Ten who should get paid

Now that you've had time to contemplate the Hollywood Reporter's list of the ten highest-paid actresses in film, let us now praise a like number of female thespians who aren't upper echelon superstars, but who, judged strictly on talent, ought to be.

In narrowing this list to ten, I eliminated a number of actresses who, while I still believe they are criminally underappreciated by the filmgoing public and the studios who pander to them, have at least gained recognition in the form of Academy Awards or multiple nominations for same. That set aside such deserving practitioners of the thespian craft as Frances McDormand, Jennifer Connelly, Diane Lane, and Joan Allen. Each of these actresses gets plenty of play in the annual Oscar voting, but doesn't have the marquee power of the ten on the Hollywood Reporter list. This despite the fact that McDormand and Allen may be two of the most accomplished film actors of the past half-century, and that Lane and Connelly — especially Connelly — combine conventional beauty and superlative acting talent to a degree rivaled by few others in cinematic history.

I also decided to omit a few names who have done, or are doing, their best work on television. This group included Lauren Graham, who is nothing short of marvelous every week on Gilmore Girls; Allison Janney, the real star of The West Wing; Mary McCormack, Janney's newest costar; Kathryn Morris, whose show Cold Case I don't care for much, but who is an arresting and compelling actor with star quality; and Law & Order: Criminal Intent's Kathryn Erbe, who, as I've written previously, may be the most underrated actor of either gender on TV today.

A third group I kept off this list, but who ought to be on a list somewhere, are actresses should have become bigger stars, but whose opportunity for appropriate recognition is probably now past. Such ought not to be the case, but I don't make — nor do I agree with — the "rules" of Hollywood's age-exclusive POV. From what little I've seen of these women recently, they're still capable of many years of stellar work, but that work will likely come in smaller roles as mothers and grandmothers, as is the youth culture's wont. Among those I checked off reluctantly in this category were Karen Allen, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Annette O'Toole, Judy Davis, and Debra Winger. (By the way, if you've not seen the documentary Searching for Debra Winger, which deals insightfully with the age issue for women in Hollywood, you should.)

That leaves us with the following worthies, each of whom should be a far more major star than she is, and certainly than many of the lesser but better-known talents at the top of the food chain are. I didn't attempt to rank these; they're in alphabetical order by last name.

1. Viola Davis. One of the finest American character actresses working today. She's done a series of recent guest shots on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, for which I'm delighted that she's getting paid. But I'd rather see her doing rich, powerful yet subtle film roles like those she assayed in Out of Sight, Antwone Fisher, and Steven Soderbergh's remake of Solaris.

2. Zooey Deschanel. She's probably too young to brand as "overlooked," but she has the kind of unique talent that will likely fly under the radar her entire career. Her amazing turn in All the Real Girls revealed the depth of her range.

3. Linda Fiorentino. I'm told that she often isn't considered for major roles because she's regarded as "difficult." Perhaps she is, but her scheming antiheroine in The Last Seduction is one of the 10 best female roles of the past decade, and Fiorentino slams it out of the ballpark like Barry Bonds on BALCO. She's also been terrific in such little-seen pictures as Gotcha! and Liberty Stands Still.

4. Catherine Keener. She seems incapable of a bad performance, even though she's been stuck in quite a few lackluster, if high profile, films (S1m0ne, Death to Smoochy, Full Frontal). But make it a point to see her in something really good (Lovely and Amazing, Being John Malkovich) and you'll see something truly special.

5. Natascha McElhone. Easily the most memorable thing about a great film (Ronin) and several less-than-great ones (The Truman Show, FearDotCom, Solaris). A combination of solid acting ability with a singular look and voice.

6. Emily Mortimer. She plays a scene in Lovely and Amazing that may be the toughest thing I've ever seen an actress do on screen: stand exposed to the camera as another actor criticizes all of the things about her body that are imperfect. And she plays it beautifully.

7. Samantha Morton. Okay, she's been nominated for Oscars twice (for Sweet and Lowdown and In America) and could easily have been nominated a third time (for Minority Report), but mention her name to most people and they'll say, "Samantha who?" She can disappear into a role like no other actress of her generation.

8. Molly Parker. Like Chloë Sevigny in The Brown Bunny, Parker will probably always be thought of — and in many quarters, scorned for — taking a role (in Wayne Wang's The Center of the World) that required her to commit acts on camera most mainstream actresses would refuse. But it's that daring spirit that makes her such an intriguing presence to watch.

9. Imelda Staunton. Like Viola Davis, Staunton can take the tiniest of roles and transform it into a showpiece without stealing any thunder from the other actors around her. Her starring turn in Vera Drake may finally earn her some recognition on this side of the Atlantic.

10. Lili Taylor. I know at least one SSTOL reader was waiting for this name to come up — the downside of a last name near the end of the alphabet. Taylor's gift is also her curse: she's so skilled at creating and embodying a character that it's easy not to recognize her as she moves from role to role. I still like her best as Jojo in Mystic Pizza (and I wish her Mystic costar Annabeth Gish were getting more quality roles, too), though she's done tons of outstanding work since then, in films as varied as Ransom, Pecker, and High Fidelity.