Best Actor of the Decade Tournament

Top 32 - Round 1

Morgan Freeman vs. Johnny Depp
Quantity: Freeman works a lot - a lot, a lot! - and has done 28 films compared to Depp's 16. Round - Freeman.
Quality: Freeman was best in Million Dollar Baby, Batman Begins, Gone Baby Gone and The Dark Knight. Meanwhile, Depp has been just as great in the Pirates trilogy, Finding Neverland, Sweeney Todd and Public Enemies. Round - Depp.
Oscar Nominations: Freeman won for Million Dollar Baby. Depp hasn't won - yet - but he's been nominated 3 times for the first Pirates film, Finding Neverland and Sweeney Todd. Round - Depp.
Shared Screen: They have not shared the screen.
Extra Curriculars: Morgan Freeman has the best voice in Hollywood and narrates everything. Depp does a lot of voice work on cartoons and was the main voice in Corpse Bride. Plus, he's a musician. Round - Depp.
Winner = Depp.

Jackie Earle Haley vs. Viggo Mortensen
Quantity: Viggo doesn't really work that much and has only done 9 films this decade. However, Haley works even less and only appeared in 5. Round - Mortensen.
Quality: Eventhough Haley was amazing in Little Children and the best thing about Watchmen, it can't compare to Mortensen's amazing work in Appaloosa, A History of Violence and especially Eastern Promises. Round - Mortensen.
Oscar Nominations: Both were nominated once. Haley for Little Children and Mortensen for Eastern Promises. Round - TIE.
Shared Screen: They have not shared the screen.
Extra Curriculars: I love Haley a lot and am so glad he's making a comeback but Mortensen is the artistic type - he's a poet and artist. Plus, he's on my top 5 sexiest men alive list. Round - Mortensen.
Winner = Mortensen.

Kevin Spacey vs. Russell Crowe
Quantity: Crowe's 11 just barely loses to Spacey's 13. Round - Spacey.
Quality: Unfortunately, Spacey did his best work in the 90s. Still, he's been great this decade in the United States of Leland and The Life of David Gale. Meanwhile, Crowe has been killing it in Gladiator, A Beautiful Mind, 3:10 to Yuma, American Gangster, Body of Lies and State of Play. Round - Crowe.
Oscar Nominations: Spacey hasn't been nominated this decade. Crowe was nominated twice for A Beautiful Mind and Gladiator (for which he won). Round - Crowe.
Shared Screen: They have not shared the screen.
Extra Curriculars: Spacey was fantastic in the TV movie Recount. Round - Spacey.
Tie Breaker: This is difficult. If I was including movies pre-2000, then this would be a no-brainer and Spacey would easily walk away with it. However, since it's only this decade, I'm going to have to be objective and give it to Crowe. Round - Crowe.
Winner = Crowe.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt vs. Brad Pitt
Quantity: Both Gordon-Levitt and Pitt have made 15 films. Round - TIE.
Quality: Pitt has been great in The Assassination of Jesse James, Burn After Reading, The Curious Case of Benjaming Button and Burn After Reading. Gordon-Levitt has been amazing in indies like Manic, Mysterious Skin, Brick, The Lookout, Stop Loss, and (500) Days of Summer. Round - Gordon-Levitt.
Oscar Nominations: Gordon-Levitt has yet to be nominated while Pitt was for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Round - Pitt.
Shared screen: They have not shared the screen.
Extra Curriculars: Pitt does a lot of humanitarian work while Levitt was on 3rd Rock from the Sun and runs the awesome Hit Record website. Round - Gordon-Levitt.
Winner = Gordon-Levitt.

Will Ferrell vs. Jake Gyllenhaal
Quantity: Ferrell works a lot and therefore crushes Gyllenhaal's 12 with his 28. Round - Ferrell.
Quality: Ferrell's best work in Winter Passing and Stranger Than Fiction pales in comparison to Gyllenhaal's work in Donnie Darko, Brokeback Mountain, Jarhead and Zodiac. Round - Gyllenhaal.
Oscar Nominations: Ferrell has never been nominated and Gyllenhaal has been once for Brokeback Mountain. Round - Gyllenhaal.
Shared Screen: They have not shared the screen.
Extra Curriculars: Ferrell appeared on Undeclared, Eastbound and Down and, of course, Saturday Night Live. Round - Ferrell.
Tie Breaker: I can't feel good about myself as a person if Will Ferrell makes it any further in this competition. Round - Gyllenhaal.
Winner = Gyllenhaal.

Javier Bardem vs. Ryan Gosling
Quantity: Neither work very much so Gosling's 10 beats out Bardem's 9. Round - Gosling.
Quality: They were both great in three films. Gosling in The Believer, Half Nelson and Lars and the Real Girl. Bardem in Goya's Ghost, No Country for Old Men and Vicky Cristina Barcelona. Bardem's performance in No Country for Old Men is enough to give him the win, though. Round - Bardem.
Oscar Nominations: Gosling was nominated for his turn as a druggy teacher in Half Nelson. Meanwhile, 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: Gosling has a kick ass band called Dead Man's Bones. Round - Gosling.
Tie Breaker: Another tough decision but, fortunately for Bardem, his performance in No Country for Old Men pulls a lot of weight with me. Round - Bardem.
Winner = Bardem.

Denzel Washington vs. Ben Kingsley
Quantity: Washington's done 12 films in 10 years while Kingsley has done 22. Round - Kingsley.
Quality: Washington was great in Training Day, Inside Man and American Gangster but Kingsley's been doing a lot more work and he's been great in Sexy Beast, House of Sand and Fog, You Kill Me, The Wackness, Transsiberian and Elegy. Round - Kingsley.
Oscar Nominations: Washington won for Trainging Day but Kingsley has been nominated twice for Sexy Beast and The House of Sand and Fog. Round - Kingsley.
Shared Screen: They have not shared the screen.
Extra Curriculars: Kingsley is a sir! Round - Kingsley.
Winner = Kingsley.

Sean Penn vs. Forest Whitaker
Quantity: Whitaker works a little more than Penn. Whitaker has done 20 films in 10 years while Penn has only done 12. Round - Whitaker.
Quality: Whitaker was great in The Last King of Scotland while Penn's been great in I Am Sam, Mystic River, 21 Grams, The Assassination of Richard Nixon and Milk. Round - Penn.
Oscar Nominations: Whitaker won for The Last King of Scotland. Penn was nominated for I Am Sam and won for Mystic River and Milk. Round - Penn.
Shared Screen: They have not shared the screen.
Extra Curriculars: Whitaker appeared on The Shield. Penn directed Into the Wild, one of my favorite films of the decade. Round - Penn.
Winner = Penn.

Next post won't be on Sunday - either Saturday or Monday (depending on when I have more time). But there will be crazy showdowns like Robert Downey Jr. vs. Heath Ledger, Mickey Rourke vs. Leo DiCaprio and Matt Damon vs. Sam Rockwell!