What do Brad Pitt & Boris Johnson have in common?

What could these very different male species possibly have to compare notes on?

Brad Pitt, Boris Johnson and Gordon Brown are among the most influential figures in the world, according to Time Magazine. The annual list sees the three men rank alongside Barack and Michelle Obama, the Twitter guys and mass swindler Bernie Madoff in a eclectic mix of those deemed to have had the most impact over the last year.

Britons named in the top 100 include actress Kate Winslet and designer Stella McCartney. There is, however, no room for either the Queen or Conservative leader David Cameron. Each entry on the list is accompanied by a write-up from an equally famous name. Praising the Prime Minister, Harry Potter author JK Rowling writes: ‘I know him as affable, funny and gregarious, a great listener, a kind and loyal friend. These are strange and turbulent times, but issues of fairness, equality and protection of the poor have never been more important. I still want Gordon Brown in charge.’

Mr Brown features twice in the list - as both an entrant and then as writer of President Obama’s citation. The British leader says of Mr Obama: ‘Of course, his oratory is today unmatched. But his courage - the courage to go first, to lead, where none have gone before - is doubly unmatched.’

The magazine’s managing editor, Rick Stengel, said: ‘The Time 100 is not a list of the most powerful people in the world, it’s not a list of the smartest people in the world.’

Instead, he said, it is ‘people who are using their ideas, their visions, their actions to transform the world and have an effect on a multitude of people’.

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