US poll ranks Eastwood as top actor of 2009

(AFP/VALERIE MACON)

Clint Eastwood, director of Invictus, star of iconic films such as Dirty Harry and Unforgiven, climbs to first place as America's favorite movie actor in 2009. The 79-year-old knocks Denzel Washington off his three-year reign at the top of the annual poll conducted by research firm Harris.

Washington, star of January's box office hit, The Book of Eli, slips to third, as Johnny Depp rises to the second position from last year's ranking at eighth, just as the Pirates of the Caribbean star gets set for the highly anticipated release of Alice in Wonderland by Tim Burton.

With a Golden Globe for The Blind Side, Sandra Bullock was voted top actress, re-entering the list in fourth place. Other actresses in the top ten include Julia Roberts and Meryl Streep, who starred in Julie & Julia and It's Complicated in 2009.

The online Harris poll surveyed 2,276 adults in the US December 7-14. This cross-section also chose the undefeated late actor John Wayne, who remains a fixture in the poll at the seventh spot. Knocked off the top 10 this year were Will Smith, Harrison Ford and Angelina Jolie.

Since 1963, Harris, an American market research firm, has conducted public opinion polls, conducting telephone and online surveys. This ranking of favorite film stars has been published since 1994.

The 2009 Harris Poll Top 10 list for Favorite Actors and Actresses:

1. Clint Eastwood
2. Johnny Depp
3. Denzel Washington
4. Sandra Bullock
5. Tom Hanks
6. George Clooney
7. John Wayne
8. Meryl Streep
9. Morgan Freeman
10. Julia Roberts

RC