Best of the Best Actor Nominees for 2007

The man has proved to be one of the most versatile and talented actors in Hollywood today. Johnny Depp has played a man with scissors for hands in Edward Scissorhands. Johnny Depp has taken us across seas, fighting monsters of every size with a drunken swagger in his step in the Pirates of the Caribbean films. Johnny Depp has taken closer to neverland than we could have ever hoped possible as the writer of Peter Pan in Finding Neverland.

Johnny Depp was born in Owensboro, Kentucky to Betty Sue Palmer and John Christopher Depp. He has one brother, Danny, and two sisters, Christie and Debbie. He is from a German, Cherokee and Irish ancestry.

In Sweeney Todd, Johnny Depp plays a disgruntled - no, let's say vengeful man who was sent to prison while his family was ripped apart. He's changed a lot. The city of London seems to have changed a lot in absense. It's probably all due to one person, a judge, a man who saw what he wanted and ruined lives to get it. This despicable man wanted both Sweeney Todd's wife and daughter to himself. If some "judge" threw me in prison to take advantage of my wife and daughter, I'd be pretty pissed off too.

Before acting, Johnny wanted to create his very own rock band. His mother bought him a guitar when he was 12 and Depp began practicing in his garages. Johnny created his first band in honor of his girlfriend. It was only after his parents' divorce that Johnny dropped the rock band idea and started looking into other careers. He first appeared in Wes Craven's 1984 horror classic, A Nightmare on Elm Street. Then Johnny went on to appear in Oliver Stone's 1986 masterpiece, Platoon. After that, it was just a matter of time before this talented young actor made it to the big time. And when Tim Burton hired him to play the title character of his unique and somewhat surreal 1990 fairy tale, Edward Scissorhands, Johnny certainly did.

You might not expect there to be any singing in a tale like this but I assure you, there is. If you thought Johnny Depp couldn't expand any more than playing a man with scissors for hands or a drunken pirate, you were gravely mistaken. Here, Depp is darker and scarier than he's ever been, and singing at the same time. Johnny is my favorite choice for Best Actor this year.

Viggo Mortensen for Eastern Promises

In a brooding portrayal of a man on the inside of the Russian mafia, Viggo Mortensen pulls his character, Nikolai off with flying colors. The film however does not ever come up to the level of tension in Mortensen's character. You actually begin to believe his character is a nastier assassin than Robert De Niro could ever play. The man was intimidating to watch throughout the first half of the movie. The movie throws us a few surprises, Viggo's Nikolai awkwardly battles two lone assassins nude in a steam room, and all of that tension built around the character is thrown out the window. Yet, Viggo never breaks character. So you might say the weakest part of this performance comes from the writer and director, David Cronenberg. Since his role as Aragorn in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, I have grown to respect Viggo's acting abilities more and more. On February 24th, I was rooting for Viggo.

George Clooney for Michael Clayton

I was just as offended by George Clooney's acceptance speech when he was Best Supporting Actor for Syriana as those bozos who created South Park. He was smug, trying to tell Hollywood to make great movies. However, I can't dismiss the fine performances he's given in his career. He's come a long way since doting a cape and rubber nipples in what is arguably the worst Batman movie ever. The only thing you might hold against Clooney's law firm fixer, Michael Clayton is that he looks a little too much like Danny Ocean from Ocean's 11. Michael Clayton certainly doesn't act as cool or smooth as Ocean, but the suit is almost a perfect match. Pretty soon, at this rate people will be naming the next George Clooney project a "George Clooney Movie". Back to the topic at hand, Clooney's Michael Clayton is a vulnerable guy with a lot of problems thrown in his lap with 2 hours of screen time. The film unfortunately never gives Clooney the chance to expand on the fixer part of Michael Clayton. I just think he was understandable from beginning to end. That's probably the only reason I was rooting for him.