Say, for instance, Scarlett Johansson, the internationally renown A-lister whose stronghold on the box office this past weekend was remarkable. As Marvel’s ass-kicking Black Widow, Johansson played a major role in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, the superhero blockbuster that now holds the title for the biggest April theatrical opening of all time. On the smaller scale, meanwhile, Johansson gave a career-best performance as an alien seductress in the beguiling indie Under the Skin, which grossed $140,000 in only four theaters and posted the second biggest independent film debut, trailing behind only Wes Anderson’s The Grand Budapest Hotel. From multiplexes to art-houses, Johansson was everywhere this weekend, proving that Hollywood megastars can still dominate.

For every Scarlett Johansson, however, there are dozens of movie stars who seem much more of our own reality. They’re the film industry’s blue-collar workers, often vastly talented and always tireless, yet rarely, if ever, receiving even half as much mainstream notoriety as the ScarJo’s of the game. They’re the kinds of performers who’ll be in movies like Captain America, steal scenes away from the cast’s bigger name players, and then head to work for their next role while the superstars get all the press.

And when these perennially overlooked actors do finally land those desirable leading roles, they’re in films like Cesar Chavez, the humbly made biopic starring the great character actor Michael Pena—what should’ve been Pena’s mainstream coming-out party has barely registered beyond diligent critics’ reviews since opening last month.

Yet, as long as they keep giving first-rate performances, cinephiles will continue to support. With that, familiarize yourself with the best of the lot—here are 10 actors who’ve deserved more recognition in the last 10 years.