Godfather star Pacino tops the 100 greatest film stars poll

GODFATHER star Al Pacino has been named the greatest film star of them all — just ahead of his co-lead in the movie, Robert De Niro.

Oscar-winner Pacino, 63, topped a poll of the 100 greatest film stars for a Channel 4 countdown which finished last night.

Top British actor in the list is Sir Anthony Hopkins acclaimed for his screen performances as serial killer Hannibal Lecter among other leading roles.

Pacino is known for a string of gritty roles and was twice nominated for an Oscar for his Godfather performance.

He has won just one Academy Award for his acting, playing a rather more tender role as a blind army colonel in Scent Of A Woman.

A Channel 4 search for the 100 top films many months ago has already demonstrated the high esteem in which film fans hold The Godfather series, ranking them in second place.

Runner-up De Niro, who has appeared in such classics as Taxi Driver and The Deer Hunter, was way behind Pacino in the voting.

He played Pacino's father in The Godfather II, winning one of his two Oscars for the role.

The highest charting non-Oscar winner is Harrison Ford, loved by audiences for his performances as Han Solo in three Star Wars movies.

He is also hugely popular for his roles as Indiana Jones and is next year expected to begin working on a fourth movie as the archaeologist action hero.

More than 25,000 votes were cast in the Channel 4 poll, for which Scottish star Ewan McGregor is the youngest actor in the top 10 at the age of 32.

Not one woman has made the top 10.

Breakfast At Tiffany's star Audrey Hepburn is the highest woman, charting at 13.

The next, at 20, is Sigourney Weaver, best known for the Alien sci-fi series.

North By Northwest and An Affair to Remember star Cary Grant is the highest dead entry at number 10 in the list.

Recent British Oscar winner Catherine Zeta Jones is unplaced but her husband Michael Douglas came in at number 100.

The list of candidates was compiled and edited by a panel of film critics and film-makers, with voting taking place on the Channel 4 website and by text voting over a period of six weeks.

Producer and director of the show John Piper said: "The list reveals a few surprises in the way that the British public have voted.

"Although all the classic greats are there, the final top five demonstrates that there are now modern greats who are established and are recognised up there alongside those classic movie stars."

The countdown was screened in two parts on Sunday and Monday nights.