The best and worst movie presidents of all time
Move aside, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, Han Solo is fit for office.
In a survey of more than 1,000 movie lovers, Fandango asked which fictional U.S. movie presidents (or presidential candidates) they would most and least like to see in office.
The winner was Harrison Ford in Air Force One. Apparently, Ford picking off Russian hijackers and throwing them off a plane brings results in the polls.
Ford is followed by Morgan Freeman (can you imagine the State of the Union in that glorious voice?) in Deep Impact, Michael Douglas in The American President, Bill Pullman in Independence Day and Jamie Foxx in White House Down. All pretty much save the world from total destruction, so we're in general agreement here.
The least-wanted president in Hollywood is Charlie Sheen's playboy president in Machete Kills. Sheen's character, President Rathcock, says in his faux campaign commercial that he's pro-marijuana, pro-Second Amendment and he's built a wall to keep out immigrants.
Sheen is followed by Leslie Nielsen in Scary Movie 4, John Travolta in Primary Colors, Peter Sellers in Dr. Strangelove (he does accidentally start a nuclear war, so that's probably fair) and Jack Nicholson in Mars Attacks!
In essence, people want the world saved from alien attacks and don't want a president who tells crude jokes or doesn't take the job seriously. And really like Harrison Ford.
Here are the lists in full:
Most respected movie presidents
1. Harrison Ford (President James Marshall), Air Force One
2. Morgan Freeman (President Tom Beck), Deep Impact
3. Michael Douglas (President Andrew Shepherd), The American President
4. Bill Pullman (President Thomas J. Whitmore), Independence Day
5. Jamie Foxx (President James Sawyer), White House Down
6. Robin Williams (President Tom Dobbs), Man of the Year
7. Kevin Kline (presidential stand-in Dave Kovic), Dave
8. James Earl Jones (President Douglass Dilman), The Man
9. Sela Ward (President Elizabeth Lanford), Independence Day: Resurgence
10. Michael Keaton (President John Mackenzie), First Daughter
Most feared movie presidents
1. Charlie Sheen (President Rathcock), Machete Kills
2. Leslie Nielsen (President Baxter Harris), Scary Movie 4
3. John Travolta (presidential candidate Jack Stanton), Primary Colors
4. Peter Sellers (President Merkin Muffley), Dr. Strangelove
5. Jack Nicholson (President James Dale), Mars Attacks!
6. Terry Crews (President Dwayne Camacho), Idiocracy
7. George Clooney (presidential candidate Mike Morris), The Ides of March
8. Dennis Quaid, (President Joseph Staton), American Dreamz
9. Martin Sheen (presidential contender Greg Stillson), Stephen King’s The Dead Zone
10. Gene Hackman (President Allen Richmond), Absolute Power