"Give me the water, Eli!"

Paul Thomas Anderson's brilliant There Will Be Blood has been coming on FX recently. I put it on one day during the baptism scene, where Eli forces Daniel Plainview to admit he "abandoned his son." If you've seen the film, you'll remember that the majority of the scene consists of a long close-up of Daniel Day Lewis. Watching Daniel Day Lewis' towering performance here is a pleasure, and Paul Thomas Anderson made an ingenius decision presenting the scene in this way.

This got me thinking of the best male leading performances of the 21st century.

10. Will Farrel, Anchorman
In my opinion, Will Farrel's performance as Ron Burgundy is one of the iconic comedic performances of all time, and deserves to recognized as a great acting achievement. There is something to be said about acting as relentlessly entertaining as this.

9. Philip Seymour Hoffman, Synecdoche, New York
Hoffman's has been one of the most lauded actors of the 21st century, and has no shortage of accolades to show for it, including an Academy Award for his portrayal of Truman Capote in Capote. He's also been recognized for his performances in Doubt, Charlie Wilson's War, and The Savages, but he received little attention for his stunning turn in Charlie Kaufman's unsurprisingly mindbending Synecdoche, New York. It's a huge credit to his abilities that he made this role so memorable. In the film, his character is constantly searching for answers and existential meaning to the point that he himself is a mystery. But Hoffman imbues him with a visceral emotional life.

8. Gene Hackman, The Royal Tenenbaums
Another unforgettable comedic performance from one of the greatest actors of all time. Hackman perfectly realizes Royal Tenenbaum's crusty, self-possessed dimensions, but it's how he evokes Tenenbaum's vulnerable, human core that makes the role so incredible.

7. Paul Giamatti, American Splendor
Although some may prefer his affecting work in Sideways, I'll take Giamatti's portrayal of Harvey Pekar any day of the week. From the spot-on voice to the perpetually misanthropic face, Giamatti owns this role.

6. Daniel Day Lewis, Gangs of New York
Gangs of New York was a flawed film, but it was not the fault of Daniel Day Lewis, who is blisteringly great as Bill the Butcher. His ability to play-up's Bill's insatiable violence appetite for violence as well his full-on humanity is astounding.

5. Christian Bale, American Psycho
To turn a psychopathic killer into a compelling human figure is not easy; some actors have excelled at it, creating indelible cinematic characters, while others have simply churned out caricatures. In Patrick Bateman, Christian Bale portrays perhaps the most galvanizing serial killer character ever.

4. Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler
When I first saw The Wrestler, I was wowed by Rourke's performance, but I still felt that Sean Penn's utterly heartrending turn as Harvey Milk was better. I've since watched both films again, and not only do I think Rourke's performance is better, but I think it's one of the best in recent memory. Rourke loses all emotional inhibition in this role and provides as clear into a person's soul as any actor has done in some time.

3. Tom Wilkinson, In the Bedroom
In 2001, Denzel Washington won best actor at the Academy Awards with his ultra-hyperbolic, one-dimensional villian in Training Day. Since that time, I've heard little of the film or the performance--though both were solid--because you can't get anything from a one-note performance after the first viewing. Tom Wilkinson's turn in In the Bedroom on the other hand is anything but one-note. His multi-layered portrayal of a parent grieving the loss of his murdered son is nothing short of devastating.

2. Daniel Day Lewis, There Will Be Blood
I think I've said all there is to say about Daniel Day Lewis' incomparable talents in this film.

1. Ralph Fiennes, The Constant Gardener
This performance could just as easily be at the top of a "Most Underrated Performances List", but dare-I-say, that would be underrating it. In this film, Ralph Fiennes does a very difficult job: playing a weak character. His Justin Quayle is a mild-mannered British diplomat investigating the death of his activist wife. We witness his transformation from a timid yes man to a man willing to do anything to expose his wife's killers. It's a stunning feat and Ralph Fiennes takes us through Justin's transformation with unequaled subtlety and emotional command.