46 male celebrities 5'7" or under

According to popular mythology, male celebrities (and especially leading men on the big screen) are supposed to be tall, dark, and handsome. But many a successful actor, filmmaker, and singer has risen to great heights in the industry without having his head in the clouds—including some larger-than-life action heroes. Speaking as someone who can see eye-to-eye with such diverse figures as Tom Cruise, Al Pacino, and Jon Stewart, I’m proud to count myself among the compact citizens who nevertheless stand tall for their art. It’s therefore my pleasure to honor 45 other celebrities no taller than myself. I look up to you all, even those I must look down at.

(Unsurprisingly, there is frequently conflicting information on the Internet about people’s actual heights; I’ve taken these numbers from the Internet Movie Database.)

1. Jason Alexander (5'5")
2. Woody Allen (5'5")
3. Ed Asner (5'7")
4. Sean Astin (5'6")
5. Richard Attenborough (5'7")
6. Roberto Benigni (5'5")
7. Gael Garcia Bernal (5'6½")
8. Jack Black (5'6")
9. Mel Brooks (5'7")
10. LeVar Burton (5'7")
11. Phil Collins (5'6")
12. Brian Cox (5'7")
13. Tom Cruise (5'7")
14. Billy Crystal (5'7")
15. Danny DeVito (5')
16. Richard Dreyfuss (5'5")
17. Emilio Estevez (5'7")
18. Peter Falk (5'6")
19. Michael J. Fox (5'4½")
20. Al Franken (5'5")
21. Edward Furlong (5'7")
22. Seth Green (5'4")
23. Dustin Hoffman (5'6¾")
24. Tom Hollander (5'5")
25. Ian Holm (5'6")
26. Bob Hoskins (5'6")
27. D.L. Hughley (5'7")
28. Peter Jackson (5'6½")
29. Billy Joel (5'6½")
30. Elton John (5'7")
31. Charlie Kaufman (5'4½")
32. Harvey Keitel (5'7")
33. Joe Kissell (5'7")
34. Nathan Lane (5'5")
35. George Lucas (5'6")
36. Mike Myers (5'7")
37. Al Pacino (5'7")
38. Kevin Pollak (5'5")
39. Prince (5'2")
40. Mickey Rooney (5'3")
41. Wallace Shawn (5'2")
42. Harry Shearer (5'7")
43. Martin Sheen (5'7")
44. Jon Stewart (5'7")
45. Henry Winkler (5'6½")
46. Elijah Wood (5'6")

A final note: I intend no slight toward the likes of Michael J. Anderson (3'7"), Gary Coleman (4'8"), Peter Dinklage (4'5"), and Verne Troyer (2'8") by omitting them from the list, but I felt that using such obvious candidates to pad an already lengthy roll would be a bit gratuitous.