Eastwood voted favourite US star

Movie fans just made Clint Eastwood’s day. The star of Dirty Harry and 2008’s Gran Torino was voted America’s favourite movie star of 2009, ousting Denzel Washington from his three-year hold on the top spot in an annual Harris Poll, released on Tuesday.

Sandra Bullock, the Golden Globe and People’s Choice winner for her starring role in The Blind Side, was the most popular female actress, reentering the Top 10 and coming in fourth place, overall.

Bullock, 45, seen as a favourite for her first Oscar in March, did well with 33- to 44-year-old US moviegoers, particularly those in the southern United States.

But Eastwood, 79, who has managed to combine acting with Oscar-winning directing stints in the past 10 years, reigned supreme with men, Republican and independent voters and those over 45 years old.

Actor Johnny Depp jumped up to the No2 spot from eighth in 2008, and was the favourite choice of US women.

The late screen cowboy John Wayne slipped to seventh, but Will Smith, Harrison Ford and Angelina Jolie all dropped off the Top 10 in 2009.

The top 10 list for 2009

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

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