Best Actor of the Decade Tournament

Top 16

Johnny Depp vs. Viggo Mortensen
Quantity: Depp has done 16 films this decade while Mortensen has only done 9. Round - Depp.
Quality: Depp was great in Finding Neverland, Sweeney Todd, Public Enemies and the Pirates Trilogy while Mortensen was best in History of Violence, Eastern Promises and Appaloosa. Round - Depp.
Oscar Nominations: Mortensen has one nomination for Eastern Promises while Depp has three for the first Pirates film, Finding Neverland and Sweeney Todd. Round - Depp.
Shared Screen: They have not shared the screen.
Extra Curriculars: Depp has done a lot of voice work. Mortensen is sexy. Round - Mortensen.
Winner = Depp.

Russell Crowe vs. Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Quantity: Crowe's 11 loses out to Gordon-Levitt's 15. Round - Gordon-Levitt.
Quality: Gordon-Levitt has been stellar in Mysterious Skin, Brick, The Lookout, Stop Loss and (500) Days of Summer. Meanwhile, Crowe has been great in Gladiator, A Beautiful Mind, 3:10 to Yuma, American Gangster, Body of Lies and State of Play. Round - Crowe.
Oscar Nominations: Gordon-Levitt has never been nominated. Crowe won for Gladiator and was nominated for A Beautiful Mind. Round - Crowe.
Shared Screen: They have not shared the screen.
Extra Curriculars: Gordon-Levitt's Hit Record website still wins out. Round - Gordon-Levitt.
Tie Breaker: I don't want it to be this way but I am trying to stay objective. Round - Crowe.
Winner = Crowe.

Jake Gyllenhaal vs. Javier Bardem
Quantity: Gyllenhaal's 12 beats out Bardem's 9. Round - Gyllenhaal.
Quality: Gyllenhaal was best in Donnie Darko, Brokeback Mountain, Jarhead and Zodiac. Bardem was best in No Country For Old Men, Goya's Ghost and Vicky Cristina Barcelona. Still, his work in No Country counts for a lot. Round - Bardem.
Oscar Nominations: Gyllenhaal was nominated for Brokeback Mountain 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: Bardem's No Country For Old Men performance will surely be battling for the top spot on my list of the best performances of the decade (coming later this year!!). Round - Bardem.
Winner = Bardem.

Ben Kingsley vs. Sean Penn
Quantity: Kingsley's 22 films beat out Penn's 12. Round - Kingsley.
Quality: Kingsley was best in Sexy Beast, House of Sand and Fog, The Wackness, Transsiberian and Elegy. Meanwhile, Penn was best in I Am Sam, Mystic River, 21 Grams, The Assassination of Richard Nixon, and Milk. Again, Penn's work in Mystic River and Milk count double. Round - Penn.
Oscar Nominations: Kingsley was nominated twice for Sexy Beast and House of Sand and Fog. Penn won twice for Mystic River and Milk. He was also nominated for I Am Sam. Round - Penn.
Shared Screen: They have not shared the screen.
Extra Curriculars: Penn directed the breathtaking Into the Wild. Round - Penn.
Winner = Penn.

Philip Seymour Hoffman vs. Colin Farrell
Quantity: Farrell's 19 just beats out Hoffman's 18. Round - Farrell.
Quality: Hoffman was best in Almost Famous, Capote, The Savages, Before the Devil Knows You're Dead, Synecdoche New York and Doubt. Meanwhile, Farrell has been great in Phone Booth, A Home at the End of the World, The New World, Ask the Dust and In Bruges. Round - Hoffman.
Oscar Nominations: Farrell has never been nominated. Hoffman won for Capote and was nominated for Charlie Wilson's War and Doubt. Round - Hoffman.
Shared Screen: They never shared the screen.
Extra Curriculars: Hoffman appeared in the TV movie Empire Falls. Round - Hoffman.
Winner = Hoffman.

Heath Ledger vs. Alec Baldwin
Quantity: Ledger's 13 pales in comparison to Baldwin's 21. Round - Baldwin.
Quality: Baldwin was great in The Cooler, The Departed and Running with Scissors. Ledger was great in Lords of Dogtown, Brokeback Mountain, Candy, I'm Not There and The Dark Knight. Round - Ledger.
Oscar Nominations: Baldwin was nominated for The Cooler. Ledger was nominated for Brokeback Mountain and won for The Dark Knight. Round - Ledger.
Shared Screen: They have not shared the screen.
Extra Curriculars: Baldwin does lots of great TV work including stints on Friends, SNL, Will and Grace and, of course, 30 Rock. Round - Baldwin.
Tie Breaker: Not only was Ledger lost too soon, but also his career was shaping up to be astounding. Round - Ledger.
Winner = Ledger.

Leonardo DiCaprio vs. Matt Damon
Quantity: DiCaprio has only done 9 films and Damon more than doubles that with 19. Round - Damon.
Quality: DiCaprio was great in The Beach, Catch Me If You Can, The Aviator, The Departed, Blood Diamond and Revolutionary Road. Meanwhile, Damon was great in All The Pretty Horses, Gerry, The Departed and the Bourne Trilogy. Round - Tie.
Oscar Nominations: Damon has not been nominated this decade. DiCaprio was nominated for The Aviator and Blood Diamond. Round - DiCaprio.
Shared Screen: They were on opposite sides of the law in The Departed. Both were stellar. It happens to be my favorite DiCaprio performance. Round - DiCaprio.
Extra Curriculars: Damon and DiCaprio are both environmentalists. But Damon is also a Red Sox fan. Round - Damon.
Tie Breaker: Toughest decision ever. As much as I love DiCaprio, I think I'm going to have to go against him here. Round - Damon.
Winner = Damon.

George Clooney vs. James Franco
Quantity: Clooney has done 17 films while Franco has done 32. Round - Franco.
Quality: Clooney has been great in Syriana, Michael Clayton and Burn After Reading. Meanwhile, Franco has been great in Pineapple Express and Milk. Round - Clooney.
Oscar Nominations: Franco has never been nominated. Clooney won for Syriana and was nominated for Michael Clayton. Round - Clooney.
Shared Screen: They have not shared the screen.
Extra Curriculars: Franco has appeared on Freaks and Geeks. Meanwhile, Clooney is also a director and writer and was Oscar nominated for Good Night, and Good Luck. Round - Clooney.
Winner = Clooney.

...And then there were eight.