Men of the Year 2022
I am something of an authority on the subject of hot famous dudes. A connoisseur, you might say. I'm not saying that the likes of Colin Farrell or Henry Cavill or Simu Liu only found massive success because of my early endorsement of their charms, but there's no clear evidence to the contrary either.
Every year I pick ten emerging hunk-a-hunks who had a great year and give them the blessing of my favour, so before 2022 whimpers out, it's time to countdown my Men of the Year -- starting with a few unranked honorable mentions:
Zethphan Smith-Gneist, Tar
The role of "music student bullied by Lydia Tar" may prove to be a breakout performance!
Antonio Aakeel, Slow Horses
Slow Horses is an excellent show that takes the glamour out of spycraft, but I will accept Aakeel as a hot future Bond.
Emilien Vekemans, Bastard Son and the Devil Himself
Bastard Son was sadly cancelled after one season, but Belgian actor Vekemans stood out as a swaggering queer magician.
Leo Woodall, The White Lotus/Vampire Academy
I am also not his uncle.
Asher Grodman, Ghosts
His '80s investor-bro character in Ghosts can never put on pants because he died without them, and that's a win. But Grodman is clearly yoked as hell, so the fact he can never take off his jacket is a loss.
Now, the top ten:
10. André Lamoglia, Elite
As the seductive bisexual boy-crush in Elite, Lamoglia is the perfect blend of sweetness and sin. Does he also look a bit like a sexy muppet? Like a zaddy Guy Smiley? Yes. Yes he does. What about it?
9. Daniel Rankin, cook
Samoan-born, NZ-based Rankin is one of many hot personal trainers on TikTok (whose content I watch when it's reposted to Instagram, as is the way of my peoples). What makes him the best is that his content is mostly him baking delicious desserts with his passive lil pug Fraser while grooving to classic pop. He can dance, he can bake, he can do pull-ups, and he loves his dog. That's a man.
8. Sam Reid, Interview with the Vampire
Reid had a big challenge as the first actor ever to play Lestat (according to my notes), but he has the talent and high-wattage charm to bring that undead monster to life and convince us that anyone would put up with him. Bite me.
7. Brandon Perea, Nope
Perea came to my attention in the cult series The OA, and I've been waiting for his breakout role ever since. Jordan Peele delivered the goods with Nope, and hopefully more and bigger roles are on their way. Something in the MCU, maybe? Perea has a street dance background, and all the best superhero actors can dance.
6. Ram Charan, RRR
Charan's character in the epic RRR is introduced as a tool of a violent oppressive regime (the British, you've heard of us), but Charan is so suave, so likeable, so damn handsome, that the audience is praying for a turn that will allow us to cheer him on. That's star power.
5. Jacob Anderson, Interview with the Vampire
Anderson didn't get to show his range in Game of Thrones, but he plays a whole orchestra of emotion as dewy-eyed softboi Louis (and he gets to wear the sharpest suits) opposite Sam Reid's unhinged Lestat. A revelatory role for a beautiful man.
4. Mitchell Burns, photographer
Another TikTokker whose staggering handsomeness earned him a huge following. Burns is just promoting his stunning photos of the Australian landscape, and sometimes I worry that it bothers him that all the comments on his posts are thirsty. Then he posted a video squeezing goo out of a poker-shaped plant, and I think maybe he knows exactly what he's doing.
3. Tenoch Huerta, Wakanda Forever
Namor is one of my favourite comic characters--hot, pompous, perennial outsiders with society-destroying tendencies and liberated sexuality are inherently queer-coded. Huerta was never on my radar to play the role in the MCU, but my God, he brought all the necessary charisma, intensity, and magnetic appeal to convince me he was the perfect man to fill those trunks.
2. Will Sharpe, The White Lotus
As a Will Sharpe fan of ten years' good standing, I want to welcome all the new converts to the cause. Sharpe is beautiful, but also brilliantly, blisteringly smart as a performer, writer, and director, all of which is tremendously attractive. He's going to rule the world.
1. Zane Phillips, Fire Island/Legacies
A Tom of Finland illustration brought to life. Zane Phillips is so handsome that he almost triggers an uncanny valley response. Phillips is a gay man in a post-Jonathan Bailey age, so he should be able to grab leading roles all over town, but he seems happy to lean into homoerotic roles, and I support his choices. Give this man a KAKE movie.