The Best Male Performance of the ’00s – Sweet 16
Laremy Legel September 1, 2009

We’re finally down to it; the sixteen best performances of the ’00s. Only five double-digit seedings remain — though two #1 and two #2 seeds have gone down too. Only one man still has two performances left, the illustrious Robert Downey Jr. with Iron Man and Tropic Thunder performances still on the board. Should we call it the decade of Downey Jr.? Only one film has two actors left, none other than The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. Only six lower-rated seeds slipped through last round with the biggest upset occurring when #25 Mickey Rourke’s Wrestler topped #1 Russell Crowe in Gladiator. Crowe is now out of the competition as his Beautiful Mind performance fizzled out in the third round as well. Another third round victim? Daniel Day-Lewis, who couldn’t sneak into the Sweet 16 with Gangs of New York or There Will Be Blood.
Many interesting pairings in the fourth round, including Batman vs. Iron Man… and the winner might have to face off against Gandalf. Yikes. Not many easy calls left, vote early and often, voting ends on Monday, September 7 at midnight PST.
#1 Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight
Third Round
Defeated #8 Ken Watanabe, The Last Samurai
87 percent – 13 percent
Second Round
Defeated #16 Paul Newman, Road to Perdition
80 percent – 20 percent
First Round
Defeated #32 Peter O’Toole, Venus
98 percent – 2 percent
#4 Philip Seymour Hoffman, Capote
Third Round
Defeated #28 Frank Langella, Frost / Nixon
56 percent – 44 percent
Second Round
Defeated #20 Clive Owen, Closer
53 percent – 47 percent
First Round
Defeated #29 Jackie Earle Haley, Little Children
76 percent – 24 percent
#14 Leonardo DiCaprio, The Aviator
Third Round
Defeated #6 Joaquin Phoenix, Gladiator
68 percent – 32 percent
Second Round
Defeated #3 Alan Arkin, Little Miss Sunshine
58 percent – 42 percent
First Round
Defeated #19 Michael Sheen, The Queen
82 percent – 18 percent
#2 Javier Bardem, No Country for Old Men
Third Round
Defeated #7 Gerard Butler, 300
60 percent – 40 percent
Second Round
Defeated #18 Hugh Jackman, The Prestige
52 percent – 48 percent
First Round
Defeated #31 Ben Kingsley, Sexy Beast
77 percent – 23 percent
#25 Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler
Third Round
Defeated #1 Russell Crowe, Gladiator
68 percent – 32 percent
Second Round
Defeated #9 Mark Wahlberg, The Departed
53 percent – 47 percent
First Round
Defeated #8 James Caviezel, The Passion of the Christ
53 percent – 47 percent
#5 Elijah Wood, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
Third Round
Defeated #13 Jamie Foxx, Collateral
80 percent – 20 percent
Second Round
Defeated #12 Clint Eastwood, Million Dollar Baby
56 percent – 44 percent
First Round
Defeated #28 Michael Caine, The Quiet American
67 percent – 33 percent
#6 Johnny Depp, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
Third Round
Defeated #3 Daniel Day-Lewis, There Will Be Blood
58 percent – 42 percent
Second Round
Defeated #22 Jim Carrey, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
84 percent – 16 percent
First Round
Defeated #27 Nicolas Cage, Adaptation
85 percent – 15 percent
#2 Sean Penn, Mystic River
Third Round
Defeated #10 Russell Crowe, A Beautiful Mind
65 percent – 35 percent
Second Round
Defeated #18 Bill Murray, Lost in Translation
58 percent – 42 percent
First Round
Defeated #31 Alec Baldwin, The Cooler
75 percent – 25 percent
#16 Robert Downey Jr., Tropic Thunder
Third Round
Defeated #8 Brad Pitt, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
55 percent – 45 percent
Second Round
Defeated #1 Morgan Freeman, Million Dollar Baby
52 percent – 48 percent
First Round
Defeated #17 Michael Cera, Superbad
78 percent – 22 percent
#5 Ian McKellen, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
Third Round
Defeated #13 Matt Damon, The Bourne Identity
74 percent – 26 percent
Second Round
Defeated #12 Vince Vaughn, Wedding Crashers
81 percent – 19 percent
First Round
Defeated #28 Djimon Hounsou, In America
83 percent – 17 percent
#6 Robert Downey Jr., Iron Man
Third Round
Defeated #3 Jamie Foxx, Ray
67 percent – 33 percent
Second Round
Defeated #11 Denzel Washington, American Gangster
62 percent – 38 percent
First Round
Defeated #27 James McAvoy, The Last King of Scotland
73 percent – 27 percent
#7 Christian Bale, Batman Begins
Third Round
Defeated #15 Daniel Day-Lewis, Gangs of New York
55 percent – 45 percent
Second Round
Defeated #10 Leonardo DiCaprio, Catch Me if You Can
74 percent – 26 percent
First Round
Defeated #26 Philip Seymour Hoffman, Doubt
75 percent – 25 percent
#1 Benicio Del Toro, Traffic
Third Round
Defeated #8 Tom Hanks, Cast Away
71 percent – 29 percent
Second Round
Defeated #17 Djimon Hounsou, Blood Diamond
52 percent – 48 percent
First Round
Defeated #32 Willem Dafoe, Shadow of the Vampire
66 percent – 34 percent
#13 Sacha Baron Cohen, Borat
Third Round
Defeated #28 Tommy Lee Jones, In the Valley of Elah
77 percent – 23 percent
Second Round
Defeated #4 Forest Whitaker, The Last King of Scotland
61 percent – 39 percent
First Round
Defeated #20 Eddie Murphy, Dreamgirls
58 percent – 42 percent
#6 Daniel Craig, Casino Royale
Third Round
Defeated #14 Joaquin Phoenix, Walk the Line
55 percent – 45 percent
Second Round
Defeated #11 Clint Eastwood, Gran Torino
54 percent – 46 percent
First Round
Defeated #27 Colin Farrell, In Bruges
68 percent – 32 percent
#23 Clive Owen, Children of Men
Third Round
Defeated #2 Adrien Brody, The Pianist
53 percent – 47 percent
Second Round
Defeated #26 Don Cheadle, Hotel Rwanda
51 percent – 49 percent
First Round
Defeated #10 Tom Cruise, War of the Worlds
71 percent – 29 percent
Tags: batman begins, best male performances, iron man, the lord of the rings
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