Outstanding Actors: Five Performances That Didn't Get Their Due (Yet)

For me, another awards season means one thing: another chance to be disappointed. If you are like me you may find yourself scratching your head at the two hours of the SAGS, Oscars or the Golden Globes (if you make it that far) wondering: is this really the definitive best Hollywood had to offer this year? Well, no – probably not. It’s even more confusing when I think about the lack of black talent that we see on many of these awards shows. I mean, in 2011 alone, out of over two hundred major releases only about a dozen had black leads. And only one of those movies, The Help, garnered any sort of recognition from the Hollywood Powers That Be. Well, that sucks – but in light of the awards season buzz I thought I’d compile my own list, or ballot if you will, of black performances that I feel never really got their due as far as accolades are concerned. Yes, some of these may be totally out of left field, and it’s impossible to distill the full breadth of unrecognized black talent down to five people, but these are my personal favorites. And frankly, if I live in a world where Zooey Deschanel can get a Golden Globe nod for her annoying Manic Pixie Dream Girl act on “New Girl,” I reserve the right to be as random as I like.

Words by Zeba Blay

1. Chiwetel Ejiofor in Kinky Boots

Chiwitel Ejofor is one of those actors who, for whatever reason, seems to be stuck in this perpetual purgatory between character actor and leading man. This makes absolutely no sense to me. He has all that goods, and in 2005’s Kinky Boots he proved that not only can he carry a film, he can do so wearing six-inch thigh high PVC boots. Ejiofor is known for his darker, more serious roles but as Lola, a larger-than-life drag queen with a fetish for footwear, he managed to bring depth to his performance whilst selling a comedic role. In the clip above, he demonstrates exactly what it means steal a scene.

2. Leon as David Ruffin in The Temptations

The Tempations is, in my mind, the crowning jewel of the era of black music biopics of the 90s if only for one man, so awesome that he doesn’t even need a last name: Leon. He starred as the talented but troubled David Ruffin, whose ego and drug problems tore the 60s doo wop group apart. The movie certainly isn’t flawless, switching sporadically from something like melodrama to humor (when I don’t think the intention was for the audience to be laughing), but it’s so worth it.  My favorite scene in the film comes when The Temptations decide to finally kick Ruffin out of the group. At this point, he’s reached new, lofty heights of egomania, which Leon plays to over-the-top perfection. He also delivers a line so quotable I still fail to understand why there isn’t an internet meme or dubstep remix of it yet: “Ain’t nobody came to see you Otis!”

3. Sophie Okonedo in Skin

It took nearly a year for this 2008 British film to make its way to the USA, and when it did it received very little attention outside of the festival circuit. Although she’s most known for her supporting role in Hotel Rwanda, Skin is really where Sophie Okonedo’s  natural and soulful approach to acting shines. It is the true life story of Sandra Laing, a South African woman born to white parents who, due to simple genetics, physically appears to be mixed-race. This, obviously, causes a whole wealth of difficulties as she comes of age in apartheid South Africa.

4. Samuel L. Jackson in Black Snake Moan

Black Snake Moan was a 2006 film that generated a certain level of controversy – mostly because its plot revolved around Samuel L. Jackson’s character chaining a scantily clad Christina Ricci to his radiator for a good portion of the movie. Despite the hype around all that, the film was neither a financial nor critical success, with few people knowing what to make of its B-movie and exploitation film influences, nor the inexplicable presence of Justin Timberlake (little did we know the joy that would come with In Time). Still, Sam Jackson’s portrayal of Lazarus, a cantankerous, religious farmer and blues guitarist is one of his most refreshingly subtle and against-type roles. Oh, and who knew that he could sing?

5. Adepero Oduye in Pariah

Unsurprisingly, one of last year’s best films, Pariah seems to have gone under the radar (though whether or not this might change with Academy Award noms remains to be seen, and the movie was very well received at Sundance). Adepero Oduye is Alike, a seventeen year-old lesbian teen, discovering herself whilst simultaneously hiding her sexuality from her family.  It’s the type of meaty role for a young black female that we see in Hollywood rarely, and a movie that tackles a part of the black experience for some that we almost never see on the silver screen. It’s the fact that this is Adepero Oduye’s debut as a lead that makes Pariah so uncommonly powerful for me. She’s young, but she commands the attention of the audience as if she were a cinema veteran. Visit http://pariahmovie.com/ to find out where the movie will be playing. 

What do you think? Who's on your list?

* Contributor Zeba Blay's website: http://zebablay.com, @zblay on Twitter