22 Great Performances That Were Nevertheless Overshadowed
It’s hard out there for a character actor. Sure, you get the meatier roles, a steady paycheck and a life of privacy, but if you’re going up against, say, Tom Hanks, it doesn’t matter if you can act his face off. When Oscar time rolls around, he’s getting the nod. Even if you’re just less famous than Tom Hanks, and that’s a pool that includes everyone, it’s hard to get credit where it’s due.
Similarly, “Denzel Washington basically gets universal praise for Training Day (and rightfully so), to the point that I feel like it sort of overshadows how good Ethan Hawke was as well,” Redditor JayQuips told r/Movies. “And I say this as someone whose favorite actor of all time is Denzel. The King Kong scene seems to be the first scene people bring up with this movie, but I actually might put the bathtub scene over it.”
They then asked, “What’s a movie where one actor gets most of the praise despite another actor also having a great performance?” and their fellow Redditors proved that playing second fiddle is really in the eye of the beholder.
Everything Everywhere All at Once
BlacKkKlansman
Amadeus
Good Will Hunting
Foxcatcher
In the Heat of the Night
Tombstone
The Hours
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Dumb and Dumber
The Silence of the Lambs
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
There Will Be Blood
The Revenant
Rain Man
12 Monkeys
Men in Black
No Country for Old Men
Titanic
Schindler’s List
The Dark Knight
Star Wars
