With Bradley Cooper’s American Sniper sitting comfortably at fourth place at the box office after four weeks in wide release and eight weeks in theaters, it’s clear that his role as “the deadliest sniper in history” resonates with many people — but can he beat a British Oscar winner?
This weekend, audiences everywhere got to see Colin Firth kick major a** as a James Bond-esque super spy in the amazingly entertaining Kingsmen: The Secret Service. So which acclaimed actor would win in a fight between their acting careers? We’re here to get a definitive answer in another installment of Celebrity Showdown!
Who do you think will win between Cooper and Firth? For fun, take a guess, then check out our totally scientific results.*
*Results are not actually scientific.
Looking at seven unique criteria that weigh box-office earnings, critic’s reviews and award season gold, Celebrity Showdown examines the anatomy of both stars’ careers to see who’s the real super star.
ROUND 1 – TOTAL FILMS
Bradley Cooper: 21
Colin Firth: 34 (WIN)
ROUND 2 – HIGHEST GROSSING FILM
Bradley Cooper: $333.1 million – Guardians of the Galaxy (WIN)
Colin Firth: $144.1 million – Mamma Mia!
ROUND 3 – AVERAGE GROSS
Bradley Cooper: $115.4 million (WIN)
Colin Firth: $32.8 million
ROUND 4 –TOTAL COMBINED GROSS
Bradley Cooper: $2.42 billion (WIN)
Colin Firth: $1.01 billion
ROUND 5 – HIGHEST RATED FILM
Bradley Cooper: 93% – American Hustle
Colin Firth: 94% – The King’s Speech (WIN)
ROUND 6 – AVERAGE RT SCORE
Bradley Cooper: 52.0%
Colin Firth: 55.6% (WIN)
ROUND 7 – ‘AWARDS SCORE’*
Bradley Cooper: 6
Colin Firth: 8.5 (WIN)
*2 points for Oscar wins, 1 point for Golden Globes, Emmy or Screen Actors Guild Wins, .5 points for People’s Choice Wins and -1 point for a Razzie Win.
AND THE WINNER IS…
COLIN FIRTH! 4 to 3
This has got to be one of the closest Celebrity Showdowns in recent memory. While Cooper dominated at the box office (with Guardians of the Galaxy and The Hangover being two of the best performing movies in years), Firth’s strengths came in choosing solid material and his ability to get acting organizations to fall deeply in love with his British charm.
Congrats Mr. Firth! Hopefully, we’ll get to see you punching dudes in the face in another film as soon as possible, because it’s really fun to watch.
As for Mr. Cooper? Don’t feel too bad for him. After all, he is starring in the upcoming Cameron Crowe rom-com Aloha. Check out the trailer, below.
[NOTE: I originally wrote this story for ETonline.com, where it was first published.]
Zach Seemayer 
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