When I do a search on IMDB, it gives a list of matches and near matches, with a credit for each name on the list. The credit given often is not the person’s most notable work.
For example, searching on Tom Baker gives at the head of the list:
Tom Baker, actor, The Magic Roundabout.
How does IMDB choose this particular show as his credit, rather than Doctor Who?
Also, with at least 16 real people with movie or TV credits, and several fictional characters named Tom Baker, how does IMDB know which one should go first on the list?
I don’t know the answer, but they have their own message boards, and some of them the “Help Desk” and “Contributors Board” actually gets read by IMDB Staff. They could probably answer it for you.
When I looked at his filmography, the one listed next to his name in the search results (The Magic Roundabout) is the most recent feature film - everything after that is a TV show or a video game.
Hypothesis: they list the most recent feature film.
(Now waiting for the inevitable counterexample. 10… 9… 8…)
In this particular case, I suspect it’s because Who is a TV show and that field defaults toward movie titles*. However, the question is why Roundabout when Dungeons & Dragons has many more votes and six or seven other theatrical features have higher user ratings?
I did a couple other searches, with similar results. While some actors have the film that is highest rated or most voted on (Cary Grant/N by NW, Bette Davis/All About Eve), this is not a consistent model. Julianne Moore, for instance, has Magnolia listed by her name even though The Big Lebowski has more votes and Children of Men is higher-rated.
I’m going to speculate that the title is used for the film that puts that actor in top billing. Roundabout has Baker as top-billed in the cast listing, while all the other films with more votes have him listed lower down the list of players. Ditto Moore and Magnolia (curiously). Who would not be listed because votes don’t count for the TV series, but for individual episodes (the Who episode with the most votes still has 1/7th the amount that Roundabout does).
I also did a test of character actors–people who are unlikely to ever get top-billing in the film listings. In each case (Scott Glenn, Patricia Clarkson, Ward Bond, Thelma Ritter), the film listed was the one with the most votes.
So it appears that top-billing paired with most votes is what dictates which film is listed. Testing this theory, go look at Tom Baker (II), and you’ll see that even though there are seven films with more votes than the Italian one he’s listed for (including one that has 10 times the votes), Amore e Rabbia gives him top billing, so that’s probably why it’s paired to him.
*So it appears my speculation on TV shows is wrong. It’s just that you’re unlikely to find someone with more votes for a TV episode than a theatrical movie, unless it’s someone with a very short CV.
I suspect it probably prioritizes those with the most titles in their bio, or the most votes associated with those titles. I also suspect actors, directors, and writers get priority over other craftsmen/technicians. Note that Tom Baker (III) is a writer while Tom Baker (VI), who has more films (and more popular ones) to his credit, is merely in the Camera & Electrical Dept. Tom Baker (X) is an actor, but with only one film credit to his name, he’s relegated to a lower ranking–though still not as low as Tom Baker (XII), who has only a video game to his credit. And so on…
It could also be that the actor or his/her agent gets to chose what movie get’s listed next to their name. I beleive they get to chose their default picture.
