Performances of the Decade: Actors

Top 10 Leading Performances by an Actor in the 2000s:

10. George Clooney - Up in the Air

Although he kinda plays himself, many would argue that this was the role Clooney was born to play. It's a come-to-terms-with-one's-self-by-playing-yourself-on-film virtuoso performance, a-la Tom Cruise in Jerry Maguire.

9. Jamie Foxx - Ray

He WAS Ray Charles. The End.

8. Sean Penn - Milk

Sam Gooley says it best in describing Sean Penn. "Whenever I see a movie with Sean Penn, I never see Sean Penn's character; I see Sean Penn playing a character. I was never able to truly believe his characters - including his Oscar-winning performance in Mystic River - until I saw Milk. He totally embodied Harvey Milk, and his Oscar was well-deserved."

7. Bill Murray - Lost in Translation

Murray's most haunting, touching performance; he CAN play it serious.

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6. Russell Crowe - Gladiator

Name a Hollywood actor who could have played this role with the conviction of Russell Crowe. That would be nobody.

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5. Russell Crowe - A Beautiful Mind

Quite the follow-up to Gladiator and The Insider, Crowe proves his chameleon reputation. Despite his off-screen behavior, he becomes the most sought-after character actor in the world.

4. Tom Hanks - Cast Away

Name a Hollywood actor who could have played THIS role with the conviction of Tom Hanks. No one. Who else can carry a 60-minute second act on his back, and single-handedly create Oscar buzz for a volleyball? Other than me, that would be no one.

3. Daniel Day Lewis - Gangs of New York

Bill the Butcher; quite the symbol of anti-conformity. A racist, raspy-voiced, violent American patriot, Bill can stop a city with one blink of an eye (...he only has one eye). The bedside monologue about "fear" should be studying in acting classes for decades to come.

2. Mickey Rourke - The Wrestler

Name one Hollywood actor who could have played THIS role with the conviction of Mickey Rourke. Who else could have embodied Randy the Ram? That, again, would be no one. Welcome back, Mickey. We really didn't miss you, but you got us on this one.

1. Daniel Day Lewis - There Will Be Blood

He sounds eerily like John Huston in Chinatown. Painful memories of a failed gold-digging enterprise can be found in every gimpy step taken toward a gushing oil rig. His squinty eyes cut through the bull-crap of anyone standing his his way. His morals are in wealth and nothing else. Getting saved is just a price to pay for a pipeline. He'll steal your milkshake without you knowing it; and once he confesses his sins, kills the priest who hears them. Meet Daniel Plainview, the most ambitious, iconic, engulfing character of the 21st Century.