Americans love celebrities – especially movie stars. We look to them for entertainment, cultural leadership, and – for better or worse – political guidance. Any way you look at it, actors have an inordinate amount of influence in our society.
That influence generally emanates from Los Angeles and New York City – the two main hubs of the entertainment industry. Yet only a fraction of actors actually come from these cities. Our nation’s star thespians originate from all across our vast nation.
Further exploring this notion, 24/7 Wall St. has identified the most famous actor from each state. Each actor’s level of fame was determined by creating an index based Internet Movie Database popularity, Wikipedia page views, and audience ratings of his or her work.
Click here to see the most famous actor from each state.
Click here to see our methodology.
Many of the country’s most famous actors have earned their status over years of hard work. John Goodman – who was born in Affton, Missouri – has been working steadily for 43 years. He currently has 155 acting credits to his name and is the most famous actor to originate in Missouri.
Still, an entertainer’s level of fame is not directly correlated with how prolific or formally accomplished they are. A number of actors on the list are younger and have had shorter careers. These include Damon Wayans Jr., who hails from Vermont, and Matthew Fox, who comes from Wyoming. Both actors have less than 30 credits to their names yet represent their respective states on our list.
Source: Joe Scarnici / Getty Images
1. Alabama
> Actor: Octavia Spencer
> Total acting credits: 127
> Annual Wikipedia page views: 1,275,846
Source: Rich Polk / Getty Images
2. Alaska
> Actor: Darby Stanchfield
> Total acting credits: 47
> Annual Wikipedia page views: 234,607
Source: Vittorio Zunino Celotto / Getty Images
3. Arizona
> Actor: Emma Stone
> Total acting credits: 42
> Annual Wikipedia page views: 3,854,694
Source: Courtesy of Miramax
4. Arkansas
> Actor: Billy Bob Thornton
> Total acting credits: 89
> Annual Wikipedia page views: 1,551,143
Source: Tinseltown / Shutterstock.com
5. California
> Actor: Leonardo DiCaprio
> Total acting credits: 42
> Annual Wikipedia page views: 6,355,562
Source: Courtesy of Warner Bros. Television Distribution
6. Colorado
> Actor: T.J. Miller
> Total acting credits: 74
> Annual Wikipedia page views: 1,152,671
Source: Courtesy of Warner Bros.
7. Connecticut
> Actor: Meg Ryan
> Total acting credits: 49
> Annual Wikipedia page views: 1,919,595
Source: Jeff Spicer / Getty Images
8. Delaware
> Actor: Aubrey Plaza
> Total acting credits: 65
> Annual Wikipedia page views: 2,522,399
Source: Dimitrios Kambouris / Getty Images
9. Florida
> Actor: Bella Thorne
> Total acting credits: 71
> Annual Wikipedia page views: 4,260,691
Source: Courtesy of Columbia Pictures
10. Georgia
> Actor: Chloë Grace Moretz
> Total acting credits: 64
> Annual Wikipedia page views: 2,887,771
Source: Courtesy of Lionsgate
11. Hawaii
> Actor: Jason Momoa
> Total acting credits: 28
> Annual Wikipedia page views: 8,764,490
Source: Alberto E. Rodriguez / Getty Images
12. Idaho
> Actor: Aaron Paul
> Total acting credits: 76
> Annual Wikipedia page views: 1,715,934
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Source: DenisShumov / Shutterstock.com
13. Illinois
> Actor: Harrison Ford
> Total acting credits: 75
> Annual Wikipedia page views: 4,217,405
Source: Courtesy of NBCUniversal Television Distribution
14. Indiana
> Actor: Jenna Fischer
> Total acting credits: 46
> Annual Wikipedia page views: 2,477,543
Source: Courtesy of HBO
15. Iowa
> Actor: Michelle Monaghan
> Total acting credits: 45
> Annual Wikipedia page views: 1,363,389
Source: Tinseltown / Shutterstock.com
16. Kansas
> Actor: R. Lee Ermey
> Total acting credits: 124
> Annual Wikipedia page views: 2,841,932
Source: Courtesy of Buena Vista Pictures
17. Kentucky
> Actor: Johnny Depp
> Total acting credits: 84
> Annual Wikipedia page views: 5,917,490
Source: Jamie McCarthy / Getty Images
18. Louisiana
> Actor: Reese Witherspoon
> Total acting credits: 57
> Annual Wikipedia page views: 4,810,000
Source: Tinseltown / Shutterstock.com
19. Maine
> Actor: Anna Kendrick
> Total acting credits: 49
> Annual Wikipedia page views: 3,978,820
Source: Matt Winkelmeyer / Getty Images
20. Maryland
> Actor: Anna Faris
> Total acting credits: 49
> Annual Wikipedia page views: 3,752,956
Source: BAKOUNINE / Shutterstock.com
21. Massachusetts
> Actor: Matt Damon
> Total acting credits: 79
> Annual Wikipedia page views: 3,383,071
Source: Courtesy of Warner Bros.
22. Michigan
> Actor: Kristen Bell
> Total acting credits: 92
> Annual Wikipedia page views: 3,684,761
Source: Courtesy of Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
23. Minnesota
> Actor: Chris Pratt
> Total acting credits: 49
> Annual Wikipedia page views: 5,386,720
Source: Rachel Murray / Getty Images
24. Mississippi
> Actor: Lacey Chabert
> Total acting credits: 135
> Annual Wikipedia page views: 1,638,045
Source: vipflash / Shutterstock.com
25. Missouri
> Actor: John Goodman
> Total acting credits: 155
> Annual Wikipedia page views: 2,519,371
Source: Andreas Rentz / Getty Images
26. Montana
> Actor: Michelle Williams
> Total acting credits: 54
> Annual Wikipedia page views: 021,244
Source: Matt Winkelmeyer / Getty Images
27. Nebraska
> Actor: Jaime King
> Total acting credits: 56
> Annual Wikipedia page views: 809,105
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Source: Courtesy of Lionsgate
28. Nevada
> Actor: Jena Malone
> Total acting credits: 70
> Annual Wikipedia page views: 794,757
Source: Courtesy of Warner Bros.
29. New Hampshire
> Actor: Mandy Moore
> Total acting credits: 70
> Annual Wikipedia page views: 3,351,224
Source: Sgt. Michael Connors - 302nd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment / Wikimedia Commons
30. New Jersey
> Actor: Zoe Saldana
> Total acting credits: 57
> Annual Wikipedia page views: 3,386,247
Source: Courtesy of Buena Vista Pictures
31. New Mexico
> Actor: Demi Moore
> Total acting credits: 60
> Annual Wikipedia page views: 3,121,681
Source: Kathy Hutchins / Shutterstock.com
32. New York
> Actor: Scarlett Johansson
> Total acting credits: 62
> Annual Wikipedia page views: 6,436,034
Source: Christopher Polk / Getty Images
33. North Carolina
> Actor: Evan Rachel Wood
> Total acting credits: 50
> Annual Wikipedia page views: 2,671,248
Source: Christopher Polk / Getty Images
34. North Dakota
> Actor: Leslie Bibb
> Total acting credits: 69
> Annual Wikipedia page views: 1,738,659
Source: Courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox
35. Ohio
> Actor: Maggie Grace
> Total acting credits: 47
> Annual Wikipedia page views: 920,080
Source: Rich Fury / Getty Images
36. Oklahoma
> Actor: Brad Pitt
> Total acting credits: 80
> Annual Wikipedia page views: 4,825,661
Source: Courtesy of Fine Line Features
37. Oregon
> Actor: River Phoenix
> Total acting credits: 25
> Annual Wikipedia page views: 2,686,290
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Source: Andrea Raffin / Shutterstock.com
38. Pennsylvania
> Actor: Will Smith
> Total acting credits: 75
> Annual Wikipedia page views: 5,144,554
Source: Courtesy of DreamWorks Distribution
39. Rhode Island
> Actor: Mena Suvari
> Total acting credits: 70
> Annual Wikipedia page views: 869,203
Source: Courtesy of Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
40. South Carolina
> Actor: Chadwick Boseman
> Total acting credits: 30
> Annual Wikipedia page views: 5,112,603
Source: Emma McIntyre / Getty Images
41. South Dakota
> Actor: January Jones
> Total acting credits: 29
> Annual Wikipedia page views: 1,259,319
Source: Dia Dipasupil / Getty Images
42. Tennessee
> Actor: Morgan Freeman
> Total acting credits: 122
> Annual Wikipedia page views: 4,091,654
Source: Courtesy of HBO
43. Texas
> Actor: Woody Harrelson
> Total acting credits: 93
> Annual Wikipedia page views: 2,827,378
Source: Monika Fellner / Getty Images
44. Utah
> Actor: Roseanne Barr
> Total acting credits: 31
> Annual Wikipedia page views: 2,218,052
Source: Kevin Winter / Getty Images
45. Vermont
> Actor: Damon Wayans Jr.
> Total acting credits: 27
> Annual Wikipedia page views: 612,103
Source: Jaguar PS / Shutterstock.com
46. Virginia
> Actor: Sandra Bullock
> Total acting credits: 57
> Annual Wikipedia page views: 3,578,143
Source: Christopher Polk / Getty Images
47. Washington
> Actor: Jeffrey Dean Morgan
> Total acting credits: 67
> Annual Wikipedia page views: 3,071,153
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Source: Frederick M. Brown / Getty Images
48. West Virginia
> Actor: Brad Dourif
> Total acting credits: 168
> Annual Wikipedia page views: 768,436
Source: Mark Metcalfe / Getty Images
49. Wisconsin
> Actor: Mark Ruffalo
> Total acting credits: 68
> Annual Wikipedia page views: 2,161,641
Source: Juan Naharro Gimenez / Getty Images
50. Wyoming
> Actor: Matthew Fox
> Total acting credits: 23
> Annual Wikipedia page views: 503,363
Methodology:
To determine the most famous actor from each state, 24/7 Wall St. created an index based on each actor’s STARmeter ranking on the Internet Movie Database, the number of audience user ratings of all films and television shows in which the actors appear, and the number of page views of each actor’s Wikipedia pages from May 2017 to May 2018. To be considered, each actor had to appear in the top 10,000 rankings on IMDb’s STARmeter.
Each actor’s place of birth was the reference point for determining where they are from. Actors who have gained the majority of their fame for reasons other than acting, such as Meghan Markle, were excluded from consideration.
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