Tom Hanks Named North America’s Most Trusted Celebrity

A Hollywood-based marketing firm looked at more than 1,500 stars, factored in the parts they’ve played, the public image they’ve projected and their overall likeability and screen success and come up with one name as the most trusted in all of celebritydom.

It’s Tom Hanks, who has not only proven himself a consistent winner at the box office for decades but is seen as being sympathetic in the roles he chooses.

According to Forbes Magazine, Hanks wins the title of Most Trusted Celebrity because fans associate him with heroic or innocent roles, like the naïve but good hearted Forrest Gump, the heroic astronaut in Apollo 13, an AIDS patient fighting for his rights in Philadelphia or a man trying to survive in Cast Away.

That perception also increases his value in Hollywood and helps Hanks land top parts and big bucks for high profile movies, because likeability and trust is something money can’t buy.

Looks don’t hurt either, which is why there’s not an ugly mug in the Top 10.

Coming second on the list is something of a surprise: it’s foodie-turned-talk show host Rachael Ray, whose new shows airs at 5pm weekdays on Citytv. She’s seen as being perky, upbeat and fun to watch – and besides, who can resist someone who knows so much about eating?

Third place belongs to a man whose screen presence has been limited by illness. Canadian Michael J. Fox was already big and small screen box office gold but his brave public fight with Parkinson’s disease has made him the third most trusted star in North America.

And in a business filled with Paris Hiltons, Britney Spears-types and Mel Gibsons, trust is an increasingly rare commodity.

Here’s the full list of the names the survey says you believe in most in the entertainment world:

1) Tom Hanks
2) Rachael Ray
3) Michael J. Fox
4) Oprah Winfrey
5) James Earl Jones
6) Denzel Washington
7) Ty Pennington
8) Ron Howard
9) Morgan Freeman
10) Reese Witherspoon

Source: Forbes Magazine