Best Actor of the Decade Tournament

Round 2 - Top 64

Patrick Wilson vs. Will Ferrell
Quantity: Wilson's been pretty busy since 2000, starring in 13 films while Ferrell has been even busier, starring in 28. Round - Ferrell.
Quality: Unfortunately for Ferrell, he seems to always play the same character. The exception being, of course, the great Winter Passing. He was even very good in Stranger Than Fiction. However, Wilson was great in Evening and Little Children and superb in the underrated Hard Candy. Round - Wilson.
Oscar Nominations: Neither have been nominated.
Shared Screen: They have not shared the screen.
Extra Curriculars: Wilson was in the cable movie Angels in America but Ferrell, of course, has done Saturday Night Live as well as great guest starring roles on great TV shows like Eastbound and Down and the amazing Undeclared. Round - Ferrell.
Winner = Ferrell.

Jake Gyllenhaal vs. Tom Cruise
Quantity: Gyllenhaal and Cruise are very close in the quantity category. Gyllenhaal has done 12 films and Cruise only 11. Round - Gyllenhaal.
Quality: Cruise's best work, unfortunately is pre-2000. Since then, the only really great performance he gave was his hilarious turn in Tropic Thunder. Meanwhile, Gyllenhaal has been killing it in indies (Donnie Darko), war films (Jarhead), thrillers (Zodiac) and, of course, romantic art films (Brokeback Mountain). Round - Gyllenhaal.
Oscar Nominations: Cruise hasn't been nominated this decade and Gyllenhaal got his first nomination for Brokeback Mountain. Round - Gyllenhaal.
Shared Screen: They have not shared the screen.
Extra Curriculars: Tom Cruise is crazy as hell. Round - Gyllenhaal.
Winner = Gyllenhaal.

Ian McKellan vs. Javier Bardem
Quantity: Starring in the Lord of the Rings trilogy AND the X-Men trilogy helped McKellan's 12 beat out Bardem's 9. Round - McKellan.
Quality: Unfortunately for McKellan, I've never seen either of those series so I can't tell how great he was in them. However, Bardem was AMAZING in No Country for Old Men and Vicky Cristina Barcelona. Round - Bardem.
Oscar Nominations: McKellan was nominated for the first Lord of the Rings film while Bardem was nominated for Before Night Falls and won for No Country for Old Men. Round - Bardem.
Shared Screen: They have not shared the screen.
Extra Curriculars: McKellan is a Sir! Round - McKellan.
Tie Breaker: I like both of these actors very much. McKellan is definitely one of the coolest actors on the planet. However, Bardem gave one of the best performances of the decade in No Country for Old Men and that has to count for something. Round - Bardem.
Winner = Bardem.

Don Cheadle vs. Ryan Gosling
Quantity: Gosling has only done 10 films in 10 years while Cheadle has been busier, doing 21. Round - Cheadle.
Quality: They've both been great in a lot of films. Gosling's got The Believer, Half Nelson and Lars and the Real Girl to pair up against Cheadle's Traffic, Crash and Hotel Rwanda. However, Cheadle was also in the Ocean's films and you know how I feel about them. Round - Gosling.
Oscar Nominations: They were both nominated once. Cheadle for Hotel Rwanda and Gosling for Half Nelson. Tie.
Shared Screen: They went head to head in the indie film The United States of Leland. Cheadle was great as a morally ambivalent social worker but it was Gosling's film playing a troubled youth. Round - Gosling.
Extra Curriculars: Cheadle's appeared on ER and Gosling's got a kick ass band called Dead Man's Bones. Round - Gosling.
Winner = Gosling.

Ben Affleck vs. Denzel Washington
Quantity: It seems like Affleck has been laying low lately but he's still done 20 films compared to Washington's 12. Round - Affleck.
Quality: Affleck's best work in films like Boiler Room and Hollywoodland don't even compare to Washington's best work in Training Day, Inside Man and American Gangster. Round - Washington.
Oscar Nominations: Affleck hasn't been nominated this decade but Washington won for Training Day. Round - Washington.
Shared Screen: They have not shared the screen.
Extra Curriculars: Affleck directed the great Gone Baby Gone, plus he proved he has a sense of humor about himself by appearing in Jimmy Kimmel's 'I'm F**king Ben Affleck' AND he's a Red Sox fan! Round - Affleck.
Tie Breaker: I may actually prefer Affleck although he's ultimately given me little reason to like him. However, Washington is clearly the better actor, even if he hasn't been doing his best work lately. Round - Washington.
Winner = Washington.

Paul Giamatti vs. Ben Kingsley
Quantity: Both Giamatti and Kingsley have worked a lot this decade. Giamatti has appeared in 20 films while Kingsley has appeared in 22. Round - Kingsley.
Quality: Giamatti's best work in American Splendor, Sideways and Duplicity vs. Kingsley's best work in Sexy Beast, House of Sand and Fog, You Kill Me, Transsiberian, Elegy and The Wackness? Round - Kingsley.
Oscar Nominations: Giamatti was nominated for Cinderella Man (although he should have been nominated for Sideways) while Kingsley was nominated for both Sexy Beast and House of Sand and Fog. Round - Kingsley.
Shared Screen: They have not shared the screen.
Extra Curriculars: They both did great work in cable films. Giamatti in John Adams and Kingsley in Mrs. Harris. But Kingsley is way awesome and he's a sir! Round - Kingsley.
Winner = Kingsley.

Sean Penn vs. Daniel Day-Lewis
Quantity: This is the throwdown and ultimately should probably be the final showdown. Lucky for Penn, Day-Lewis doesn't work very much at all. He's only done three films in the last ten years whereas Penn has done 12. Round - Penn.
Quality: Day-Lewis is always great and proved it in the three films he appeared in (Gangs of New York, The Ballad of Jack and Rose, There Will Be Blood). Meanwhile, Penn is always great as well even if the material doesn't always live up to standards. Penn's best performances this decade were I Am Sam, Mystic River, 21 Grams, The Assassination of Richard Nixon and Milk. Round - Penn.
Oscar Nominations: Day-Lewis was nominated for Gangs of New York and won for There Will Be Blood. Penn was nominated for I Am Sam and won for both Mystic River and Milk. Round - Penn.
Shared Screen: They have not shared the screen... but they should!
Extra Curriculars: Penn directed the amazing Into the Wild. Round - Penn.
Winner = Penn.

Liam Neeson vs. Forest Whitaker
Quantity: Neeson has appeared in 14 films while Whitaker has appeared in 20. Round - Whitaker.
Quality: Neeson was best in Kinsey while Whitaker was best in The Last King of Scotland. However, I felt he wasn't even the best thing about Last King (that would be James McAvoy) so... Round - Neeson.
Oscar Nominations: Neeson hasn't been nominated this decade while Whitaker won for The Last King of Scotland. Round - Whitaker.
Shared Screen: They have not shared the screen.
Extra Curriculars: Whitaker appeared on The Shield. Round - Whitaker.
Winner = Whitaker.

On Wednesday, the big guns (Robert DeNiro, Christopher Walken and Phillip Seymour Hoffman) and the box office kings (Ben Stiller, Will Smith, Nicolas Cage).

Best Actor of the Decade Tournament

I have been neglecting this blog but NO MORE! First, I plan to do an end of the summer post after Labor Day and after that weekly reviews. But for now, every Wednesday and Sunday I am going to do an end of the year actor tournament (actresses next). Only their work from 2000 - 2009 counts (and if the film isn't released by the time I write a particular entry, it doesn't count)and I will objectively find the best actor (and actress) of the decade. This plan was hatched on a very boring shift at work!
Criteria = Quantity of films, Quality of films, Oscar nominations, Shared Screen (who stole who's thunder), Extra Curriculars (is someone in a kick ass band or stealing scenes on TV), and, if needed, a Tie Breaker which will basically be who I like more.
The actors were picked and paired at random so, I guess, let's begin.

Round 1 - Top 64

Mark Wahlberg vs. Morgan Freeman
Quantity: Wahlberg has done 15 films in the last ten years which is unfortunately (for him) no match for Freeman, who has got to be one of the busiest men in Hollywood. He's done 28 films and that's not even counting a few others where he just served as narrator. Round - Freeman.
Quality: Wahlberg found himself stealing scenes in one of the best films of the decade, Martin Scorsese's The Departed along with appearing in the wonderfully smart I Heart Huckabees. Freeman has done a lot of work and a lot of work in great movies including The Dark Knight, Batman Begins, Million Dollar Baby and Gone Baby Gone. Round - Freeman.
Oscar Nods: Wahlberg was nominated for The Departed but Freeman won for Million Dollar Baby. Round - Freeman.
Shared Screen: They have not shared the screen.
Extra Curriculars: Wahlberg helped create 'Entourage.' Round - Wahlberg.
Winner = Freeman.

Johnny Depp vs. Clive Owen
Quantity: Both Depp and Owen have done 16 films in the past ten years although Depp has 15 (FIFTEEN!) projects in development. Unfortunately, they don't count here. TIE.
Quality: Owen was awesome in Closer, Inside Man and Children of Men but Depp has been on fire this year with great performances in the Pirate trilogy as well as Sweeney Todd, Finding Neverland and Public Enemies. Round - Depp.
Oscar Nods: Owen was nominated for Closer but Depp's been nominated three times for the first Pirate film, Finding Neverland and Sweeney Todd. Round - Depp.
Shared Screen: They have not shared the screen.
Extra Curriculars: Depp has done voice work on King of the Hill and Spongebob which is cute because he has kids. Round - Depp.
Winner = Depp.

Jackie Earle Haley vs. Clint Eastwood
Quantity: Haley, the former child star who had difficulty trasfering to an adult career, only made five films in the last ten years. However, Eastwood has been so busy directing that he's only appeared in four. Round - Haley.
Quality: Eastwood's best work this decade, acting wise, has been in Million Dollar Baby and he was hardly the best performance in the film. Meanwhile, Haley was amazing in Little Children and the only good thing about Watchmen. Round - Haley.
Oscar Nods: Haley was nominated for Little Children and while Eastwood has been nominated for 7 Oscars this decade, only one of them was for acting (Million Dollar Baby). TIE.
Shared Screen: They have not shared the screen.
Extra Curriculars: Well, Eastwood has directed some of the best movies of this decade including a personal favorite Mystic River. He also directed TWO films in both 2006 (Flags of our Fathers and Letters From Iwo Jima) and 2008 (Changeling and Gran Torino). Round - Eastwood.
Winner = Haley.

Viggo Mortensen vs. Paul Rudd
Quantity: Viggo doesn't work much so he's only done 9 films in the last 10 years. Meanwhile, Rudd works A LOT and he's been in 31 films in the last decade. Round - Rudd.
Quality: Even Rudd's best work in comedies like Knocked Up, The 40 Year Old Virgin and I Love You, Man can't even come close to Mortensen's turns in The History of Violence, Eastern Promises and Appaloosa. Round - Mortensen.
Oscar Nods: Rudd's never been nominated while Mortensen has been for Eastern Promises. Round - Mortensen.
Shared Screen: They have not shared the screen.
Extra Curriculars: Viggo is apparently a poet and artist. Meanwhile, Rudd does a lot of work for his friends and has appeared in tons of TV shows including Veronica Mars, Reno 911 and Friends. Round - Rudd.
Tie Breaker: I like Paul Rudd just fine but he is NOT on my top 5 sexiest men alive list. Round - Mortensen.
Winner = Mortensen.

Kevin Spacey vs. Tim Robbins
Quantity: Neither of these actors have been very visible this decade but Robbins has done 15 films while Spacey has only done 13. Round - Robbins.
Quality: Unfortunately Spacey's best work was in the 90's, however, he was still great in The United States of Leland and The Life of David Gale. Meanwhile, Robbins was amazing in Mystic River. Round - Spacey.
Oscar Nods: Spacey hasn't been nominated for a film this decade but Robbins won for Mystic River. Round - Robbins.
Shared Screen: They have not shared the screen.
Extra Curriculars: Spacey was in the cable series Recount. Round - Spacey.
Tie Breaker: Robbins was amazing in one of my fave films of the decade but I simple like Spacey better. Even if he's not doing his best work this decade, I still want him to get to the top 32 at least. Round - Spacey.
Winner = Spacey.

Russell Crowe vs. Terrence Howard
Quantity: Crowe definitely believes in quality over quantity because he's only done 11 films this decade (although at least half of them have been GOOD). Meanwhile, Howard has done 28 or so films. Round - Howard.
Quality: Like I said, Crowe does GOOD films including Gladiator, A Beautiful Mind, 3:10 to Yuma, American Gangster, Body of Lies and State of Play. Meanwhile, Howard was in Glitter. Well, he was also in Hustle and Flow, Crash and Iron Man. But he was in Glitter. Round - Crowe.
Oscar Nods: Howard was nominated (in a very tough year) for Hustle and Flow but Crowe was nominated for A Beautiful Mind and Gladiator (for which he won). Round - Crowe.
Shared Screen: They have not shared the screen.
Extra Curriculars: Howard was in a really great TV movie called Their Eyes Were Watching God. Round - Howard.
Tie Breaker: Neither of these guys are particularly likeable but if we're talking about the best actor of the decade, I think Crowe has got to at least move on in the tournament. Round - Crowe.
Winner = Crowe.

Jack Nicholson vs. Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Quantity: Nicholson has only done a handful of films this decade (6) and when you're a living legend you don't have to do anything you don't want to do. Meanwhile, Gordon-Levitt has been working hard in the indie world and has done 15 films. Round - Gordon-Levitt.
Quality: While Gordon-Levitt (my favorite actor under 30) has been nothing short of amazing in films like Manic, Brick, Mysterious Skin, The Lookout and 500 Days of Summer, very little can compare to Jack Nicholson when he's on and boy was he ever on in The Departed. Round - Nicholson.
Oscar Nods: Gordon-Levitt hasn't been nominated yet (don't worry, he will be) and Nicholson has been nominated a million times, but only once this decade for About Schmidt. It's enough to win this round. Round - Nicholson.
Shared Screen: They have not shared the screen.
Extra Curriculars: Gordon-Levitt also sings and runs a website that encourages it's viewers to make art. He also was on Third Rock from the Sun for quite a few years before becoming a movie star. Round - Gordon-Levitt.
Tie Breaker: Not a decision I wanted to make. My favorite actor of all time vs. my favorite actor under 30. If we are talking best actor of the decade, then I guess we are talking future. Nicholson is mostly the past. He's mostly a legend who will best be remembered for his work in early films like Chinatown and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. The best is probably yet to come with Gordon-Levitt. So, although it kills me... Round - Gordon-Levitt.
Winner = Gordon-Levitt.

Samuel L. Jackson vs. Brad Pitt
Quantity: Pitt's done 15 films which is nothing compared to Jackson who gives Freeman a run for his money by appearing in 34 films and that's not even counting all his voice work. Round - Jackson.
Quality: They've both done their good films and their bad films. If you put up Pitt's The Assassination of Jesse James, Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Inglourious Basterds against Jackson's Black Snake Moan and Star Wars trilogy, I guess I'd have to go with Pitt. Round - Pitt.
Oscar Nods: Jackson hasn't been nominated this decade while Pitt has been nominated once for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Round - Pitt.
Shared Screen: If you want to count narration then they've "shared the screen" in Inglourious Basterds. But Jackson's smooth narration hardly compares to Pitt's hilarious Italian accent. Round - Pitt.
Extra Curriculars: They've both done television and voice work but Pitt is something like Father Teresa these days, helping New Orleans rebuild and adopting kids from war torn countries. Round - Pitt.
Winner = Pitt.

That does it for today. Sunday's round will feature Tom Cruise, Javier Bardem, two Ben's (Affleck and Kingsley) and a monumental showdown that should NOT be taking place this early in the tournament.