—and she’s killing it. A little neurotic and socially awkward, Sabbith deserves credit for being the least frustrating character on a series full of people who tend to do dumb things. Awkward or not, we don’t buy her character’s inability to find a good date in New York City, but everything else is solid. Most figured Munn would go on to do sitcoms; instead she dared to take on Sorkin’s infamously fast-paced, layered dialogue, and met the challenge.

Notable TV roles: Wynn Duffy, Justified (FX); Jesse's substance abuse group leader, Breaking Bad (AMC); Jake Abernathy, Bates Motel (A&E); Anson Fullerton, Burn Notice (USA)

One of TV’s most reliable character actors out, Burns is recurring on a few of your favorite shows, but his most consistent gig has been sending chills down our spines as sadistic made man Wynn Duffy on FX’s Justified. Jere's one of those greats who's best when he’s silently reacting things. (If there’s isn’t a tumblr with photographic documentation of Jere Burns reacting to things, the Internet has let Nas down.) Burns is making enough rounds on the cable circuit, but he deserves to be locked up officially on an ensemble cast somewhere. Preferably as a villain.

Notable TV roles: Hank Schrader, Breaking Bad (AMC); Big Jim Rennie, Under the Dome (CBS); W.D. Twitchell, Tremors (G4)

Great Heisenberg, we cannot wait for the final run of Breaking Bad, and among the many reasons to be excited, number one is that it’s last episode finally enlightened Hank Schrader as to how his seemingly meek brother-in-law has been spending his days post-cancer diagnosis. We’re in for one hell of a game of cat-and-mouse, and a well acted one at that. Bryan Cranston has all the awards, but his co-star is equally capable.

Remember his Clue-esque monologue to his FBI superiors in which he outed Gus Fring as a criminal mastermind? The palpable tension during the all-time TV classic scene that concluded the excellent “One Mintue” or the equally sweaty-palmed shoot-out with Tuco? Norris is up for whatever Vince Gilligan throws at him and it’s not a fluke—he’s the best thing about the Stephen King adaptation Under the Dome this summer. Take note.

Notable TV roles: Stephen Holder, The Killing (AMC)

The Killing came into the game as a sophisticated take on the types of murder a procedural crime show would toss off casually. Before long, viewers realized it was full of itself, not half of what it claimed to be. Still, if you stuck around, you stuck around for one reason: Joel Kinnaman’s hypnotic performance as Detective Holder. We’d never seen a cop like him, with his goonish drawl, laid-back persona, and unorthodox methods (toking up with high school girls to get information). The best thing about The Killing’s cancellation was that it’d free him up to find a better job elsewhere. Then it came back.

Notable TV roles: John Cooper, Southland (NBC, TNT); Bull Randleman, Band of Brothers (HBO); Mark Rawls, Life (NBC)

Southland pulled a very rare phoenix maneuver when it died on NBC, only to be reborn on TNT, and to even greater acclaim. The gritty cop series boasted an ensemble of great performances, but the standout was undoubtedly Michael Cudlitz, as closeted field training officer John Cooper. Beset by a constant back pain, Cooper was ostensibly the show’s punching bag, but his misfortune gave Cudlitz ample opportunity to shine.

Southland ran out of luck this year. Now that it’s going off we hope Cudlitz doesn’t fall into unemployed limbo.

Notable TV roles: Bob Benson, Mad Men (AMC); Doug Hammond, Political Animals (USA); Robert Allen, Lone Star (FOX); Grant, Happy Endings (ABC)

He’s been on every Mad Men fan’s radar since the season six premiere, when the mystery of The Talented Bob Benson began this past spring, and it’s about time. James Wolk is a beast, but he’s been struggling since FOX yanked his much ballyhooed series after just two episodes. If there’s one reason to look forward to CBS’ upcoming sitcom The Crazy Ones, it’s for the possibility that Wolk’s star will continue its rise—though we hope that doesn’t mean we’ve seen the last of Bob at Sterling Cooper & Partners.

Notable TV roles: Richard Harrow, Boardwalk Empire (HBO)

The man with the monstrous visage is also—improbably—the most gentle soul on the Atlantic City boardwalk. Huston plays Richard Harrow as Frankenstein’s monster become a hitman, switching between calculated killing machine and lonely alien effortlessly. And all with only half a face! (Plus a speech pattern that had to be difficult to perfect.) Give this man a nomination.

Notable TV roles: Hannah McKay, Dexter (Showtime); Sarah Walker, Chuck (NBC)

After quietly turning in one of the all-around badass performances as CIA super-spy Sarah Walker on NBC’s Chuck, Yvonne Strahovski took another step toward stardom last year on Dexter, as another femme fatale and just maybe Dexter's one true twisted love.

We’re excited for her return during the show’s final run, but we really want to see her on her own, in a high-profile lead role. If you were one of the 20 people who watched Chuck, then you know she’s got the chops to be the next big female action star.

Notable TV roles: Norma Bates, Bates Motel (A&E)

There were times during Bates Motel’s debut season when we weren’t quite sure what the hell was going on. Sometimes, negatively so, but not in regards to Vera Farmiga’s wildly original performance as Norma Bates. The show demands a lot of different things from Norma—nuance/broadness, calculating/insane, doting mother/uncomfortably too comfortable mother—and she delivered.

A lesser actress would have made the role feel more all over the place and erratic than it’s (probably) supposed to, but Farmiga brought a measured quality that made it fascinating instead of laughable. Chances are she won’t get the Emmy nod, but she definitely delivered some of the year’s best work.

Notable TV roles: Elena Gilbert/Katherine Pierce, The Vampire Diaries (The CW)

It’s this writer’s opinion that The Vampire Diaries is quietly the best supernatural series on TV (yes, that includes that sex'n'gore fest on HBO). The argument for the show overall is for another list, but a big part of its success is due to leading lady Nina Dobrev. She’s got ten times the skill you’d expect from a CW show, and we know that because Diaries asks a lot of her.

Over four seasons she’s played human good girl Elena, then vampire Elena, then soulless vampire, and managed to make each variation of the same character feel like a different person, through an array of impressive tweaks in character traits that aren’t really there in the script. Then there’s Katherine, a recurring villain whose character is the antithesis of Elena—and also her doppleganger. Yep, Nina’s been pulling double duty regularly since season two, but you’d be remiss to mistake the two beyond looks. We’re expecting great things from Ms. Dobrev when she inevitably moves on.

Notable TV roles: Deb Morgan, Dexter (Showtime)

The world had mostly forgotten what immeasurable talent Jennifer Carpenter possessed because the bulk of Dexter’s mid-seasons didn’t give her much to do. But as soon as she discovered her brother’s extra-curricular activities, we remembered that she could do more than come up with cool profanities, and we marveled.

She crushed every moment the rejuvenated season seven threw at her as the show finally walked the narrative tightrope it’d been putting off for years, leading up to her arc’s devastating conclusion in the finale. We can’t wait to see where things end up for her in the show’s final year—as well as what she does after.

Notable TV roles: Gemma Teller-Morrow, Sons of Anarchy (FX); Leela, Futurama (FOX, Cartoon Network); Peg Bundy, Married... with Children (FOX)

We’ll admit it: Katey Sagal/Gemma Teller-Morrow, hasn’t had quite an Emmy-worthy year of Sons of Anarchy since season two, which saw her dealing with the emotional fall-out from one of the most harrowing assaults depicted on TV. In fact, this past season Gemma was briefly unbearable, going through the motions of a downward spiral. But the final act of that season reminded us why we championed her performance in the first place.

As the manipulative, shrewd, world-renowned liar and Lady Macbeth-type matriarch of the SAMCRO motorcycle club, Sagal (creator Kurt Sutter’s spouse) is nothing short of a powerhouse. She lies with the truth, she’s gangster as all hell, and she’s a fiercely over-protective, cunning mama bear. The Departed wasn’t Martin Scorsese’s best film either, but he was overdue. And it’s about time the Emmy board put their disapproval of her husband aside and gave Sagal her damn nomination already.

Notable TV roles: Philip Jennings, The Americans (FX); Kevin Walker, Brothers & Sisters (ABC)

Aside from Brothers & Sisters, Matthew Rhys was largely unproven until this season’s debut of The Americans. It didn’t take long for us to become fans, however; in a nice contrast to Keri Russell’s emotional brick-wall, Rhys’ Mischa Philip Jennings is an open book.

Where his wife is steadfast in her loyalty, Philip is the conflicted one, which gives Rhys a ton to work with. Even when he’s shopping in the mall you can sense a longing for a normal life. But 20 minutes later, he’s kicking ass. Welcome to the club of middle-aged emotionally conflicted antiheroes, sir.

Notable TV roles: Fiona Gallagher, Shameless (Showtime)

Shameless doesn’t know whether it’s a drama with ample moments of levity, or a comedy that can get very dark. The show’s lone Emmy nomination (for guest star Joan Cusack) went drama, and so will we. It can be funny, sure, but it can also be crushing. Holding down both tones is the talented Emmy Rossum, often the straight woman to her family’s buffoonish antics, often the anchor in the show’s heaviest moments. William H. Macy is the show’s big name, but on the low, she’s the real star.

Current cast: Khandi Alexander, Kim Dickens, Steve Zahn, Clarke Peters, Wendell Pierce, Rob Brown, India Ennenga, David Morse, Jon Seda, Chris Coy, Melissa Leo, Michiel Huisman

Many thought it an impossible feat to accomplish, but Treme has done it—it gets even less viewers than The Wire did. And with a cast even less inclined to attract Emmy attention (read: black), this critical darling exists in relative anonymity. Which is a terrible shame, because that cast is just as magnetic as the gang from David Simon’s crown jewel.

From Melissa Leo’s dogged civil rights lawyer, Clarke Peters’ Mardi Gras Indian chief, to Kim Dickens’ beleaguered chef, the ensemble cast of Treme is just as colorful as the culture of New Orleans. Every single person brings their A-game. Not that they’ll ever get any more than a couple great reviews for their trouble.

Notable TV roles: Daniel Holden, Rectify (Sundance)

In 2011 we went wild for Damian Lewis’ Emmy-award winning performance as a man thrust back into society, a stranger in a strange land, on Homeland. This year, that mantle was taken up by Aden Young in the Sundance channel’s excellent Rectify. His character Daniel Holden returns to his small hometown, released from prison off the strength of new evidence, after being incarcerated for several years for the alleged rape and murder of his girlfriend. It’s full of every bit of quiet reflection and silent unease that made Lewis’ performance an instant winner. In fact, Young is even more mesmerizing.

Notable TV roles: Jaime Lannister, Game of Thrones (HBO)

Game of Thrones season three will go down as a classic, in large part for that moment. But season three also marked the year that Jaime Lannister went from reprehensible, spoiled, incest-abetting pretty boy to damn near the most sympathetic character on the show—all praises due to Nikolaj Coster-Waldau for pulling off that feat.

Jaime’s trauma could’ve played like a douchebag getting his just desserts; instead, the writers teed things up perfectly for one of the most well-acted monologues on TV this year. From swaggering swordsman in season one, to sarcastic prisoner in season two, and now the emotional vulnerability on display in season three means its time for this guy to graduate from winter-time horror movies to leading-man status.

Notable TV roles: Jax Teller, Sons of Anarchy (FX)

As Jax Teller, the conflicted club president and heir to the throne on Sons of Anarchy, Charlie Hunnam consistently delivers a multi-faceted performance that evolves alongside Jax's growing cynicism and ice-cold execution. The thing is, his day-job as SAMCRO bossman hasn't left the English actor with much free time to appear in other projects during the interim, so the uninitiated who aren't up on the series are mostly unaware of his ability.

He's consistently stepped up as the show's lead, hitting an Emmy-deserving peak in the third season, which found Jax in a constant state of agony and rage during a arc that centered around his son's kidnapping. If FX had just submitted the episode "Bainne" to Emmy voters—that arc's excellent conclusion which found Jax seriously considering whether he deserves to raise a child given the violent life he leads—he would've been a lock for an Outstanding Lead Actor nomination. Hopefully he stands out amongst monsters in this weekend’s Pacific Rim, his first big-screen look.

Notable TV roles: Will Graham, Hannibal (NBC); Lee, The Big C (Showtime)

Dancy is married to Homeland’s Claire Danes. Stop for a second and imagine the amount of facial tics, lip-quivers, cry-faces and expressions of palpable agony that go on in that house when they’re rehearsing for an episode the next day.

Just like Danes, Dancy is currently giving a fantastic, nuanced performance as a mentally damaged protagonist that never feels broad or hammy. Now that Hannibal’s pulled off a Hail Mary renewal, more attention to Dancy’s work and the show itself must be paid if we ever want Bryan Fuller and co. to make it to Red Dragon. Catch up.

Notable TV roles: Several clones, Orphan Black (BBC America)

The buzziest new show of the TV season has a premise that calls for an actress capable of intense heavy lifting. Orphan Black went with a relative unknown, and the result is one of the most surprising performances of the year. Plenty of actors have pulled double duty playing twins, doppelgangers, or in this case, clones—but Maslany played seven on the first season of this upstart. That she's able to give each and every one a distinct personality is remarkable, and as the show gains more popularity, so will she. This is the show your geeky friend (read: us) has been telling you to check out for the past few months. Hop on the bandwagon.

Notable TV roles: Raylan Givens, Justified (FX); Wes Krulik, Damages (FX); Seth Bullock, Deadwood (HBO)

Raylan Givens is one of the coolest badasses on TV, so why is a character worthy of inclusion with the all-time protagonist greats not as well known as his contemporaries, Walter White or Don Draper? Why isn’t Justified doing Sons of Anarchy numbers?

Out of four seasons, Olyphant’s only been nominated once for his quiet performance as Givens, the witty US Marshal with a cowboy sensibility, itchy trigger finger and a bubbling anger and self-hate. But with a show that routinely gives him awesome moments, like throwing a bullet at an enemy and warning “the next one’ll come faster,” he should be contending with the top dogs every year. Now that you’ve finished marathoning every other water-cooler cable show, make Justified your next priority.