James Bond pipped in poll to find greatest film character

Out of more than half a million films made by Hollywood the character portrayed by Tom Hanks ranked top in the biggest ever poll of moviegoers in America, reports the Telegraph.

The 1994 film was a box office hit and critically acclaimed with Hanks’ performance earning him the Oscar for Best Actor.

Audiences adored Gump as they followed his life from a child to adulthood as he took part in many of the pivotal events of the 1960s and 1970s.

The film, which took more than £500m at the box office, was based on the 1986 novel written by American author Winston Groom.

The film was also known for many of Gump’s phrases, such as “My momma always said, “Life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get.”

While Gump was the runaway winner, British secret agent James Bond was named as the second greatest film character.

007 has endured for almost 50 years after being created by author Ian Fleming.

Daniel Craig is the latest film Bond following in the footsteps of Sean Connery, George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton and Pierce Brosnan.

Scarlett O’Hara was rated as the third most memorable character.

The performance by British star Vivien Leigh as the feisty southern belle in the epic “Gone with the Wind” made her the only female character in the top five.

Anthony Hopkins performance as Hannibal Lecter helped the cannibalistic serial killer rate fourth in the poll.

Indiana Jones, played by Harrison Ford, was named as the fifth most popular character.

More than 500,000 people took part in the survey carried out by ABC TV and People magazine.

As well as favourite characters voters were asked to name their favourite films in various categories.

Gone with the Wind was rated as the top film of all time with The Wizard of Oz runner-up.

The most popular film line of all time also came from 1939’s Gone with the Wind when Clark Gable’s character Rhett Butler says: “ Frankly my dear, I don’t give a damn.”

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