Hollywood's most sincere-seeming celebs

The celebrity industrial complex is many things, but genuine it is not. With so much money at stake—a recent study of troubled pop star Britney Spears pegged her value to the economy at between $110 million and $120 million, and she doesn't even sing anymore—it's difficult to accept the things celebrities say or do at face value, no matter how legitimate a reason they offer up. But everyone has that one famous person who, despite how cynical publicist denials and staged paparazzi shots and canned interview responses have made us, we consider to be the real deal. Ours is actually Matt Damon—he's always shied away from spotlight, he doesn't open his mouth unless he has to, and, when he does, it seems like he's given thought to what he's saying.

In this spirit, we asked a bunch of people who they considered to be the most genuine celebrity—that is, the one individual they thought exuded authenticity in how they conduct themselves. The anti–Paris Hilton, if you will. Not surprisingly, the man who received the most votes was George Clooney (our boy Damon actually placed second). On the female side, the squeaky clean Jennifer Garner led the pack, followed by Jennifer Aniston. Below, our list of the 50 most genuine celebrities, in alphabetical order.

Jennifer Aniston: "The combination of the Brad Pitt breakup and the Oprah gabfest and the crying in Vanity Fair have all made her appear very vulnerable. And it doesn't seem like an act or a publicity ploy."

Judd Apatow: "He's been fired from enough places for not compromising his integrity that I know that, especially now, with an amazing track record and the ability to do basically whatever he wants, he would have even less reason to compromise."

Alec Baldwin: "You know he's an asshole, but he's hilarious. Even when he chewed out his preteen daughter, you got the sense that he clearly cared."

Dave Chappelle: "The guy walked out on a $50 million contract because he didn't feel his comedy was honest anymore. How many other people would do that?"

Don Cheadle: "Some guys just have an effortless charm that makes them seem like they are totally in control in all situations. Cheadle has it on camera. And I bet he has it off camera, too."

George Clooney: "I feel like he doesn't put up with the magazine machine the way that most people do. He may actually be as cool as the dominant alpha male he plays. He's got an old-school air about him. Plus, that Darfur shit is for real."

Zooey Deschanel: "She's like Chloë Sevigny before Chloë was Chloë, except she's way better. She has that quirky indie appeal that seems authentic."

Matt Damon: "He didn't marry a celebrity and he's always awkward and withdrawn on talk shows, which means he's a normal person. There's this great bit about him in a GQ story where he is taking a piss and the interviewer writes about how loud it is because Damon really isn't giving him anything else to work with. He seems entirely unconcerned with the trappings of fame."

Daniel Day-Lewis: "His body of work is proof enough that he is singularly interested in acting as a craft. There's just no way you're gonna see him in Meet the Parents just to make a quick buck."

Johnny Depp: "He doesn't seem to compromise much, and he's a really fucking good actor. He puts the lie to the myth that you can't be a big star in Hollywood without being a big Us Weekly red-carpet celebrity."