He Was Both Captain Phillips and Walt Disney and Tom Hanks is Also America's Favorite Movie Star

NEW YORK, Jan. 10, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- He's flown into space, been a Bosom Buddy, and was just Walt Disney, and this year Tom Hanks is also America's Favorite Movie Star. This is a title he has held three previous times, in 2002, 2004 and 2005. Denzel Washington, last year's favorite movie star, drops one spot to number two. Debuting on the top ten list this year is a woman who had a fantastic year: winning an Oscar and earning buzz for another, not to mention having the starring role in one of the top grossing films of the year, Jennifer Lawrence is in the number three spot.

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These are some of the results of The Harris Poll® of 2,311 U.S. adults surveyed online between December 11 and 17, 2013 by Harris Interactive. A companion Harris Poll released today shows that while Americans report going to an average of five movies in 2013, the majority of U.S. adults (66%) report going to the movies less often now than a few years ago. (Full results, including data tables, can be found here)

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers

Rounding out the first half of the top ten are two actresses. In the number four spot and also earning Oscar buzz is Julia Roberts, who returns to the list after a two year absence. And, in the number five spot is yet another actress garnering Oscar buzz, who spent the summer drifting in space: Sandra Bullock. The Gravity star also returns to the list after a one year absence.

Looking at the bottom half of the top ten, in the 6^th spot is an actor known for playing a myriad of characters who actually had a cinematic flop this summer with The Lone Ranger: Johnny Depp, who drops from a tie for number 4. At number 7, dropping one spot, is the only actor who has been on the list since it first began in 1994, John Wayne. The actor who was in the number two spot last year, Clint Eastwood, drops to number 8 on the list this year. And then in a tie for the 9^th spot on the list are Brad Pitt, dropping from a tie for the 4^th spot last year, and Meryl Streep, who held the 9^th spot by herself last year.

One thing to note is that for the first time since this list began in 1994, there are four actresses in the top ten. The most in previous years had been three.

Ocean's Eleven

Well, actually Ocean's Two and an Indiana Jones, as with the three additions to the list from last year, three actors have dropped out of the top ten. Danny Ocean, or rather George Clooney, who was 7^th on the list last year, dropped off the top ten this year, as did Han Solo, or rather Indiana Jones, or maybe Jack Ryan: Harrison Ford, who was in the number 8 spot. Also, Clooney's Ocean trilogy co-star, Matt Damon, who was in the tenth spot last year, dropped off the top ten for this year.

The Thomas Crown Hanks Affair

Age, region, gender and political party and leanings can often mean different favorite movie stars, but this year, one actor seems to be more universally loved than in previous years. Both men and women say Tom Hanks is their favorite movie actor this year, as do Gen Xers and Baby Boomers. For Echo Boomers, Jennifer Lawrence is number one and John Wayne is the favorite among Matures.  Regionally, Tom Hanks is tops for those in the Midwest and in the South, but Denzel Washington is number one for Easterners. For those in the West, Julia Roberts is the favorite.

In Washington, D.C., there is no secret that the partisan bickering has been quite intense as of late. There is, however, one issue that unites Republicans, Democrats and Independents. They all say Tom Hanks is their favorite movie star. Conservatives and Liberals, however, have a difference of opinion, as Liberals (as well as Moderates) say Tom Hanks, while for Conservatives, John Wayne is the favorite.

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Methodology

This Harris Poll was conducted online within the United States between December 11 and 17, 2013 among 2,311 adults (aged 18 and over). Figures for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, region and household income were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population. Propensity score weighting was also used to adjust for respondents' propensity to be online.

All sample surveys and polls, whether or not they use probability sampling, are subject to multiple sources of error which are most often not possible to quantify or estimate, including sampling error, coverage error, error associated with nonresponse, error associated with question wording and response options, and post-survey weighting and adjustments. Therefore, Harris Interactive avoids the words "margin of error" as they are misleading. All that can be calculated are different possible sampling errors with different probabilities for pure, unweighted, random samples with 100% response rates. These are only theoretical because no published polls come close to this ideal.

Respondents for this survey were selected from among those who have agreed to participate in Harris Interactive surveys. The data have been weighted to reflect the composition of the adult population. Because the sample is based on those who agreed to participate in the Harris Interactive panel, no estimates of theoretical sampling error can be calculated.

These statements conform to the principles of disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls.

The results of this Harris Poll may not be used in advertising, marketing or promotion without the prior written permission of Harris Interactive.

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The Harris Poll^® #3, January 10, 2014

By Regina A. Corso, SVP, Harris Poll and Public Relations, Harris Interactive

About Harris Interactive

Harris Interactive is one of the world's leading market research firms, leveraging research, technology, and business acumen to transform relevant insight into actionable foresight. Known widely for The Harris Poll®, Harris offers proprietary solutions in the areas of market and customer insight, corporate brand and reputation strategy, and marketing, advertising, public relations and communications research across a wide range of industries. Additionally, Harris has a portfolio of multi-client offerings that complement our custom solutions while maximizing a client's research investment. Serving clients worldwide through our North American and European offices, Harris specializes in delivering research solutions that help our clients stay ahead of what's next. For more information, please visit www.harrisinteractive.com.

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SOURCE Harris Interactive