Best Actor of the Decade Tournament

Round 3 - Top 64

Casey Affleck vs. Nicolas Cage
Quantity: Affleck has done 14 films in 10 years while Cage has done 17. Round - Cage.
Quality: The difference between Affleck and Cage is that Affleck started out the decade at the beginning of his career so his choices in roles have progressively gotten better and better. Meanwhile, Cage is in a huge down swing since Leaving Las Vegas and he keeps getting worse and worse. He's only done one good movie this decade - Adaptation. Meanwhile, Affleck has done Gerry, Lonesome Jim, The Assassination of Jesse James and Gone Baby Gone. Round - Affleck.
Oscar Nominations: They have both been nominated once. Affleck for The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford and Cage for Adaptation. Round - Tie.
Shared Screen: They have not shared the screen.
Extra Curriculars: Affleck is a Red Sox fan! Round - Affleck.
Winner = Affleck.

Ben Stiller vs. Phillip Seymour Hoffman
Quantity: It seems like Stiller is in every movie but he's only done 19 films this decade. Meanwhile, Hoffman has done one less with 18. Round - Stiller.
Quality: Even Stiller's best work in Tropic Thunder can't even compare in the smallest way to Hoffman's work in Almost Famous, Capote, The Savages, Before the Devil Knows You're Dead, Synecdoche, New York and Doubt. Round - Hoffman.
Oscar Nominations: Stiller has never been nominated. Hoffman was nominated for Charlie Wilson's War and Doubt. He also won for Capote. Round - Hoffman.
Shared Screen: They both appeared in Along Came Polly. Even though Stiller was the star, Hoffman stole the scenes. Round - Hoffman.
Extra Curriculars: Hoffman appeared in the TV movie Empire Falls and is just all around awesome. However, Stiller appeared on my two favorite TV shows of the decade - Undeclared and Arrested Development. He also directed Tropic Thunder. Round - Stiller.
Winner = Hoffman.

Michael Shannon vs. Robert De Niro
Quantity: De Niro has done 16 films in the last ten years (although it sure doesn't feel like it). Meanwhile, Shannon has been working hard appearing in 26 films. Round - Shannon.
Quality: De Niro is one of the greatest actors of all time but this decade he hasn't really shown it. Meanwhile, Shannon has been killing it in movies like Bug, Shotgun Stories and Revolutionary Road. Round - Shannon.
Oscar Nominations: De Niro hasn't been nominated this decade and Shannon has been nominated for Revolutionary Road. Round - Shannon.
Shared Screen: They have not shared the screen.
Extra Curriculars: De Niro directed the star studded The Good Shepherd. Round - De Niro.
Winner = Shannon.

Christian Bale vs. Colin Farrell
Quantity: Both actors are pretty closely matched. Bale has done 17 while Farrell has done 19. Round - Farrell.
Quality: Bale has been in more high profile roles lately such as Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, Terminator: Salvation, I'm Not There and 3:10 to Yuma. But has he really been the best thing about any of them? Meanwhile, Farrell has been doing smaller projects and he's been very good in Phone Booth, Home at the End of the World, Ask the Dust, The New World and In Bruges. Still, Bale was once a good actor and his work in American Psycho and The Machinist win it for him. Round - Bale.
Oscar Nominations: Neither have been nominated.
Shared Screen: They both appeared in The New World which is a beautiful and underrated film. Bale's role was very small and Farrell was the star. It was also probably his second best performance. Round - Farrell.
Extra Curriculars: Farrell won a much deserved Golden Globe for his BRILLIANT work in In Bruges. Round - Farrell.
Winner = Farrell.

Robert Downey Jr. vs. Kevin Bacon
Quantity: Kevin Bacon, who is supposed to be one of the busiest men in show biz, only did 17 films this decade while Downey has done 21. Round - Downey.
Quality: Bacon was great in Mystic River even though he got overshadowed by his Oscar winning co-stars. He was also stellar in Rails and Ties and Frost / Nixon. Meanwhile, Downey has been on a huge upswing lately and has been great in A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints, Zodiac, Iron Man and Tropic Thunder. Round - Downey.
Oscar Nominations: Bacon has shockingly never ever been nominated. Meanwhile, Downey was nominated for Tropic Thunder. Round - Downey.
Shared Screen: They have not shared the screen.
Extra Curriculars: Bacon sometimes directs his wife's show The Closer. However, Downey was the source of my high school crush when he appeared on Ally McBeal. Round - Downey.
Winner = Downey.

Christopher Walken vs. Heath Ledger
Quantity: Even though Ledger's life was tragically cut short, he still only did 13 films this decade. Meanwhile, Walken works hard and often and he appeared in 29. Round - Walken.
Quality: Walken is always entertaining and he was great in Catch Me If You Can, Wedding Crashers, Hairspray and Poolhall Junkies. However, Ledger was well on his way to becoming the greatest actor of my generation. He was superb in Lords of Dogtown, Brokeback Mountain, I'm Not There and Candy. And he was mind blowingly amazing in The Dark Knight. Round - Ledger.
Oscar Nominations: Walken was nominated for Catch Me If You Can. Ledger was nominated for Brokeback Mountain and he won posthumously for The Dark Knight. Round - Ledger.
Shared Screen: They have not shared the screen.
Extra Curriculars: Walken appeared in Julius Caesar. Meanwhile, Ledger directed a kick ass Modest Mouse music video. Round - Ledger.
Winner = Ledger.

Alec Baldwin vs. John Cusack
Quantity: Baldwin is a busy man and has appeared in 21 films this decade compared to Cusack's 13. Round - Baldwin.
Quality: Cusack was best in High Fidelity, Identity, Runaway Jury, and Grace is Gone. Meanwhile, Baldwin was best in The Cooler, The Departed and Running with Scissors. Round - Cusack.
Oscar Nominations: Like Kevin Bacon, Cusack has shockingly never ever been nominated for an Oscar. Meanwhile, Baldwin was nominated for The Cooler. Round - Baldwin.
Shared Screen: They have never shared the screen.
Extra Curriculars: I love John Cusack and he's done a lot of voice work. However, Baldwin has been equally busy on TV by appearing on Friends, Will and Grace, Saturday Night Live (is he not the best host ever?!) and, of course, 30 Rock. Round - Baldwin.
Winner = Baldwin.

Will Smith vs. Seth Rogen
Quantity: Smith had done 10 films in 10 years while Rogen has done 13. Round - Rogen.
Quality: Even Rogen's best and funniest work in Superbad and Knocked Up can't compare to Smith's best work in Ali, The Pursuit of Happyness and Seven Pounds. Round - Smith.
Oscar Nominations: Rogen has never been nominated while Smith was nominated for Ali and The Pursuit of Happyness. Round - Smith.
Shared Screen: They have never shared the screen.
Extra Curriculars: Rogen does a ton of voice work. He's also appeared on the great underappreciated Undeclared. And he wrote Pineapple Express and Superbad (which is probably the funniest movie of the decade). Round - Rogen.
Tie Breaker: As much as I love and adore Seth Rogen, Smith is simply a better actor at this point. Round - Smith.
Winner = Smith.

On Sunday, the final round of the top 64 featuring some of my personal favorites (Malkovich, Rockwell, Hurt and DiCaprio).