Detailed findings
Considering the extensive careers of many of these actors, it is unsurprising that they are so famous. Twenty-three of the 50 actors on our list have more than 100 acting credits in film and television, according to the Internet Movie Database.
The most prolific actors are William Shatner, Tim Curry, and Martin Sheen – each has racked up at least 225 credits, thanks in large part to their well-known work in television. On the opposite side of the spectrum is Barbra Streisand. Though she only has 24 acting credits, some were hugely successful movies, like “Funny Girl” and “Meet the Fockers.” Of course, Streisand is also hugely famous from her singing career.
The majority of actors on our list are currently in their 70s. “Jurassic Park” star Sam Neill is the most recent actor to join the septuagenarian club. Kirk Douglas is the only actor on the list to live for more than a century, after turning 101 on Dec. 9.
Douglas worked into his 90s, with his last acting credit for the 2008 TV movie, “Empire State Building Murders.” Many of the other featured actors seem to refuse to let aging stand between them and their craft. Clint Eastwood, at 88, and Robert Duvall, at 87, for example, continue to act in and direct feature films.
Methodology
To identify the most famous actors over 70, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the 5,000 top ranked actors 70 years old and over on IMDb’s STARmeter. This ranking is a weekly measure of popularity based on user behavior on the Internet Movie Database.
We created an index based on two metrics of fame: the popularity of the films and television shows each actor has appeared in and the popularity of the actor’s Wikipedia page. The number of user votes a film or television episode received on IMDb was used as a proxy for a given actor’s popularity. An actor’s total popularity was determined by the sum of the votes received for all the films and television programs for which the actor is credited. Actors were only given credit for episodes of television series in which they appeared. IMDb vote counts for actors in starring roles were given full weight in the index; IMDb vote counts for actors in non-starring roles were given half weight in the index. We combined this with the number of page views the actor’s Wikipedia page received over the past two years. Total acting credits came from IMDb.
Certain actors over 70 whose primary fame came from endeavors outside of film or television – such as Paul McCartney and Tina Turner – were removed from consideration.
If you want your portfolio to pay you cash like clockwork, it’s time to stop blindly following conventional wisdom like relying on Dividend Aristocrats. There’s a better option, and we want to show you. We’re offering a brand-new report on 2 stocks we believe offer the rare combination of a high dividend yield and significant stock appreciation upside. If you’re tired of feeling one step behind in this market, this free report is a must-read for you.
Click here to download your FREE copy of “2 Dividend Legends to Hold Forever” and start improving your portfolio today.
Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.
