15 Movies And TV Shows With Criminally Underrated Performances

Don't sleep on Sophia Petrillo.
15 Movies And TV Shows With Criminally Underrated Performances

We asked Cracked readers on Facebook what poignant acting moments deserve more credit, and we found more defenses of Game of Thrones than you might imagine! Here are a few funny, disappointing, or generally off-the-radar films and TV shows that feature some surprisingly dramatic performances: 

TELL US NOW: OVERLOOKED ACTING MOMENTS The Golden Girls CRACKED Andy E. loves (and hates) when they get serious on this show: Estelle Getty as Sophia, when she's talking about her son's death and it just finishes with the line... 'My baby is gone.' It's utterly heartbreaking.
TELL US NOW: OVERLOOKED ACTING MOMENTS Stranger Than Fiction GRACKED Christopher P. says Ferrell's got some acting chops: When Will Ferrell first hears the narrator predict his death, he flies into a panic-fueled rage and ransacks his own bedroom. He realizes the life he's wasted is going to come to an end soon and no one will remember him.
TELL US NOW: OVERLOOKED ACTING MOMENTS The Iron Giant CRACKED William w. loves the Superman moment: I mean, a big alien clockwork man voiced by a pre-Fast and/or Furious Vin Diesel shows more heart and soul than any Zack Snyder DCEU movie.
TELL US NOW: OVERLOOKED ACTING MOMENTS SLC Punk! I wasn't ready for this CRACKED Stewart M. says When Stevo discovers Heroin Bob's dead body, Matthew Lillard pulls one of the most heart-wrenching acting performances of his career. We agree that Shaggy Rogers is probably peak Lillard.
TELL US NOW: OVERLOOKED ACTING MOMENTS Magnolia CRACKED Martha C. says Tom Cruise's character here transcends his general ickiness: When Tom Cruise confronts his father on Magnolia I can't stand Tom Cruise, and his character in the movie is vile, but you feel for him in that moment.
TELL US NOW: OVERLOOKED ACTING MOMENTS Game of Thrones CRACKED George B. caught an important moment in the fiery wreckage of this series: the scene in the last episode where Tyrion tries to rearrange the chairs in the meeting hall, only for the new ministers to completely disregard his preparations. He's realizing that if the old rules don't matter, you can build something else.
TELL US NOW: OVERLOOKED ACTING MOMENTS Terminator 2: Judgment Day GRACKED Peter H. says the most-quoted line from the franchise should be (inaudible molten gurgling): Everyone with the 'I'll be back,' but this ending scene gets me in the feels even 30 years later.
TELL US NOW: OVERLOOKED ACTING MOMENTS The Truman Show CRACKED Andre C. says Jim Carrey should have gotten an oscar: At the end when he realizes it's all fake, and he sails his boat to the edge, beating on the wall to get out. He was amazing.
TELL US NOW: OVERLOOKED ACTING MOMENTS The Return of the King CRACKED Ryan B. says the pub scene is subtle but poignant: No one says a word, but their faces tell the story of four people who will never feel at home again because their journey has changed them in ways that anyone not at that table could ever understand.
TELL US NOW: OVERLOOKED ACTING MOMENTS Harold and Maude This is Maude Harakis girlfriend CRACKED James o. appreciates the subtlety that's lost in today's Easter eggsploitation films: I love the moment when Bud Cort notices Ruth Gordon's concentration camp tattoo. It's not commented on, nor is it brought up later. The film makers obviously trusted the audience to be smart enough to figure out it's part of the reason why Maude embraces life the way she does.
TELL US NOW: OVERLOOKED ACTING MOMENTS Warrior WAI GRACKED Heather R. promises that this is the best movie you haven't seen: Tom Hardy and Joel Edgerton have this amazing heartbreaking moment that starts in the ring and then they walk out together, then everyone watching cries and says they're going to call their brother.
TELL US NOW: OVERLOOKED ACTING MOMENTS Rambo: First Blood GRACKED Alec G. says Stallone is more than just a mumbling himbo: Hearing Rambo talk about his friend getting blown in half, then just losing it and crying his eyes out. If anyone says Stallone can't act I point them to that monologue.
TELL US NOW: OVERLOOKED ACTING MOMENTS Split GRACKED Donna C. says 2014 was just a bad year to star in a good horror film: James McAvoy deserved a damn Oscar for that acting performance but they don't even give horror movies a nod!
TELL US NOW: OVERLOOKED ACTING MOMENTS Armageddon CRACKED Stuart B. says ol' Billy Fichtner saved this movie: when the guys on the rock are trying to disarm the bomb so they can continue trying to save the world. The acting between Bruce Willis and William Fichtner in that scene is incredible, so much tension.
TELL US NOW: OVERLOOKED ACTING MOMENTS Austin Powers CRACKED Alex B. thinks there's some real weight behind Mike Myers' goofy words: Dr. Evil's story about his childhood is legitimately one of the best movie monologues.
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