The Most Underrated Actresses of the 21st Century

Some performers seem to quietly stack up great roles while the spotlight drifts elsewhere. This list focuses on actresses whose filmography, training, and range tell a bigger story than the buzz around them suggests. You will find artists who jump from indie dramas to genre films to limited series with the same steady craft.

Each entry highlights specific projects, awards, and career choices that show why these actresses deserve more attention. The goal is to give you concrete information you can use to explore their work, from breakthrough turns to stage credentials and international backgrounds.

Rebecca Hall

Rebecca Hall has built a body of work that moves from period pieces to contemporary thrillers without visible seams. She led and produced the literary drama ‘Passing’, directed the psychological chiller ‘Resurrection’, and anchored studio projects like ‘Godzilla vs. Kong’. She trained at Cambridge, performed with the Peter Hall Company, and brings stage discipline to screen roles that require precise vocal control and calibrated emotion.

Her filmography includes collaborations with major directors in ‘Vicky Cristina Barcelona’, ‘The Town’, and ‘The Prestige’. On television she carried ‘Parade’s End’ and showed comedic timing in ‘Tales from the Loop’. She also writes and directs, which gives her performances a structural awareness of story rhythm and scene architecture.

Melanie Lynskey

Melanie Lynskey’s career stretches from early festival discoveries to acclaimed streaming dramas. She starred in ‘Yellowjackets’ and earned recognition for ‘Candy’, while her film work spans ‘Heavenly Creatures’, ‘I Don’t Feel at Home in This World Anymore’, and ‘The Intervention’. She is known for nuanced portrayals of everyday people under pressure, often using subtle shifts in posture and breath to convey interior conflict.

Her range includes comedic supporting runs on ‘Two and a Half Men’ and ‘Togetherness’ and a chilling turn in ‘The Last of Us’. She chooses projects with strong ensembles and character centric scripts, and her performances consistently elevate the emotional credibility of the stories around her.

Carrie Coon

Carrie Coon brings theater steel to screen roles, with a Tony nominated background that informs her command of language and stakes. She broke out on TV with ‘The Leftovers’ and ‘Fargo’, then moved to prestige period storytelling in ‘The Gilded Age’. On film she added dimension to ‘Gone Girl’, worked ensemble in ‘Widows’, and balanced blockbuster energy in ‘Ghostbusters: Afterlife’.

Her technique includes crisp diction and a grounded physicality that supports complex characters, from grieving mothers to wry social strivers. She often collaborates with writers who prize subtext heavy dialogue, and she turns those scripts into layered performances that reward close viewing.

Gugu Mbatha-Raw

Gugu Mbatha Raw trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and built early credits with the Royal Shakespeare Company. She broke through with ‘Belle’, showed action chops in ‘Beyond the Lights’, and demonstrated high concept range in ‘The Cloverfield Paradox’. On television she anchored ‘Loki’ as a morally ambiguous judge and delivered an acclaimed anthology performance in ‘Black Mirror’ with ‘San Junipero’.

Her career reflects an ability to move between historical drama and speculative fiction while maintaining emotional clarity. She also leads socially conscious projects and produces select titles, which signals a long term strategy to shape roles that match her skill set.

Hong Chau

Hong Chau’s path includes scene stealing work in ‘Downsizing’ that led to high profile roles in ‘The Whale’ and ‘The Menu’. She blends precise comedic timing with rigorous dramatic focus, making her a reliable anchor in ensemble casts. Her early experience in independent cinema trained her for character studies with minimal exposition.

On TV she stood out in ‘Watchmen’ and ‘Homecoming’, showing control over tone and pace across genres. She often chooses roles that explore identity and power within tightly constructed worlds, and her performances help define the stakes of those settings.

Jessie Buckley

Jessie Buckley combines classical vocal training with bold role choices in ‘Wild Rose’, ‘Men’, and ‘I’m Thinking of Ending Things’. She handles musical performance and psychological horror with equal assurance, using voice and rhythm to guide character arcs. Her stage work in major London productions adds stamina and textual awareness to her screen presence.

In limited series she brought emotional precision to ‘Chernobyl’ and ‘Fargo’. She frequently partners with directors who experiment with structure, and she provides the connective tissue that keeps daring scripts intelligible and affecting.

Tatiana Maslany

Tatiana Maslany demonstrated extraordinary range in ‘Orphan Black’, where she built distinct characters with unique gait, vocal timbre, and micro expressions. She later balanced comedy and superhero action in ‘She Hulk’ and sustained legal procedural beats within a genre framework. Her improv background sharpens her timing and adaptability on set.

She has also led independent films like ‘Stronger’ and ‘The Other Half’, proving that intimate drama benefits from her detail heavy approach. Casting directors rely on her for high concept projects that need grounded humanity to land.

Vicky Krieps

Vicky Krieps rose to international attention with ‘Phantom Thread’, where she matched a veteran co star through understated power and subtle tempo control. She has since curated a global filmography that includes ‘Corsage’, ‘Bergman Island’, and ‘Old’. She works in multiple languages and collaborates with European auteurs and Hollywood directors alike.

Her choices often center on women asserting agency within rigid systems. She favors scripts that leave room for silence and ambiguity, and she uses that space to shape memorable character trajectories without overt exposition.

Andrea Riseborough

Andrea Riseborough moves effortlessly from biographical portraits to genre subversions. She has portrayed figures in ‘Battle of the Sexes’, headlined the indie ‘To Leslie’, and delivered haunting turns in ‘Mandy’ and ‘Possessor’. She prepares through deep research, accent work, and physical transformation that remains grounded rather than showy.

Her television work, including ‘Bloodline’ and ‘ZeroZeroZero’, shows a command of long form arcs. She often attaches early to daring projects and helps them secure financing, which underscores her influence behind the camera as well.

Mary Elizabeth Winstead

Mary Elizabeth Winstead blends action readiness with dramatic versatility. She carried ’10 Cloverfield Lane’ with sustained tension, led ‘Kate’ with fight choreography competence, and joined ensemble franchises with ‘Birds of Prey’. She also records music, which informs her sense of rhythm and breath control during high intensity scenes.

On TV she won praise for ‘Fargo’ and ‘Ahsoka’, where she handled lore heavy dialogue with clarity. She selects roles that mix physical demands with character growth, and her performances remain precise even when the scale gets large.

Mackenzie Davis

Mackenzie Davis pairs indie credibility with sci fi literacy. She anchored the emotional core of ‘Halt and Catch Fire’, delivered a defining anthology episode in ‘Black Mirror’ with ‘San Junipero’, and navigated franchise action in ‘Terminator: Dark Fate’. She is comfortable with technical jargon and makes futurist dialogue feel conversational.

Her film choices include ‘Always Shine’, ‘Tully’, and ‘The Martian’, where she collaborates with directors who value ensemble interplay. She tends to choose scripts that examine ambition, mentorship, and the cost of innovation.

Elizabeth Debicki

Elizabeth Debicki’s height and movement training give her a striking physical vocabulary on screen. She handled time bending set pieces in ‘Tenet’, embodied a globally recognized public figure in ‘The Crown’, and held her own in ‘Widows’. She trained at the Victorian College of the Arts and uses classical technique to support modern characters.

Her roles often require a mix of elegance and strategic restraint. She chooses projects with technical demands and complex power dynamics, and her performances maintain clarity in intricate plots.

Wunmi Mosaku

Wunmi Mosaku built a foundation in British television before breaking out internationally. She won acclaim for ‘His House’ and brought authority to ‘Lovecraft Country’ and ‘We Own This City’. She also appears in the Marvel world with ‘Loki’, showing ease with large scale storytelling.

Her stage background and documentary training inform her character research, especially for roles tied to systemic themes. She brings specificity to accents and registers, which supports authenticity across a wide range of settings.

Noémie Merlant

Noémie Merlant emerged globally with ‘Portrait of a Lady on Fire’ and followed with boundary pushing roles in ‘Paris, 13th District’ and ‘Tár’. She directs as well as acts, which gives her an editor’s sense of scene rhythm and shot relationship. She often works in French and English, adding international flexibility to her resume.

Her performances tend to explore desire, ambition, and artistic rivalry through fine grained facial work. She favors collaborators who build worlds through composition and silence, and she meets those demands with controlled intensity.

Nina Hoss

Nina Hoss is a cornerstone of contemporary German cinema with major collaborations in ‘Barbara’, ‘Phoenix’, and ‘Tár’. She trained at the Ernst Busch Academy and carries a repertory mindset into film sets, enabling rapid tonal shifts without losing character logic. She works regularly with director Christian Petzold, where trust allows for daring minimalism.

On television she reached new audiences through ‘Homeland’ and ‘Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan’. She often portrays professionals navigating ethical gray zones, and her performances map those choices with meticulous precision.

Carla Gugino

Carla Gugino has sustained a long career by switching between genre ensembles and prestige mini series. She anchored ‘Gerald’s Game’, powered ‘The Haunting of Hill House’, and headlined ‘Leopard Skin’. Her film credits include ‘Sin City’ and ‘Watchmen’, where she adapted to stylized worlds without losing human texture.

She frequently collaborates with showrunners and directors known for visual experimentation. She brings reliability to production schedules and versatility to casting needs, which is why she remains a go to presence across formats.

Rinko Kikuchi

Rinko Kikuchi earned global recognition with ‘Babel’ and later combined art house choices with large canvases like ‘Pacific Rim’. She works in Japanese and English and brings physical expressiveness to roles with limited dialogue. Her performances often foreground curiosity and resilience through movement and gaze.

On television she broadened her reach with ‘Tokyo Vice’. She selects projects that cross cultural lines and technological worlds, and she adapts smoothly to different production styles and crews.

Teyonah Parris

Teyonah Parris bridges independent drama and franchise storytelling. She stood out in ‘Chi Raq’, joined the horror lineage with ‘Candyman’, and moved into the Marvel sphere with ‘WandaVision’ and ‘The Marvels’. She trained at Juilliard, which underpins her vocal technique and stage readiness.

Her characters often navigate transformation and public scrutiny, and she grounds those themes with measured shifts in tempo and tone. She also produces, demonstrating a broader commitment to shaping narratives behind the scenes.

Haley Lu Richardson

Haley Lu Richardson built early momentum with ‘The Edge of Seventeen’ and ‘Split’, then proved dramatic depth in ‘Columbus’ and ‘Five Feet Apart’. She excels at quiet scenes where small choices carry emotional weight, often using stillness and eye line to draw the audience in. Her dance background helps with physical control on set.

On television she gained new visibility with ‘The White Lotus’. She chooses scripts that center young adults facing moral crossroads, and she plays those beats with clarity and restraint.

Greta Lee

Greta Lee expanded from sharp comedy in ‘Girls’ and ‘Russian Doll’ to a widely praised lead in ‘Past Lives’. She balances understated emotion with precise timing, which makes her a strong partner for dialogue heavy scripts. Her stage work and voice acting add range across media.

She also contributes to creative development, helping shape character backstories and cultural context in writers’ rooms. Her recent film roles show that she can carry intimate stories while meeting the demands of careful framing and long takes.

Share the actresses you would add to this list in the comments so everyone can discover more great performances.