Fassbender's officially our top actor

By Lynne Kelleher

MICHAEL Fassbender is officially the most popular Irish actor on the planet, according to the ultimate fame barometer.

The Oscar-nominated star is the highest ranking celebrity on IMDB's STARmeter rankings, which provides a snapshot of celebrity popularity based on the searches of millions of users on internet Movie Database.

Liam Neeson is the second most popular actor on the site's worldwide fame grading, while Jamie Dornan is ranked third thanks to the soaring interest since he wrapped filming of Fifty Shades of Grey.

The rankings, which give a fascinating glimpse into pop culture, has three stars of Game of Thrones among the top 10 Irish celebrities on the worldwide poll.

Game of Thrones' Jack Gleeson is in fifth place, while Michelle Fairley, who played Catelyn Stark, is in seventh place and Aidan Gillen is ninth. Saoirse Ronan (pictured)- ranking fourth place - is the only other female in the top 10.

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Meanwhile, Jack Reynor has rocketed up the list in the past week thanks to the blockbuster opening weekend of Transformer: the Age of Extinction - 
making it into sixth place.

Managing editor with IMDB Keith Simanton said the rankings, which are updated weekly, reflect the behaviour of millions of the site's users.

The IMDB poll is one of the ultimate yardsticks of a celebrity star power.

"It is an extraordinarily good indicator," said Mr Simanton. "We see people's interest pretty early."

He said the site, which has 190 million visitors every month, reflects the current global popularity of Game of Thrones, with three of its Irish stars appearing in the top 10 on STARmeter.

Colin Farrell just makes in into the list, at tenth - while the relatively unknown Louth actor Colin O'Donoghue is at number 11 due to his starring role in one of America's biggest shows, Once Upon A Time.

hnews@herald.ie