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.