-For the third year in a row, Denzel Washington comes in on top as America’s favorite movie star. Returning to the list this year at number two, after a one year absence, is Clint Eastwood. The perennial favorite, John Wayne, who died 30 years ago, is tied with Will Smith at number three.
These are the some of the results of The Harris Poll®, a new nationwide survey of 2,388 U.S. adults surveyed online by Harris Interactive® between December 9 and 15, 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, Clint Eastwood, really “makes their day” while “Pretty Woman” Julia Roberts is the favorite for women;
* There are also regional differences as well – those in the East say Indiana Jones, or rather Harrison Ford, is their favorite movie actor, while Midwesterners cite Julia 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.
