My continuing countdown of the Top 5 Most Underrated Actors Today

Number 3:

Guy Pearce

This guy, no pun intended, is one actor who I truly do think is HUGELY underrated, maybe more so than even all the others. He has been everything from a time traveling scientist to a French nobelman to a man who is seeking revenge for his dead wife bu can't remember what happened 5 minutes ago. He has been a lover, a villain, a genius, and a sympathetic sob story. So here is my run down of a few reasons why this actor should be considered a true force in film.

Well I am going to start with my favorite movie of Guy Pearce's, and also the one that first showed me the great acting skills of him. This is a film called Memento. The easiest way to explain this movie is to say that it is about a man who the same night he and his wife were attacked he was injured in such a way that he no longer can make new memories. After this his wife is dead, and he wants to find her killers, and also the men who caused this injury for him, whom he assumes are the same ones. How does he do this? Notes. Lots and lots of notes. He tattoos notes on his body, he writes them down on paper to a certain degree, he uses polaroids to keep track of important things, people, and places. If he talks too long with someone he might forget what the conversation was about. If he wanted to alter his own recolections all he would have to do is tattoo one thing on himself that said something different that what he wrote on paper. So this is where you might be asking yourself, "Well what about all of this makes Guy Pearce so great?" Well I will tell you. He never once tries to make you feel sorry for him, or at least not for long. See this movie isn't about his search for the killers, or for his search for the truth even. Yes, it is what seems to be central to the plot, but really this movie is about the importance of memory, and how fragile it really is. The most wonderful line in the movie, that essentially explains the whole central theme is this, "I ahve to believe in a world outside my own mind. I have to believe my actions still have meaning even if I can't remember them. I have to believe when my eyes are closed the worlds still here. Do I believe the worlds still here? Is it still out there? Yeah. We all need mirrors to remind ourselve who we are. I'm no different." Essentially, see this movie if you like movies that could still be called cinema, and that make you actually use your brain a bit.

This next one is a great movie based on an old classic, The Count Of Monte Cristo. I don't think this needs a lot of introduction or explanation considering how old it is. So I will get right to it. Guy Pearce plays the villain in this one who frames the central character (played by Jim Caviezal in a wonderful role, showing he can play someone other than Jesus) for conspracy with Napoleon. He than steals his friend who he has framed's girlfriend and his life. He squanders his money, and his title, and essentially gets what is coming to him. But he plays the part perfectly. Never once do you remember that he is an actor playing a part. It is an excellent adaptation to the classic book, and excellent performance in a complex role, that is as classic as villain roles get.

This next one is a movie that was not well received, was not well played, and was only a fan for the critics. So why am I mentioning it? Because it is a damn fine movie, and a damn fine part. It is called The Proposition and it takes place in Australia during the time when Australia was first being settled and was essentailly still full of criminals and was very much like the United States old west. Pearce plays the middle of three brothers. The oldest is such a horrendously evil man that the local law when they catch Pearce and his younger brother offer Pearce a deal even after Pearce and his younger brother have raped and killed people. Bring in your older brother and we let you both go unharmed and your crimes forgotten. Pearce than has to make a choice. Either let pretend to take the deal, run off, and let them keep his younger brother and eventually hang him. Or catch up with his older brother, bring him in, and let the law hang him instead. Pearce agrees to the proposition and heads out after his older brother. You can almost feel the tension all throughout the film of Pearce trying to make a decision as to what he is going to do. The movie keeps you guessing as to what his ultimate decision will be right up until the end. This one is a must see for western fans, and fans of great old time cinema really. The whole feel of the film is more of a time long forgotten in movies. There are a few scenes that are a little rough getting through, but otherwise, just an excellent movie showcasing our number 3 here.

Well a few honorable mentions and that will do it for number 3. First of all, The Time Machne, a reimagining of the classic H.G. Wells book. Check this one out if you don't mind them monkeying with the story a bit. L.A. Confidentail, honestly, if you haven't seen this one yet, what are you waiting for? It has been out since 1997, was nominated for several Oscars, and is just a great movie about Hollywood of the 1950s. It has Guy Pearce, Russel Crowe, Kevin Spacey, Danny DeVito, and Kim Basinger. With a cast like that you know it has to be good. Traitor and The Hurt Locker are also good ones, but not really his movies, and in fact in The Hurt Locker he has a very tiny role. These two are just worth mentioning because they are just great movies.

There you have it, our number 3, Guy Pearce. Someone with some very different roles under his belt. Most people don't even know his name, they only know him as "that guy in that movie that I liked." Be sure to check these ones out when you can. You won't be sorry.