Indiana Jones has been voted cinema’s greatest hero by Empire magazine and its readers in their poll of the 50 Greatest Movie Heroes of All Time.
Most famously portrayed by Harrison Ford, and inspired by 1930s adventure serials that Steven Spielberg and George Lucas grew up watching, Indiana Jones was overwhelmingly voted the ultimate cinematic hero
The list of heroes compiled by best-selling movie magazine Empire and its readers - who cast their votes by the thousands via empireonline.com – has led to a definitive rundown of cinema’s most fearless icons yet.
To celebrate the list, Empire spoke to the likes of Sigourney Weaver, Keanu Reeves, Michael J. Fox, Carrie-Anne Moss, Sean Astin, Bruce Campbell and more in brand new interviews breaking down their most heroic roles.
Taking second place is Warrant Officer, Ellen Ripley. Sigourney
Weaver on her performance as the iconic sci-fi hero in the Alien Quadrilogy commented: “I’m so glad she continues to resonate for people. I admire her too. She gets things done.”
At 23 on the list is Back to the Future’s magnificent Marty McFly. Empire talked to the one and only Michael J. Fox about bringing the everyday hero to life and the legacy it has given him: “It’s funny — I never thought of Marty in terms of being heroic. He’s more Robin than Batman. But it’s a real treat. It was a huge gift I was given in my career.”
On John Wick (20), Keanu Reeves spoke of his role as the expert former assassin: “When I think of the character, I think of his will, his fortitude, and his honour. Is he someone that could be a role model for the kids? Maybe with a little curating.”
Elsewhere on the list, Iron Man (3) is voted the top-ranking Marvel character and Samwise Gamgee (12) is voted the most popular hero from The Lord Of The Rings trilogy.
Commenting on the results, Nick De Semlyen, Acting Editor of Empire, said: “Heroes have never been more important – right now we need people to inspire us. So we thought the time was right to celebrate cinema’s greatest champions, with a reader-voted poll counting down 50 characters, from Black Panther to Indiana Jones, who make us want to punch the air. Featuring brand new interviews with Keanu Reeves, Sigourney Weaver, Michael J Fox and many more, it might just be our most uplifting issue of Empire yet.”
Empire’s 50 Greatest Movie Heroes of All Time:
1. Indiana Jones
2. Ellen Ripley
3. Iron Man
4. Captain America
5. Luke Skywalker
6. Batman
7. Leia Organa
8. James Bond
9. Superman
10. Black Panther
11. Wonder Woman
12. Samwise Gamgee
13. Aragorn
14. John McClane
15. Spider-Man
16. Han Solo
17. Sarah Connor
18. Thor
19. Obi-Wan Kenobi
20. John Wick
21. Rocky
22. Black Widow
23. Marty McFly
24. Ethan Hunt
25. Wolverine
26. Imperator Furiosa
27. Harry Potter
28. Rey Skywalker
29. Ben Solo
30. Captain Marvel
31. Atticus Finch
32. Jason Bourne
33. Hermione Granger
34. Frodo Baggins
35. Neo
36. Gandalf
37. The Bride
38. The Terminator
39. Maximus Decimus Meridius
40. Trinity
41. Clarice Starling
42. Ash
43. Blade
44. Mad Max
45. Katniss Everdeen
46. Moana
47. Axel Foley
48. Rick Blaine
49. Merida
50. Martin Brody
The issue, priced £4.99, is available for pre-order now via Great Magazines at www.greatmagazines.co.uk and will be available to purchase from newsstands on Thursday 11 June. Digital editions are available from the Empire app on iOS or Android, Apple News+ and Amazon Newsstand. The 50 Greatest Movie Heroes of All Time will be revealed in this month’s issue.
