Ranker Spotlight: Sidney Poitier

An important figure in the worlds of acting, activism, and 20th century history, Sidney Poitier passed away in January 2022. Poitier was a trailblazing actor and director known for being the first Black man to win an Oscar for best actor in 1963 with Lilies of the Field, but it wasn’t just that role that opened doors for actors of color in the years to come. The actor’s turns as an East London school teacher in To Sir, With Love, a doctor trying to overcome the apprehensions of his white fiancé’s parents in Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, and a detective investigating a murder in In the Heat of the Night together made Poitier the top box-office draw in 1967. For his trailblazing career in film and his civil rights activism (which included helping to organize Martin Luther King Jr.’s March on Washington), Poitier received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2009.

As the world mourns the loss of this great actor, we’re examining how Poitier is viewed by film fans today by looking at his position on Ranker’s hundreds of lists on movies, actors, directors, and public figures. The results give us insight into what Poitier’s legacy looks like to everyday moviegoers and pop culture fans.

How Sidney Poitier Ranks on Ranker

It’s been some time since Poitier was seen on screen — his last acting credit was the made-for-TV movie The Last Brickmaker in America in 2001. All the same, his impact in an earlier era was so great that it continues to resonate with audiences today, many of whom weren’t old enough to see the actor’s film premiere in theaters.

 Poitier ranks #12 on our list of The Greatest Black Actors In Film History (91K votes), behind more contemporary screen legends like Denzel Washington, Samuel L. Jackson, and Chadwick Boseman. He also has a prestigious spot in the Top 30 of our list of The Best Actors In Film History (2.5 million votes), ahead of greats like Clark Gable, Al Pacino, and Christian Bale. Poitier’s work behind the camera is positively viewed, as well: he’s ranked #23 on the list of The Very Best Black Directors (3K votes), ahead of fellow actors-turned-directors Don Cheadle, Will Smith, and Tyler Perry.

 The late, great actor is beloved not just for his work, but also for his off-screen persona. That explains his #54 ranking on our list of Celebrities You Think Are The Most Humble (56K votes), as well as his place in the Top 100 on The Coolest Actors Ever (754K votes).

What Do Poitier’s Fans Love?

Tens of thousands of votes have been cast for Sidney Poitier on some of Ranker’s most popular celebrity lists. What and who else do those fans vote for? Ranker Insights can tell us more about the likes and dislikes of the actor’s biggest fans. 

As an actor with a long and illustrious career, Poitier has worked alongside actors from multiple generations. That helps to explain why fans of his work love such a wide variety of performing artists — those who love Poitier are 5X more likely than the average movie fan to love the work of Forest Whitaker, and 6X more likely to love Paul Newman. Similarly, they’re just as likely (6X) to love LeVar Burton as they are Lauren Bacall.

Poitier fans aren’t necessarily drawn to every major figure in film; they’re 2X more likely than the average Ranker voter to dislike iconic director Martin Scorsese and 3X more likely to dislike Oscar-winning actor Gwyneth Paltrow. Still, the fan base as a whole generally has an appreciation for the movie industry’s greatest legends, whether they come from Hollywood’s Golden Age or are still active today.

Poitier supporters are unsurprisingly drawn to the actor’s most famous films. The most popular film among the actor’s fan base is In the Heat of the Night, which fans are 5X more likely to love, followed by To Sir, With Love, which fans are 3X more likely to vote up. Besides the actor’s list of credits, Poitier fans like classic movies that span the 20th century and beyond, from 1962’s To Kill a Mockingbird (4X more likely to love) to 2004’s Hotel Rwanda (3X more likely to love). A common theme in the movies Poitier fans like most is a focus on injustice and inequality — though there’s also room for goofier comedies like Galaxy Quest, a 1999 space farce starring Tim Allen that Poitier fans are 3X more likely to love.

When it comes to music, Poitier fans show a more consistent preference for the good old days. They’re far more likely to love musicians who were at the height of their fame around the same time as Poitier, like Aretha Franklin and Sam Cooke, or even earlier, like Nat King Cole and Billie Holiday. Those who love Poitier are 3-4X more likely to love all these artists, while they’re 3X more likely to dislike contemporary artists Taylor Swift and Selena Gomez. But the artist they’re more likely to enjoy than any other artist (5X) is Poitier’s good friend and fellow activist Harry Belafonte.

These stories are crafted using Ranker Insights, which takes over one billion votes cast on Ranker.com and converts them into actionable psychographics about pop culture fans across the world. To learn more about how our Ranker Insights can be customized to serve your business needs, visit insights.ranker.com, or email us at insights@ranker.com.

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