Jason Patric vs. Billy Zane
Battle of the Ridiculously Handsome, Slightly Balding, Curiously Underused Actors of Great Intensity

The Alamo -- which, after being touted for a Christmas 2003, release, is finally coming to a theatre near you, thus giving an ironic new meaning to "Remember The Alamo" -- stars Dennis Quaid, Billy Bob Thornton, and Jason Patric. Or, as we like to call them here at Fametracker HQ, the "Who You Wanted, Who You Got" All-Stars.

"Who You Wanted, Who You Got" is a game we've long played, which simply involves looking at an actor and guessing how many A-listers had to turn down a role before it came tumbling, like a Slinky down a staircase, into the hands of the fellow who got cast. Dennis Quaid, for example, is always happy to pick up on Harrison Ford's and Brad Pitt's no-thank-yous. (And, sure enough, The Alamo was passed along, like peas at Thanksgiving, by Russell Crowe.) Kurt Russell has made a career as a perpetual Plan B. And Jason Patric, of course, is well known for accepting one of the most notorious sloppy-seconds roles of all time, when he stepped in as the lead in Speed 2 after Reeves wisely took a pass.

This is not to say that these second- (or third-) choicers are lesser actors -- quite the contrary. Jason Patric might just be more talented than any the aforementioned stars. He's certainly prettier than just about all of them put together.

He isn't, however, prettier than Billy Zane, another actor who knows a few things about being a second choice. In fact, in addition to their ludicrous prettiness, Zane and Patric have quite a bit in common. Both made big splashes as intense, brooding ruffians: Zane in 1989's Dead Calm, and Patric in 1990's After Dark, My Sweet. (Zane was much more psychotic, though Patric covered that base later in Your Friends & Neighbors.) Both seemed poised to become big stars, but then...well, did not. Both are prematurely balding, which we think is a nice thing to see in Hollywood -- or, at least, nicer than the kind of Chia hair now sported by the likes of Nicolas Cage. And both are best-known for marine-themed action movies: Zane as the bad guy in Titanic, a movie about a boat that sank, and Patric as the lead in Speed 2, a movie that sank while also having a boat in it.

For his part, Patric has seemingly avoided stardom more or less on purpose (Speed 2 and dating Julia Roberts notwithstanding), choosing to focus on small, interesting films like Rush and Narc. Zane does pretty much anything his agent plucks from the in-box, up to and including The Phantom, Flashfire, and the TV-movie version of Cleopatra. Then again, Zane had a funny cameo in Zoolander, and that makes up for a lot of Cleopatras in our books.

Still, you'd think that intensity, great looks and a break would be enough to make either of these guys huge stars in Hollywood. Perhaps that thinking is wrong. Perhaps you need intensity, great looks, a break, unwavering desire and a full head of wavy hair. In fact, maybe you don't even need the great looks part.

Advantage: Jason Patric