Tom Hanks and Audrey Hepburn named actors Brits would most like to play them in a biopic, study finds

'It’s a question most of us have asked ourselves or been posed by another: who would play you in a movie of your own life?'

Wednesday 28 February 2018 08:31 EST

Fifty per cent of respondents say they are worthy of a potential Oscar winner to present them, such as the 61-year-old Hollywood star (Getty)

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Tom Hanks and Audrey Hepburn are the actors British people would love to play them in films of their lives, a study has found.

The star of Forest Gump, Big and Saving Private Ryan was the choice the male population would prefer to take on the role, while the star Roman Holiday and Breakfast At Tiffany's came top of the ladies list.

Overall one in two Britons thinks an Oscar-worthy actor would be required to play them in a movie of their own life, the study conducted by Sky Cinema, found.

Hanks, who picked up the coveted statuette for his role in Forrest Gump and Philadelphia also received a nomination at this year's 90th Academy Awards, for his role in The Post.

Hepburn was the first actress to win an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award and a Bafta Award for a single performance in the 1953 Roman Holiday.

She was ranked by the American Film Institute as the third-greatest female screen legend in Golden Age Hollywood.

In 1989, Hepburn was appointed a Goodwill Ambassador of the The United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef) and was later presented with the Presidential Medal of Freedom by George H W Bush in recognition of her work with the organisation.

“It’s wonderful to see such notable talent as Tom Hanks, Audrey Hepburn and Steven Spielberg getting well-earned recognition from the British public for their work," said Sky Cinema's Alex Zane, who will host the Oscars on 4 March.

Other Academy Award winners appearing in prime positions in the countdown include Leonardo DiCaprio, Helen Mirren, Clint Eastwood and Sandra Bullock.

Denzel Washington, Maggie Smith and Emma Thompson also appeared in the top 20 actors and actresses we would want to play us on the big screen.

When it comes to directorial duties, Steven Spielberg – who currently has three Oscars to his name – is the most sought-after talent amongst the British public for telling their tale, followed by James Cameron and Quentin Tarantino.

Thirty-seven per cent of Brits believe their character would be the hero of their tale, while one in five would consider themselves an anti-hero figure.

And one in 10 pessimistically think they would ultimately become the villain in a cinematic retelling of their own life story.

A quarter would describe their life story as a drama, while 22 per cent think the events of their life would work better as a light-hearted comedy.

Twenty one per cent think their life story falls into the archetype of a true underdog tale and a quarter think it would be a feel-good and uplifting story.

Researchers also found that if Brits had the choice of popular elements to include in their movie, one in seven would add a climactic battle – even if it never happened in their real life.

Seventeen per cent would include a musical number or interlude to proceedings and one in five would work in a shocking plot twist to hoodwink viewers.

A quarter also believe their life story could not be released without an 18 rating to cover the raunchy, violent and otherwise "mature" content of their lives while more than half want their story to end with a traditional happy ending, while one in seven want things to close on a comedic note.

One in 10 would opt for their character to go out in a blaze of glory and a subversive one in eight would like the film to cut to black while their character is mid-sentence to leave the audience on a baffling cliff-hanger.

Over two thirds of modest moviegoers think the events of their life could be squeezed into a sub-two hour runtime and only one per cent thinks their story could run to the length of some of the grand Hollywood epics of the past.

Forty one per cent reckon the film which tells their life story would be worthy of a nomination at the Oscars, yet 44 per cent admit the events would likely make for a boring watch once up on screen.

Alex Zane added: “Ahead of the Oscars this weekend we wanted to get Brits thinking about the cinematic quality of their own lives. It’s a question most of us have asked ourselves or been posed by another: who would play you in a movie of your own life?

“Blockbusting stories aren’t limited to Hollywood film lots and we hope our study has sparked imaginations and conversations about the power of cinema and the possibilities that wait should the life stories of the British public ever be committed to celluloid.”

Sky Cinema will show the Oscars exclusively live in the UK on 4 March Sunday, coverage begins with Oscars 2018: Red Carpet live from midnight, before the Oscars 2018 live begins at 1.30am on Monday morning.

Top 50 actors Brits want to play them

1. Tom Hanks

2. Audrey Hepburn

3. Sandra Bullock

4. Helen Mirren

5. Emma Watson

6. Leonardo DiCaprio

7. Clint Eastwood

8. Julia Roberts

9. Kate Winslet

10. Matt Damon

11. Emma Stone

12. James Stewart

13. Anthony Hopkins

14. Marilyn Monroe

15. Meryl Streep

16. Jennifer Lawrence

17. Emma Thompson

18. Maggie Smith

19. Denzel Washington

20. Angelina Jolie

21. Johnny Depp

22. Keira Knightley

23. Brad Pitt

24. Reese Witherspoon

25. Jack Nicholson

26. Liam Neeson

27. Gary Oldman

28. Humphrey Bogart

29. Harrison Ford

30. Daniel Day-Lewis

31. John Wayne

32. Michael Caine

33. Tom Cruise

34. Grace Kelly

35. Marlon Brando

36. Scarlett Johansson

37. Katharine Hepburn

38. Jodie Foster

39. Charlie Chaplin

40. Elizabeth Taylor

41. Robert De Niro

42. Clark Gable

43. Julie Andrews

44. Charlize Theron

45. Nicolas Cage

46. Russell Crowe

47. Vin Diesel

48. Whoopi Goldberg

49. Gary Cooper

50. Jeff Bridges

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