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The Undiscovered: Why are these stars not stars yet?
Every once in awhile you run across a certain actor or actress who has a really winning or powerful presence, and is good in just about everything they do - yet they never quite seem to break out for some reason. I call them the “undiscovered stars.”
Elizabeth Banks: She’s in Invincible, which opens this Friday. Her most prominent role in a mainstream film was as Jeff Bridges’ wife in Seabiscuit. She was also Betty Brant, the secretary in the Spider-Man movies, and she was one of Leonardo DiCaprio’s conquests in Catch Me If You Can. Oh, and there’s her memorable, um, duet with a shower head in The 40-Year-Old Virgin. She has always had a bright presence masking a tough central core. Banks strikes me as the kind of blonde Hitchcock would cast if he were still around.
Amy Adams: Another Catch Me if you Can vet, Adams is the very definition of downright lovable. A well-deserved Oscar nomination for Junebug this year raised her profile, yet she’s still not widely known to the masses. Playing WIll Ferrell’s “sweet” girlfriend, her few scenes briefly enlivened Talladega Nights, which I found mostly a chore to watch otherwise.
Tea Leoni: Her ace comic timing mightily impressed me when she did the TV series Flying Blind and The Naked Truth, but she still hasn’t found a movie role that fully utilized her skills. Fun With Dick and Jane came sorta close, but that movie was such a missed opportunity all around. Flirting with Disaster, with Ben Stiller and Lily Tomlin, probably came closest to making good use of Leoni, but she’s still never broken through as she should have. A real shame.
These are only a few examples; I know there are many others. Who are some of your favorite “undiscovered” stars? I’ve noticed I’ve picked all women — who are some of the guys?
Permalink | Comments (2) | Categories: Celebrities
Comments
By SRCputt
August 23, 2006 9:22 PM | Link to this
And the man I’ll mention also has worked with Atom Egoyan. But I became a fan of Elias Koteas watching Some Kind of Wonderful. Even while playing a delinquent, his intelligence shined through. His is one of those names that always makes me smile when I see it in the credits.By SRCputt
August 23, 2006 9:17 PM | Link to this
First, another woman. I became a fan of Sarah Polley’s watching The Sweet Hereafter. Dawn of the Dead showed she can handle different genres. But she doesn’t seem interested in stardom.