Top 10 Film Dads

We all love a great (or even not so great) father figure in a film. They can make, break and shape the picture. So here's what I think are the top 10 film dads.

Honourable Mention- The Terminator from Terminator 2: Judgement Day- Arnold Schwarzenegger
Some of you may be thinking "WHAT?!" Well, not in my real top ten, Arnie deserves a mention for Terminator 2 where the newly programmed cyborg, rigged to protect and obey young John Connor at all costs, is the one who Sarah Connor decides would make the best father for John. However, Arnie has to kill himself in order to save humanity, but he's learnt to feel emotion and gives an emotional goodbye to John in one of action cinema's most tender scenes.

10. Sonny Foufax from Big Daddy- Adam Sandler

No, he's not actually the kid's biolological father, we get it. But Sonny's stint as a father figure is what the film's about. Whilst the film was nominated for half a dozen Razzle awards, it's one of those Adam Sandler films that really, we all love. Watching him slowly learn how to be a mature and responsible adult did make for a great film.

9. Elrond from The Lord of the Rings- Hugo Weaving

In the epic scale of the War of the Ring it's easy to forget that Elrond is the father of Arya, Aragorn's elven lover. Elrond tries all he can to get Arya to go into the West rather than sacrifices her immortality to be with Aragorn, and father's everywhere can see where the man's coming from. Having lost enough friends and soldiers in the previous War of the Ring, Elrond's desire to keep his daughter safe is understandable.

8. Henry Jones from Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade- Sean Connery

The original Indiana Jones trilogy is one of cinema's greatest achievements and it wouldn't quite be the same without Sean Connery's infinitely memorable appearance and Indiana's bumbling archaeologist father, Henry. A wonderful contrast to the bombastic, adventurous Indie, he provided a wonderful comic relief and a nice insight into Indiana's past- "We called the dog Indiana!"

7. Zeus from Hercules- Rip Torn

Hercules, one of the brilliant film's from the Disney Renaissance, is really carried along by all of the characters other than the title on. Hades is my favourite Disney villain and I think Zeus is possibly one of my favourite minor Disney characters. Portraying the impeteous, lightening toting cassanova of Greek mythology as a goofy dad was a stroke of Disney genius. And when Zeus bursts out of the weird rock thing the Titans lock him in and he starts pwning them, you've got to admit- he's pretty sick.

6. Sweeney Todd/Benjamin Barker from Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street- Johnny Depp

Having been wrongly imprisoned for 15 years in an Australian labour camp on a false charge, which was fabricated so the evil sexual predator Judge Turpin could lay hold of his wife, you could understand why Sweeney would have family issues. The musical is carried along by his smouldering desire to murder the judge and be reconciled with his long lost daughter Johanna. But with an immense amount of dramatic irony and fake blood, Todd nearly kills his daughteer, kills his wife and ends up dead himself. Happy Families.

5. Don Vito Corleone from The Godfather- Marlon Brando

Can't wait til the day of my wedding!

4. Atticus Finch from To Kill a Mockingbird- Gregory Peck

Atticus is undeniably one of fiction's greatest heroes, and Peck's portayal showed us cleary Atticus' hopeless quest in the face of a despicably racist legal system. A man who never let up from teaching his children to do what was morally right, a man who never spared is children the truth, and a man who's the meanest show in town, Atticus is an incredible father figure.

3. Jack Torrence from The Shining- Jack Nicholson

Jack's slow descent into insanity culminating in a murderous pursuit of his wife and son makes for an incredible movie. Never exactly cuddly and caring, Torrence's detachment from his family is part of what makes him into the terrifying psychotic figure we see at the end of the film.

2. Mufasa from The Lion King- James Earl Jones

You still cry.

You know you still cry.

1. Darth Vader from Star Wars- David Prowse/James Earl Jones

I don't need to justify this decision.