James Stewart was a titan of Golden Age Hollywood, starring in 80 films throughout his epic career.

The Oscar-winning World War 2 veteran and Presidential Medal of Freedom holder was incredibly relatable for audiences with his everyman characters.

Yet out of all his films, it turns out his favourite was probably his most famous: Frank Capra’s It’s a Wonderful Life.

Reflecting on the Christmas classic, which is now considered one of the greatest movies ever made, he once said: “A friend told me recently that seeing a movie I made more than 40 years ago is a holiday tradition in his family. “That movie is It’s a Wonderful Life, and out of all the 80 films I’ve made, it’s my favourite. But it has an odd history.”

Inspired by A Christmas Carol, Stewart starred as George Bailey, a selfless and down-on-his-luck businessman who is saved by an angel and shown what his life would have been like had he never existed.

The uplifting and life-affirming film had “an odd history” because it didn’t perform well at the box office upon its release in 1946.

It wasn’t really until the 1970s, when it entered the public domain and was regularly shown on TV, that it suddenly became a family festive staple.

Stewart added in Guideposts: “It seems to me there is nothing phenomenal about the movie itself… It’s simply about an ordinary man who discovers that living each ordinary day honourably, with faith in God and a selfless concern for others, can make for a truly wonderful life.”