In 2003, the American Film Institute published a list of the 50 greatest movie heroes and villains of all time. The AFI defined a hero as "a character(s) who prevails in extreme circumstances and dramatizes a sense of morality, courage and purpose. Though they may be ambiguous or flawed, they often sacrifice themselves to show humanity at its best."
- Atticus Finch from To Kill a Mockingbird
- Indiana Jones from Raiders of the Lost Ark
- James Bond from Dr. No
- Rick Blaine from Casablanca
- Will Kane from High Noon
- Clarice Starling from The Silence of the Lambs
- Rocky Balboa from Rocky
- Ellen Ripley from Aliens
- George Bailey from It's a Wonderful Life
- T.E. Lawrence from Lawrence of Arabia
- Jefferson Smith from Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
- Tom Joad from The Grapes of Wrath
- Oskar Schindler from Schindler's Wrath
- Han Solo from Star Wars
- Norma Rae Webster from Norma Rae
- Shane from Shane
- Harry Callahan from Dirty Harry
- Robin Hood from The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)
- Virgil Tibbs from In the Heat of the Night
- Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid from Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
- Mahatma Gandhi from Gandhi
- Spartacus from Spartacus
- Terry Malloy from On the Waterfront
- Thelma & Louise from Thelma & Louise
- Lou Gehrig from The Pride of the Yankees
- Superman from Superman: The Movie (1978)
- Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein from All the President's Men
- Juror 8 from 12 Angry Men
- General George S. Patton from Patton
- Luke Jackson from Cool Hand Luke
- Erin Brockovich from Erin Brockovich
- Philip Marlowe from The Big Sleep
- Marge Gunderson from Fargo
- Tarzan from Tarzan the Ape Man
- Alvin York in Sergeant York
- Rooster Cogburn in True Grit
- Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars
- The Tramp in City Lights
- Lassie in Lassie Come Home
- Frank Serpico in Serpico
- Arthur Chipping in Goodbye, Mr. Chips
- Father Edward Flanagan in Boys Town
- Moses in The Ten Commandments
- Popeye Doyle in The French Connection
- Zorro in The Mask of Zorro
- Batman in Batman (1989)
- Karen Silkwood in Silkwood
- The Terminator in The Terminator
- Andrew Beckett in Philadelphia
- Maximus Decimus Meridius in Gladiator