Geoffrey Rush vs. Pete Postlethwaite
Battle of the Lumpy Lovables

America, sadly, has room in its collective heart for only one lumpy but lovable British character actor, and it looks like Rush is it. Or course, Rush is actually Australian, and a tomato is actually a fruit; but for the purposes of Hollywood, all funny-talkin' guys in IRA/Shakespeare/Merchant Ivory films may as well hail from Leicester. Postlethwaite had the right idea with his roles in The Usual Suspects and Romeo + Juliet, and if he was an American with one-eighth of his talent, he could enjoy a long tenure at the fringe of our consciousness (see Gary Busey). But, unfortunately, this town's not big enough for two English character actors, even if one of them isn't English. And after Shakespeare in Love, well let's just say, America's in love --with Geoffrey Rush!

Advantage: Geoffrey Rush.