As we enter the final week of 2018, we’re starting to see the Oscars frontrunners emerge. Unfortunately, that means there is very little room for surprises, especially in the acting categories where it remains five nominees, rather than the 8-10 or whatever it is for Best Picture. And that, sadly, means that a lot of performances are going to get overlooked. It happens every year that sometimes a movie flies under the radar and that means terrific work by the cast goes unrecognized. Just as there are more great movies out there than people sometimes know, there’s a lot of great acting out there that deserves some love.
Just as with the year’s most underrated actresses, there was an embarrassment of riches to choose from, so many that I finally got to include Tom Cruise on the list! I don’t think I’ve ever put Cruise on anything but damn he’s incredible in Mission: Impossible-Fallout, literally breaking his own foot in the process. Dude deserves some love for that. I also found myself leaning towards roles in films that deal heavily with social justice, as that issue grows in importance to me and in the country as a whole. And I managed to keep it duo free for once, although I seriously considered both John C. Reilly and Joaquin Phoenix for The Sisters Brothers.
So here you go, check out my picks for the most underrated male performances of 2018. You can find all of our End of Year coverage here!
Daveed Diggs, Blindspotting (review)
Anthony Ramos, Monsters and Men (review)
Jonah Hill, Don’t Worry He Won’t Get Far on Foot (review)
Nick Robinson, Love, Simon (review)
Shia LaBeouf, Borg/McEnroe (review)
Jason Clarke, Chappaquiddick (review)
Ben Kingsley, An Ordinary Man (review)
Tom Cruise, Mission: Impossible-Fallout (review)
Irrfan Khan, Puzzle (review)
Charlie Hunnam, Papillon (review)
John C. Reilly, The Sisters Brothers (review)
Yoo Ah-in, Burning (review)
Michael B. Jordan, Creed II (review)
Colin Firth, The Mercy
Russell Hornsby, The Hate U Give
