Tom Cruise beats Robin Williams as the sexiest male actor of all time

If you had to name the top two contenders for 'sexiest male actor of all time' your opinion on who gets the silver and gold might be quite different from what we're about to tell you.

It's Mother's Day and you might want to treat the most important woman in your life to one of her favourite movies, or perhaps a thinly veiled opportunity to spent two hours gazing at one of her favourite movie stars.

Showcase Cinemas polled 2,000 mums to get this expert demographic's opinion on who they thought the sexiest man in movies was, and the narrow winner was Tom Cruise.

He may not be the tallest guy on the big screen but Cruise is one of the most popular action stars on the planet with the stuntman chops to let you know he's the real deal.

Then there's that handsome face which you certainly wouldn't say belongs to a 60-year-old man, plus he could regale you with all sorts of fascinating Scientology anecdotes while on a date.

Cruise may have received the most votes but he was almost overtaken by legendary actor and comedian Robin Williams.

Peter Nixon / Alamy Stock Photo

Williams himself got almost the same number of votes as the third placed Tom Hanks, and you may be starting to realise that your mums' idea of what makes for the sexiest actor in the world is a bit different to yours.

Then again fourth spot belongs to Patrick Swayze of Ghost and Dirty Dancing fame, so perhaps things aren't that different after all.

Rounding out the top 10 were Hollywood legends Robert Redford and John Wayne, followed by Indiana Jones star Harrison Ford, the velvet voiced Morgan Freeman, the distinguished Alan Rickman and then Bradley Cooper in 10th place.

You'll get a different answer depending on who you ask, as another recent poll found that Jeremy Clarkson was dubbed the UK's 'sexiest man alive' by a website which people use to have affairs.

However, while the 2,000 mums polled might have found Tom Cruise the sexiest actor of all time that love doesn't appear to extend to his movies.

PA Images / Alamy Stock Photo

Showcase also asked around for people's mums' favourite films and none of the top 10 featured Cruise, while the other top 10 entries also struggled to have their films make the list of favourites.

If you want to treat your mum to a movie this Mother's Day then The Sound of Music is going to be your best bet, as that took top spot on the poll of films your mum probably loves.

There's just something about that heady mix of music, romance, gorgeous scenery and the complex geopolitical ramifications of the Nazi annexation of Austria which your mother simply adores, though you should be aware that it's almost three hours long.

The Sound of Music narrowly pipped Titanic to the top spot, while Mamma Mia rounded off the top three.