MUMBAI: For the third year in a row, Denzel Washington is America’s favorite movie star once again. Returning to the list this year at number two, after a one year absence, is Clint Eastwood. John Wayne, who died 30 years ago, is tied with Will Smith at number three.
These are some of the results of The Harris Poll, a new nationwide survey of 2,388 U.S. adults surveyed online by Harris Interactive between 9 – 15 December, 2008. Other findings include:
* With a return as Indiana Jones this past summer, Harrison Ford leaps from the number 10 spot in 2006, to off the list last year, to number 5 this year;
* Rounding out the top ten is Julia Roberts at number 6 (down from No. 4 last year), Tom Hanks at number 7 (down from number 2), Johnny Depp at number 8 (down from 3 last year), and two new additions to the list tied at number 9 – Angelina Jolie and Morgan Freeman;
* Four actors have dropped off of the list since last year – Matt Damon, Sean Connery (last year both were tied for the number 7 spot), Sandra Bullock (number 9), and Bruce Willis (number 10);
* Different groups have their favorite actors. For men, their favorite actor is Eastwood, Roberts is the favorite for women;
* There are regional differences as well – those in the East say Indiana Jones, or rather Ford, is their favorite movie actor, while Midwesterners cite Roberts as their favorite. Southerners say that Denzel Washington is their favorite movie actor and Westerners, perhaps due to the large number of Westerns he starred in, say John Wayne is their favorite movie actor;
* Each generation also has a favorite movie actor. For Echo Boomers (those aged 18-31) it is Will Smith. Generation Xers (those aged 32-43) are fans of Lara Croft, or rather Angelina Jolie, who comes in as number one for them. For Baby Boomers (those aged 44-62), Washington is number one and the favorite for Matures (those 63+) Eastwood.
* It is not just politicians and policies that cause differences between Republicans and Democrats, it’s also movie actors. The favorite for Republicans is Wayne and the favorite for Democrats is Washington. Independents don’t help break the tie – their favorite actor is Ford.
Another interesting note as the nation’s first African American president moves in to the White House is, that this new top ten is one of the more diverse. Three of the actors are African American and two are women.
