The Castle best represents Aussies - survey

The cast of <i>The Castle.</i> Darryl Kerrigan is centre. Photo / Supplied

SYDNEY - Australians have applied "the law of bloody commonsense" to vote Darryl Kerrigan as the film character that most represents who they are as a nation.

Over one third of people (37 per cent) believe The Castle - the 1997 film about a working class Melbourne family's fight to save their home - best represents the real Australia, according to a nationwide survey released on Wednesday.

Darryl Kerrigan, the movie's working class patriarch played by Michael Caton, was the favourite Aussie film character for 23 per cent of the 1003 people surveyed.

Crocodile Dundee, played by Paul Hogan, won 21 per cent of the vote while Muriel (Toni Collette) from Muriel's Wedding came third with 17 per cent.

Social commentator Bernard Salt said it was quite surprising The Castle beat off other films such as Baz Luhrmann's blockbuster Australia.

"Darryl Kerrigan is hardly a heart-throb and ... the suburb The Castle is set in is hardly a glamorous location," Mr Salt told AAP.

"But it has entered the hearts and the vernacular of the Australian people.

"I think Australians felt a realness to The Castle that is not conveyed in the over-dramatised, slightly photoshopped vision of (the film) Australia.

"The story of a happy-go-lucky battler coming up trumps against the odds - that is the story that appeals to Australians."

Quotes from The Castle, such as "this is going straight to the pool room" and "tell him he's dreaming" are still widely used by Australians, Mr Salt said.

In the survey, commissioned by the Australia Day Council of NSW (ADCNSW), former prime minister Bob Hawke topped the poll as the politician Australians would most like to co-star with in a film, cornering 37 per cent of the vote.

His nearest rival was John Howard at 18 per cent.

Cate Blanchett was declared Australia's leading lady, garnering 41 per cent of the vote, followed by Nicole Kidman at 23 per cent and Toni Collette at 17 per cent.

Hugh Jackman is Australia's favourite leading man by far.

Jackman won 54 per cent of the vote compared with Russell Crowe's 17 per cent and Sam Worthington's 13 per cent.

When asked what Australian values they believed most accurately illustrate the real Australia to the world, 32 per cent of people picked Aussie mateship over lifestyle, at 25 per cent, and landscapes, at 20 per cent.

Mr Salt felt this came from Australia's history of battling the elements to survive.

"Australia against the odds, battling fire, flood and drought and the need to band together is a common theme in Australia's history," he said.

The survey was released by the ADCNSW in the lead-up to two national competitions, Reel Australia and Living Australian, designed to get Australians talking and creatively interpreting what it means to be Australian in 2010.

Reel Australia is a short film competition while Living Australian will give the public a chance to express their vision of Australia through photography.

"If you want to win these competitions, you need to connect with the real Australia and tell stories that we all connect with, such as these," Mr Salt said.

- AAP