Best Actor of the Decade Tournament

Top 32 - Round 2

Casey Affleck vs. Philip Seymour Hoffman
Quantity: Affleck has done 14 films in the last decade while Hoffman has done 18. Round - Hoffman.
Quality: Affleck's best work in Gerry, Lonesome Jim, The Assassination of Jesse James and Gone Baby Gone pales in comparison to Hoffman's best work in Almost Famous, Capote, The Savages, Before the Devil Knows You're Dead, Synecdoche New York and Doubt. Round - Hoffman.
Oscar Nominations: Affleck was nominated for his turn as Robert Ford in The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. Hoffman was nominated for Charlie Wilson's War and Doubt. He also won for his complete transformation in Capote. Round - Hoffman.
Shared Screen: They have not shared the screen.
Extra Curriculars: Hoffman was in the TV movie Empire Falls but Affleck is a Red Sox fan. Round - Affleck.
Winner = Hoffman.

Michael Shannon vs. Colin Farrell
Quantity: Shannon has done 26 films this decade while Farrell has only done 19. Round - Shannon.
Quality: Sure, Shannon was in Kangaroo Jack. But he was also kickass in Bug, Shotgun Stories and Revolutionary Road. Meanwhile, Farrell has been amazing in Phone Booth, A Home at the End of the World, Ask the Dust and In Bruges. Round - Farrell.
Oscar Nominations: Farrell has never been nominated but Shannon was nominated for Revolutionary Road. Round - Shannon.
Shared Screen: Both actors appeared in the movie Tigerland. I saw it many, many years ago and I don't even remember Shannon being in it. Round - Farrell.
Extra Curriculars: Farrell won a very much deserved Golden Globe for his INCREDIBLE performance in In Bruges. Round - Farrell.
Winner = Farrell.

Robert Downey Jr. vs. Heath Ledger
Quantity: Downey has worked a lot this decade, appearing in 21 films while Ledger only starred in 13. Round - Downey.
Quality: Downey was great in A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints, Zodiac, Iron Man and Tropic Thunder. Meanwhile, Ledger was great in Monster's Ball, Lords of Dogtown, Brokeback Mountain, Candy, and I'm Not There. And he was perfection in The Dark Knight. Round - Ledger.
Oscar Nominations: Downey lost Best Supporting Actor in Tropic Thunder to Ledger for The Dark Knight. Ledger was also nominated for Brokeback Mountain. Round - Ledger.
Shared Screen: They have not shared the screen.
Extra Curriculars: Downey was great on Ally McBeal but Ledger has still got that "gone way too soon" thing going on. Round - Ledger.
Winner = Ledger.

Alec Baldwin vs. Will Smith
Quantity: Baldwin works a lot and his 21 films wins over Smith's 10. Round - Baldwin.
Quality: Baldwin was great in The Cooler, The Departed and Running with Scissors. Smith was great in Ali, The Pursuit of Happyness and Seven Pounds. Baldwin was one of my favorite things about The Departed so he gets a slight edge. Round - Baldwin.
Oscar Nominations: Baldwin was nominated once for The Cooler. Smith was nominated twice for Ali and The Pursuit of Happyness. Round - Smith.
Shared Screen: They have not shared the screen.
Extra Curriculars: Baldwin has done hilarious guest appearances on Friends and Will and Grace. He's probably the best Saturday Night Live host ever. And he kills it weekly on 30 Rock. Round - Baldwin.
Winner = Baldwin.

Mickey Rourke vs. Leonardo DiCaprio
Quantity: Rourke has done 15 films in the last 10 years while DiCaprio has only done 9. Round - Rourke.
Quality: Rourke was great in Spun, Sin City, The Wrestler and Killshot but DiCaprio was great in The Beach, Catch Me If You Can, The Aviator, The Departed, Blood Diamond and Revolutionary Road. Round - DiCaprio.
Oscar Nominations: Rourke made his comeback last year by getting a nomination for The Wrestler. DiCaprio has been nominated twice this decade for The Aviator and Blood Diamond. Round - DiCaprio.
Shared Screen: They have not shared the screen.
Extra Curriculars: Rourke and I share a birthday! But DiCaprio is an environmentalist and produced the documentary 11th Hour. Round - DiCaprio.
Winner = DiCaprio.

Sam Rockwell vs. Matt Damon
Quantity: Rockwell has done 23 films which beats out Damon's 19. Round - Rockwell.
Quality: Both of these guys do great work. Rockwell in Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, Matchstick Men, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Snow Angels and Choke. Damon in All the Pretty Horses, Gerry, Syriana, The Departed and the Bourne Trilogy. Round - Damon.
Oscar Nominations: Rockwell has SHOCKINGLY never been nominated. Damon, also shockingly, hasn't been nominated this decade. Round - Tie.
Shared Screen: Both actors were in Confessions of a Dangerous Mind. Damon made a small category and Rockwell tore it up in a great performance. Round - Rockwell.
Extra Curriculars: Damon has a great sense of humor and showed it in "I'm F**king Matt Damon" with Sarah Silverman. He's also a Red Sox fan. Round - Damon.
Tie Breaker: If I was deciding my favorite actor, I might pick Rockwell. But I'm trying to be objective and find the best actor so I'm going to go with Damon. Round - Damon.
Winner = Damon.

Jude Law vs. George Clooney
Quantity: Law and Clooney have both done 17 films in the past decade. Round - Tie.
Quality: Law was great in Cold Mountain, I Heart Huckabees and Closer. Meanwhile, Clooney was great in Syriana, Michael Clayton and Burn After Reading. Clooney's performance in Syriana gives him the slight edge. Round - Clooney.
Oscar Nominations: Law was nominated for Cold Mountain. Meanwhile, Clooney was nominated for Michael Clayton and won for Syriana. Round - Clooney.
Shared Screen: They have not shared the screen.
Extra Curriculars: Clooney wrote and directed Confessions of a Dangerous Mind and Good Night, and Good Luck. He was Oscar nominated for the latter. Round - Clooney.
Winner = Clooney.

Stellan Skarsgard vs. James Franco
Quantity: Skarsgard has done 26 films in the last 10 years while Franco has done 32! Round - Franco.
Quality: Skarsgard was great in Dancer in the Dark, Dogville and Goya's Ghosts. Franco was great in Pineapple Express and Milk. Round - Skarsgard.
Oscar Nominations: Neither have been nominated.
Shared Screen: They have not shared the screen.
Extra Curriculars: Skarsgard is the father of the sexiest man alive, Alexander Skarsgard. Franco did a hell of a job as James Dean in a TV movie. He also appeared on the second best show of the decade, Freaks and Geeks, and made a funny cameo in Knocked Up. Round - Franco.
Winner = Franco.

My prediction is a Sean Penn vs. Philip Seymour Hoffman finale. On Wednesday, we'll move one step closer to finding out if I'm right.