| It’s one thing to get famous, but another entirely to become the embodiment of sex for a mass audience. Only a select few public figures ever get elevated to the status of iconic sex symbol. Many of them are obvious, either nominated by default because of stunning looks (Tom Cruise, Marilyn Monroe) or sold as sex objects from the start by corporate interests looking to cash in on desire (Britney Spears, 50 Cent).
But a few sex symbols have turned heads for different reasons. These unlikely stars have wildly different qualities that get their admirers all hot and bothered, but they share an ability to woo without having recourse to pin-up prettiness, and a way of turning their quirks into aphrodisiacs. Fast Forward looks at some of these strangely desirable folks and rates their unlikeliness factor out of five (five being most unlikely).
GUYS
· Bill Murray – While we all loved him when he was still the ham from Meatballs, Murray only achieved sex symbol status when he entered his dishevelled period, starting with his turn as a jaded star who charms Scarlett Johansson in Sofia Coppola’s Lost In Translation. Now, he’s Hollywood’s foremost example of how to age gracefully and a potent reminder that sarcasm is hot. Unlikeliness: three.
· Jack Black – The rotund comic has made a name for himself as a flabby goof, but with his role in this season’s rom-com, The Holiday, he’s taken a big step towards leading man status and solidified his place in the annals of sexdom. Showing off his mighty chest brush in Nacho Libre didn’t hurt. Unlikeliness: four.
· Mads Mikkelsen – Usually, there’s nothing like crying blood to ruin a romantic moment. But this emerging star, who faces off with James Bond as the creepily weepy villain Le Chiffre in Casino Royale, has long been a hot item in his native Denmark, where he’s regularly voted sexiest man in the country. This despite looking like a corpse who’s had one too many facelifts. Unlikeliness: two.
· Clay Aiken – Losing in just the right way can make even the biggest dweeb look like a rock star. Witness this American Idol finalist, who parlayed his shortcomings and a mean case of bedhead into a career as a pop star and reality TV’s biggest sex symbol to date. Unlikeliness: three.
· Napoleon Dynamite: Sometimes it’s not the actors we fall for, but the characters themselves. Jared Hess surely isn’t hurting for dates, but it’s the gangly, afroed nerd he played that’s revered by eccentrics everywhere as the ideal guy to take a moonlit llama ride with. Proof positive that dancefloor chops – even the ridiculous kind – can make a whole gymnasium full of ladies swoon. Unlikeliness: five.
GALS
· Janeane Garofalo – The ultimate unlikely sex symbol. Although she’s been quiet lately, Garofalo entranced a generation of Weezer fans with her full shape, sharp humour and thick-rimmed glasses. Smart and saucy, she’s the celebrity you believe you might actually, if the stars were in alignment, be able to lay. Unlikeliness factor: four.
· Helen Mirren – OK, just because she’s old doesn’t mean she can’t be attractive. Mirren has become more than just a disarming mom-type, showing off her assets in the near-nudie comedy Calendar Girls and making young men everywhere go Graduate and ponder that old wisdom about age and experience. Recently, she even did the impossible: making the Queen of England sexy. Unlikeliness factor: three.
· Nigella Lawson – Bosom, sure. But it’s this telebrity chef’s sensual approach to cooking that makes the dudes drool. Whether she’s whipping up a rabbit stew or dipping her finger into a pot of peaked cream, Nigella is the antithesis of the homely housewife. Proof that the key to a man’s heart is through his stomach. And having enormous boobs. Unlikely factor: two.
· Linda Hamilton – Sweaty, muscled and taking no guff from the machines, this tough cookie staked her claim as a sex symbol by battling Arnold Schwarzenegger in the Terminator films. He may be Governor of California, but she’s the one we still dream of, kicking ass in a torn wifebeater. Unlikeliness factor: three.
· Jessica Rabbit – That’s right: you don’t even have to be real to give men a chubby. There were animated starlets before her (Betty Boop, Daphne from Scooby-Doo, Bugs Bunny in drag), but this buxom ’toon from Who Framed Roger Rabbit? became the hottest stretch of celluloid the screen had ever seen and predated the 3D graphic porno movement by a full 20 years. Unlikeliness factor: five. |
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