Hardest working movie stars of 2011

Steve Charnock looked back through every UK cinema release this year to find out which actors put more effort in than everyone else and appeared in the largest amount of films. And here are the results - the hardest working movie stars of 2011…

WINNER!
Topping this year's list is Jason Bourne himself, Matt Damon with a massive six UK releases. Early in the year we saw him in Clint Eastwood's dodgy supernatural effort 'Hereafter' and the Coen Brother's 'True Grit'. He also popped up in intelligent sci-fi thriller 'The Adjustment Bureau', recent mega-disease flick 'Contagion', the relatively unheard of 'Margaret' and even lent his voice to the animated penguin dance film 'Happy Feet Two'. What a guy!

RUNNERS-UP:
With five credits to his name, Jason Statham runs Matt Damon pretty close for the title this year. Four of the five are very Statham-esque outings: 'Killer Elite', 'Blitz', '13' and 'The Mechanic', but the fifth is the somewhat less violent 'Gnomeo & Juliet'.

[See also: 2011's ten most successful films]

Joining The Stath on the second podium place is fellow Brit actor Ciaran Hinds. The Belfast-born  58 year-old is perhaps the least well-known actor on our list, but as a versatile character actor who pops up in movies all the time, you'd definitely recognise his face. This year saw Hinds pitch up in 'Salvation Boulevard', 'The Rite', the massive 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part Two', Helen Mirren Nazi-hunting film 'The Debt' and the hugely successful 'Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy'.

BRONZE MEDALS:
Comedy heavyweight Seth Rogen has been a busy boy over the past few years. 2007 - 2009 saw the 'bromance' king turn up in just about everything. Last year he kicked back a little, but 2011 had him dominate cinemas once more. From touching cancer comedy '50/50' to superhero mess 'The Green Hornet', from the animated 'Kung Fu Panda 2' to Simon Pegg comedy 'Paul', the man was everywhere. And that's no bad thing in our book.

[See also: Simon Pegg picks the best action films ever]

Bryan Cranston made the successful transition from TV to Hollywood this year and really made the most of it. The 'Breaking Bad' actor (perhaps most famous for being the dad in 'Malcolm in the Middle') could be seen in courtroom thriller 'The Lincoln Lawyer', the cool-as-ice crime thriller 'Drive', 'Contagion', and Tom Hanks-starrer, 'Larry Crowne'. Expect to see more of him in 2012.

Cranston's 'Drive' co-star Ryan Gosling was a busy bunny in 2011 too. As well as Nicolas Winding Refn's excellent 'Drive', Gosling starred opposite George Clooney in his political drama 'The Ides of March', as well as romance flicks 'Blue Valentine' and 'Crazy, Stupid, Love'. His hard work paid off too. Many regard the Canadian as the new King of Hollywood.

Another hard-working Brit making the list is our very own Andy Serkis. The former Gollum has four credits to his name this year. True, you can only actually see his face in 'Brighton Rock', but that's Andy. He's known for playing CGI creatures and could be seen as Caesar the ape in one of the films of the year, 'Rise of the Planet of the Apes', as Captain Haddock in Spielberg's 'The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn' and can even be heard in the recent 'Arthur Christmas' movie.

[See also: 2012 TV preview]

There really are a lot of successful (and hard-working) British actors in the movie biz, aren't there? The legendary Gary Oldman didn't rest on his laurels this year either, with four films under his belt. 'Red Riding Hood', 'Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy', 'Kung Fu Panda 2' and 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part Two' secured his place on the list.

Well done to all concerned. Keep it up next year!

What do you reckon? Do you respect this lot for their dedication and hard work? Or should it be more about quality over quantity? Get discussing below...