Top 10 Gorgeous Underrated Actresses + Actor

The other day, thanks to Deivith Coast (who else...) I watched on the same afternoon two very different films. The first was the spectacular fantasy The Princess Bride which I loved beyond reason and the second was Perfect Sense, a romantic drama/sci-fi wonderfulity. The first one starred Robin Wright (back when she had no business calling herself Penn) and the second one starred Eva Green. And I thought "How come this two extremely beautiful and talented actresses don't get more work/recognition?" And so I decided to compile a Top 10 with gorgeous underrated actresses. The ranking is a bit random because I didn't know how to measure the underrated factor, but I tried my best. Hope you enjoy.

10. Ewan McGregor

He is not an actress. So what? Call the blog police. He is gorgeous and extremely underrated (the only reason that he is 10th is because of his having a penis). He is on a roll lately and I hope it continues because he is an amazing actor.

Best performances: Moulin Rouge!, The Ghost Writer, Beginners.

The Future: The Impossible (good), Jack the Giant Killer (bad) and THE CORRECTIONS, something I am dying to see in case the capital letters didn't give it away.

9. January Jones

January Jones has probably given us the best performance of a character ever seen on a TV. As if that wasn't enough, she is unbelievably beautiful and a killer dresser. But just because Betty Draper (I don't care about her new fat surname) isn't likable and because Jones seems cold and aloof people hate her. But it doesn't matter because I love her enough to compensate.

Best performances: Mad Men, X-Men: First Class.

The Future: A revenge drama called Sweetwater and presumably the X-Men sequel, right?

8. Diane Kruger

There was a time I didn't like Diane Kruger withouth ever having seen her on-screen. It all changed the minute Bridget Von Hammersmark burst into my life. She works a lot in Europe but I think it is time to stop considering her just another pretty face.

Best performances: Inglorious Basterds, Mr. Nobody, Farewell, My Queen.

The Future: French comedy Fly Me to the Moon and Twitlight: This Time with Aliens AKA The Host.

7. Gwyneth Paltrow

Yes, she has an Oscar. One that most people seem to think was undeserved. Not only is her performance superior to the other nominees' (yes, including Blanchett's), she gave one of the most heartfelt and ridiculous acceptance speeches ever. Now, people like to insult her just because the friends she has or because she likes to cook. I  couldn't love her more.

Best performances: Shakespeare in Love, The Talented Mr. Ripley, The Royal Tenembaums, Sylvia, Proof, Two Lovers (and Glee as well!)

The Future: Sex-addiction dramedy Thanks for Sharing to be seen at Toronto, Iron Man 3 (even though she is above the super-hero madness it was great seeing her on The Avengers) and 33 días, directed by Carlos Saura (hell, yes!).

6. Robin Wright

The origin of this post! A wonderful actress that has apparently been punished by Hollywood for being a wife and mother to one of their beloved sons. She should be getting a lot more roles! And she seems so much fun. Who would want to get drunk with her?

Best performances: The Princess Bride, Nine Lives, The Conspirator, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.

The Future: Interesting sounding The Congress, Doris Lessing-adapted Two Mothers, House of Cards (let's hope that the Fincher-Wright alliance holds!) and hopefully another couple episodes in Enlightened's second season.

5. Eva Green

She doesn't do enough films. Maybe she's too picky but then again why on earth she chose to film that Burton crap is a mystery for the ages. It is true, though, that she had a blast with that character so maybe that's it. If I ever get to film a good adaptation of The Golden Compass I'll use her as Serafina Pekkala again (and Nicole will be Marisa, of course) As a disclaimer, I need to say that I still haven't seen Bertolucci's The Dreamers.

Best Performances: Casino Royale, Perfect Sense, Dark Shadows.

The Future: 300: Battle of Artemisia (oh, well... at least Snyder isn't directing.)

4. Rachel McAdams

Even before her big breakout in Mean Girls, I loved her two scenes in The Hot Chick, hilariously called in Spanish, This is not my body! I have only seen the first twenty minutes of The Notebook because, hello, boring, but I love her as much as the people who swear on that movie. I feared for her when she did Sherlock Holmes but now her future is extremely promising...

Best Performances: Mean Girls (duh!), Red Eye, The Family Stone, State of Play, The Time Traveler's Wife, Morning Glory, Midnight in Paris (hateful as she is).

The Future: She'll hit Venice both with Malick!! (To the Wonder) and De Palma! (Passion). Richard Curtis' About Time and Anton Corbijn's A Most Wanted Man. Auteur muse!

3. Evan Rachel Wood

The most promising young actress of her generation falls out of favor of the public eye for falling in love with Marilyn Manson. A tragic (and silly) story, indeed. She is so great that she could be in a commited relationship with a cactus and I'd still love her (not that there's anything wrong about loving Manson). She needs a big juicy role. I just found out she was in Practical Magic (!)

Best performances: Thirteen, Across the Universe, The Wrestler, Whatever Works, True Blood, Mildred Pierce.

The Future: The Necessary Death of Charlie Countryman (crazy cast if there ever was one), dramedy Barefoot and Justin Long-penned comedy A Case of You.

2. Emily Blunt

Emily Blunt was poised for a nomination that never happened for The Devil Wears Prada. She has since then acted brilliantly in a string of not-so-brilliant films as Sunshine Cleaning or The Adjustment Bureau and has been the "girl" of terrible films I haven't seen as The Wolfman or Gulliver's Travels. She's way too good for all this. Plus, she and Krasinski are such a cute couple.

Best performances: The Devil Wears Prada, The Young Victoria, The Adjustment Bureau, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen.

The Future (I have yet to see The Five-Year Engagement and Your Sister's Sister): Looper (yay!), Arthur Newman, Golf Pro (the title is terrible but Colin Firth co-stars) and All You Need is Kill (in the exciting role of Valkyrie One).

1. Keira Knightley

Apparently people never forget or forgive actresses smart enough to escape franchises or blockbusters and go on to work with challenging and interesting directors (see also: Saint Nicole Kidman, patron of the underrated) but I couldn't express my gratitude. She is unbelievably good. The best actress in her age bracket, for sure. I can't get enough of her!

Best Performances: Pride and Prejudice, Atonement, Never Let Me Go, Last Night, A Dangerous Method.

The Future: Seeking a Friend for the End of the World, wondrous masterpiece Anna Karenina, Can A Song Save your Life? and Untouched.

In conclusion, if I'm ever powerful enough, I'll cast all these actresses and actor in the same film and I will die of bliss.