It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!!!
Ha. AS IF I was talking about the Holiday Season. NOPE. IT’S MOST HANDSOME YOUNG MAN TIME.
John Cho has had a stellar reign of Handsomeness but now it’s time for him to step down and join the ranks of Joel McHale, Adam Scott, and Tom Mison in the Head Over Feels Handsome Young Man Hall of Fame. Have some scotch, John. You’ve earned it.
So who will take his place as YOUR Most Handsome Young Man? We’ve thought long and hard (our job is SO TOUGH thinking about all the boys we have crushes on) and come up with seven nominees who we think are worthy of the title. (As always, age has NAUGHT to do with the title.) All of these men are handsome. That goes without saying. But you can’t just be a pretty face to earn the Head Over Feels Handsome Young Man Award. No. The nominees have to have that certain Je Ne Sais Quoi that makes them stand out in a crowd. We love these guys for their talents, for the characters they play, for their personalities, and for their spirits. The fact that their faces are all pretty too? Well…that’s just a bonus.
Voting will run through noon on Tuesday December 15th. You can vote once per hour. Campaign for your favorite (we TOTALLY have a favorite but we won’t tell). Get passionate. Spread the gospel of your Handsome Young Man. The winner is in your hands.
— Kim
Josh Charles
Okay, let’s be real. I’ve had a thing for Josh Charles since he was a teenager (and I was a child). Who could resist the moony-eyed uber-romantic Knox Overstreet in Dead Poets Society? NO ONE. I loved him as sports anchor Dan Rydell on Sports Night and I loved him as tormented power attorney Will Gardner on The Good Wife. But it wasn’t until he reduced me to a pile of goo on a weekly basis as perfume king Dan Logan on Masters of Sex that it hit me: Josh Charles is like a fine wine or an expensive scotch. He just gets better with age. (Also, you know he would treat you to said fine wine and scotch because he is one sophisticated mother fucker.)
What is it that Josh brings to the table? SWAGGER. Confidence. An old-fashioned kind of masculinity that is appealing as hell because you KNOW he respects women. Dan Logan was everything Bill Masters wasn’t. He was direct where Bill was evasive. He was straight-forward rather than manipulative. He said what he wanted instead of expecting Virginia to read into all of his actions. And he did it all while rocking a variety of three-piece suits. No WONDER Gini ran away with him to get married in the season finale. If she hadn’t, I would have crawled into my television and done it myself.
Lest you think Josh is all bravado and no sensitivity, just take a look at those puppy dog brown eyes. This IS Knox Overstreet after all. He would write you a poem and read it to you in front of your entire homeroom class (or office, cause you KNOW Knox still did it as an adult). You pretend to be embarrassed but you secretly love it and you love how all that earnestness and emotion just EMANATES from those eyes. And you want some pining? Kindly watch the first two seasons of The Good Wife and then talk to me about how Will Gardner PINED for Alicia Florrick. Josh Charles is the epitome of the cocky guy who actually is a pile of mush on the inside who likes to write love poems and cuddle.



Josh has ALSO got the comic chops, as he proved playing rich boy Blake McCarthy in the Wet Hot American Summer series, as well as various guest spots on Inside Amy Schumer. So basically, he can do it all: smolder, pine for you, and make you laugh hysterically. Sadly, we know his stint on Masters of Sex is a finite one (DAMN YOU BEING BASED ON REAL LIFE) and Josh has yet to pick his next project. Whatever it ends up being, you know I’ll be watching. — Kim
James Corden
The late night wars are largely uninteresting to me, because despite short bursts of conversation that die out as soon as a new host is appointed, the post-primetime schedule remains 100% male and white. But I began to pay attention when James Corden’s name started coming up as a possible successor to CraigyFerg, comedian and former punk rock bandmate of the Twelfth Doctor. If the next talk show emcee had to be another white dude (and apparently no studio exec ever entertained another thought), then at least it might be James: multi-talented, sweet, British, and bae as hell.

In his first year hosting The Late Late Show, James took the new late-night-as-variety trend that Jimmy Fallon honed and ran with it. His shows are packed with sketches, but they’re sketches that usually only call for him and his guests to be themselves. (Or, in the cases of Matt Damon, Tom Hanks, and others: characters from their entire film career.) Carpool Karaoke is the show’s viral staple, made as endearing as it is by James’s fly car dancing, practiced voice, and the fact that he knows all the words to every song on Top 40 radio. I 100% believe that he drives like this even when there isn’t a camera and/or an Oscar winner in the vehicle with him. If James were your boyfriend, you’d take a cross-country road trip just for fun, and it actually would be. He’d put you in charge of the mixes and love every one you’d put together, and you’d take goofy couples selfies in front of any kitschy road side attraction you passed.
I DIGRESS. Like Graham Norton, James brings all his guests out at once so individual interviews are scrapped in favor of group cocktail conversation. Sometimes this leads to him getting a lapful of One Direction’s Louis Tomlinson. This bit did something real to me. I will never be the same
Gratuitous to include here? Perhaps. But his Tommo tummy stroking brings up another item for the Pro-James column. James Corden is not a snob. Like, if you’re going to be the vehicle through which I access more popular culture, then it’s probably going to be more fun if you’re not someone who looks down on it. Case in point is James’s five-way friendship with 1D, who’ve had two of their best ever US interviews on his show. He respects them as people and artists, and recently owned a Twitter troll looking to downplay their impact. But listen, James: if you don’t release OT4’s Carpool Karaoke soon, and I mean soon, then I will rig this contest myself.

Other stuff! The first time I ever saw James Corden was when he played the best friend in the precious UK sitcom Gavin & Stacey, which he also co-created. And then he showed up in my Doctor Who marathon twice as Craig, father to Stormageddon, Dark Lord Of All and flatmate to the Eleventh Doctor. In a panel about the next companion at a recent con, someone in the audience suggested Craig for the position. And while I’d love to see what James’s character would make of Capaldi and vice versa, he’s got a family now. And he’s kind of Eleven’s guy anyway, isn’t he? I’ll friend-ship them until the end of time of space. It’s always been you, Craig.

I was already gone for him by this point, but then James brought his stage comedy One Man, Two Guvnors from the West End to Broadway and I laugh-cried all my make-up off from the eighth row. He beat out actors who were far more famous in the US for that Tony because he left 1000% of himself on that stage every night. But he still had enough left the night we saw to be very sweet to Kim and me at the stage door, a kindness for which we thanked him by waiting until we were at the corner to start screaming about it. I did cry when he was cast as the Baker in last year’s Into The Woods film, so there’s that.

In the high school AU of our lives, James is the guy who’s the cuddly, non-threatening, class clown for most of the year but then transforms into the entire school’s crush around the time of the yearly musical. He sings, he dances, he writes, he does comedy, he’s cute af, and he loves boy bands. Hell, he was in a boy band. What more does a late night host gotta do to get your vote for Most Handsome Young Man? –Sage
Brett Dier
Over the summer, Jane the Virgin swept all of the Comedy Awards in the Feelies. When he saw that three of his co-stars won, Brett Dier, who plays Michael, promptly tweeted us declaring that he “wanted a Feeling Award”. Thus, our crush was born. We are a long way away from the Third Annual Feelies, so a nomination for Most Handsome Young Man will have to suffice for now, sir. (Hi, Brett, if you read this, I hope you don’t think this is creepy. WE LOVE YOU!)

Let’s get this out-of-the-way: Brett Dier is handsome in that perfect golden boy way that makes you want to hate him but you CAN’T because he’s just so fucking nice. He’s tall, he’s got great hair, a smile that lights up his face (Is that a hint of a dimple I see?), and he’s got those bright blue eyes that seem to have a hint of Ferris Bueller style mischief in them. He’s the guy that everyone loves. In the immortal words of Grace the Secretary,”He’s very popular Ed. The sportos, the motorheads, geeks, sluts, bloods, wastoids, dweebies, dickheads – they all adore him. They think he’s a righteous dude.”
Much like last year’s nominee Chris Pratt, Brett is the guy you want to take to your high school reunion as you smugly show him off to everyone who was mean to you, thinking “LOOK WHO I GOT EVERYONE.” (And of course, like I said, everyone would love him because that’s how it works.) He’s the guy you take home to your family for Christmas and he’ll totally win the Ugly Sweater Contest and LOVE IT. How do I know this? Look at how he’s rocking that Santa hat, guys. You know I am right.
My favorite thing about Jane the Virgin (okay ONE of my favorite things) is how equally they balance out the Jane-Rafael-Michael love triangle. I must admit, I was Team Rafael right from the start (because LBR, the show WANTED me to be) but as Season One progressed, sweet and (sometimes overly) earnest Michael began to worm his way into my heart. Perhaps it was how flashbacks showed how HAPPY he and Jane were before the whole accidental insemination thing. Perhaps it was how Michael showed Pacey Witter-Level capacity of remembering the little things that were important to Jane. (Y’all KNOW I am a sucker for that shit.) Perhaps it was just Brett getting more comfortable in the role and the writers figuring out how to write for him. All I know is by the time Jane and Michael kissed in the “snow” a couple of episodes into Season Two, I was flailing off my couch from the OTP feels. Yay Team Michael!
(Well really I am on Team Whatever Makes Jane the Happiest, so stop screwing things up, Michael. I am rooting for you.)

Long story short, Brett Dier is the Handsome Young Man you didn’t realize you were missing in your life. Just look at his earnest little puppy face? Don’t you think he deserves your vote? –Kim

Clark Gregg
I have a confession to make. My friends love Alias. I myself have only seen the pilot so far, and damned if it wasn’t the best ones I’ve ever seen. But I’ve yet to commit. Anyway, they refer to Victor Garber’s character as Spy Daddy, and I know why. But every time I hear that phrase, all I see is a neon sign in my head blinking “Phil Coulson.” If anyone’s the Spy Daddy in 2015, he is.
Fuck. Clark Gregg is so fucking appealing. I don’t even know how else to describe it. Look at him with this dog. Does this dog have any idea how lucky he is? He doesn’t look impressed enough for my liking. Quick, let’s switch places.

My interest in Agents Of SHIELD waxes and wanes, but I’ve held on for dear life for love of our fearless leader. Coulson’s “death” hit me hard in Avengers and the sweet relief of seeing him whole and cracking dad-jokes on ABC has been too great to give up easily. Plus, the man knows how to give good press tour.

No con is worth its salt without Clark Gregg’s pro-SHIELD stumping and sexy nerd glasses. We were in the room in San Diego this year when some kid hit the panel with a “Hail HYDRA.” Every reaction in this gif is priceless, but Clark straight up becomes the Son of Coul. I think my landlord juuuuust turned the heat on.

One of the greatest gifts that SDCC 2015 gave us was the Marvel Television DubSmash war, which Clark attacked with guts, guile, and a willingness to look like an idiot. (Is there anything more attractive than that?) Silliness aside, the DubSmash war showed to the rest of the nerd world that Clark Gregg shows up as a leader for his team off-screen too. The battle was fierce, and the winners were us. –Sage
ICYMI:the knockout punch of SHIELDvsCARTER #SDCC15 #dubsmashwars #DontMakeMePutMyLipstickOn A video posted by Clark Gregg (@clarkgregg) on
Chris Messina
There’s not much to say about Chris Messina that we haven’t said before. Twice a bridesmaid in this poll (finishing third last year to John Cho and Stephen Amell and BARELY losing to Tom Mison in 2013), we’re just going to keep reminding you that Chris is one handsome son of a bitch. We can do that from now until the end of time.
Part of what makes Chris Messina so damn handsome is the fact he’s so unassuming about it. LOOK AT THAT HALF SMILE. Look at those soulful brown eyes, the perfect Clooney eye crinkles, the smattering of salt and pepper in that dark hair, and the oh-so-perfect stubble. The man is GORGEOUS and yet I get the feeling that he just looks at himself in the mirror every morning and shrugs as if to say “Well, this is my face.” Yes, Sir. THAT IS YOUR FACE AND IT’S HANDSOME.
Chris is the guy you passionately debate things with over a couple of beers at the local pub. Chris is the guy who makes your mom blush after he cleans his plate and showers her with compliments about her cooking. Chris is the guy you cuddle up with on a beaten-up (and comfortable as HELL) leather sofa to watch a rom-com with. He acts a little judgey about the movie at first…only to be crying more than you at the end. You KNOW he’s a big old softie who just wants Sam and Annie to live happily ever after at the end of Sleepless in Seattle.
And then there’s Danny Castellano. I may have some issues with how he’s being written this season of The Mindy Project, but he’s still the guy who tells you to look like a woman because you ARE a woman. He’s the guy who wears unreasonably sexy grandpa reading glasses and tight t-shirts like the GIANT contradiction that he is. He’s the guy that will call you a stone cold bitch while you’re pushing a baby out of your body and those are the most romantic words in the entire universe. God bless us every one.
Also…how do you look so good all long-haired and shaggily-bearded, Chris Messina? It’s not fair to the rest of the male population.
Finally, lest you forget (and GOD KNOWS I never do), when all else fails, He can seduce you with those sweet dance moves that are worthy of Magic Mike. Ride it, my pony. All the way into the sunset. –Kim
Jussie Smollett
Did you think we’d have nothing for the girls and boys who go all gooey for the sensitive artist types? Have Jussie Smollett and his teeny tiny puppy friend. Imagine him showing up at your door with that creature, and a song he just wrote and couldn’t wait to play you. I may be confusing Jussie with his Empire character Jamal, but as far as I know Jamal doesn’t even have a dog. So there. I can tell reality from fiction. Anyway, here are the Lyon brothers.

EVERY ONE OF THEM FINE. But we chose Jussie for this honor for a few reasons. One, we were both staunch members of Team Jamal in the fight for the Lyon legacy. Two, he was in the cast of the original Mighty Ducks. Do I even need a three?

Jussie is a dyed-in-the-wool dreamboat, with a butter-smooth voice, killer smile, and dapper personal style. He’s also getting it done on social media, especially in his series of Instagram videos determined to catch co-star Taraji Henson unawares. I cannot with the slow spread of his grin while Taraji bops along in the background of this video. Who do I complain to about this? Surely this violates the Instagram harassment policy of me not being tortured by cute boys with good teeth.
When Jussie publicly confirmed his sexuality earlier this year, he was quick to add that it wasn’t any kind of coming out. He wasn’t in the closet, but his character was. And Jamal’s season 1 journey was one of the richest ever for a queer POC in mainstream media. Or, in more vulgar terms: get it, Jamal.

But the true source of Jussie Smollett’s handsomeness is that voice. And aren’t we lucky that musical TV series are having a moment and we get to hear those dulcet tones almost every week? He even makes Pitbull tolerable, and that’s reason enough to give him all of the accolades. –Sage
Harry Styles
I was out to dinner with a couple of friends in London this year, and two of us starting talking about Harry Styles. (Or continued to. “Starting” implies that we ever really stop.) I literally got weepy in the middle of a restaurant while my friend went on and on about what a truly special person Harry is and how, even if he weren’t famous, he’d be doing something to be a light in this world. Or, as my new favorite tweet of all time goes, “Imagining Harry Styles’ notes to his assistant. ‘Saw a bird that needs help.’ ‘Too many buttons on this shirt.’ ‘Can we make people happier?'” The accuracy, though.

Maybe it’s a weird thing to think about a pop star. Or maybe it’s just the truth. As Bieber descended into his rabbit hole of dickish behavior, even I rationalized some of it with excuses about the unavoidable pitfalls of young fame. Then there’s Harry, whose heavily crafted public image paints him as a womanizer and an antsy, aspiring solo artist eager to dump his bandmates, of which he is neither. He can’t do anything or go anywhere without being hounded and photographed. It’s been two years and no one will shut the fuck up about Taylor Swift. AND YET.

Find me anyone in the industry (besides Taylor and who cares) who has one negative word to say about Harry Edward Styles. One person, please. I can find you the mother of a fan who passed away two years ago from cancer who just Instagrammed a photo of the flowers Harry sent her on what would have been her daughter’s birthday. I can find you videos of him retrieving items that the paparazzi dropped, delivering water and snacks from the stage for fans who aren’t feeling well, and just generally being the kind of person who lifts people up. I want to send his mother flowers. Though if I ever get her address, I’m skipping straight to coming ’round for tea and demanding to know how she produced such a person.

There’s an old talking head interview of Fetus Harry where he tears up while talking about dealing with internet hate and hoping that one day he’ll be the kind of person that doesn’t care what other people think. Well, today is that day, because grown Harry Styles is a majestic unicorn who doesn’t think twice about rocking full patterned suits, sheer blouses unbuttoned to his tummy tat, or some shiny gold boots. His hair surely has restorative powers, like a waterfall in one of those natural areas where people say they see the Virgin Mary in the water damage on a restroom sign. Huge green eyes; an even bigger smile; that slooooowwww, posh drawl; 60 tattoos and counting; a stage presence that recently inspired Mick Jagger to call him the only modern day musician who can match the Stones for swagger, and he’s a massive goofball, on top of it all. He sings pretty too.

So yeah, Harry Styles is special. And him being famous makes him no less so. Him being in a boy band makes him no less so. If you’re still resistant, I bet I can melt your cold, dead heart to Harry in, oh, about 4 minutes and 17 seconds. “Ohhhh, I’m hyped!”
I really wanna mic drop, but I won’t. Cause they’re expensive. Now vote. –Sage
IT’S IN YOUR HANDS, DEAR READERS! WHO IS THE MOST HANDSOME YOUNG MAN?
Charm-oozing Clark Gregg, thank you. ALL. DAMN. DAY. And you didn’t even get into how rawr he looked as black outfit badass Coulson this season, and that he’s funny as hell and really smart and a total fanboy himself so he’s amazing to his fans and his smile can absolutely floor you and he’s…. Ahem. Um, so yeah. Clark. Unf.
Ach, such a hard poll! I love Chris Messina as Danny, although at the mo… 🙁 At the same time, I am #TeamMichael so hard.
Then there’s JOSH CHARLES. He has my heart as Dan Rydell. I love that boy. And as Will…hooo boy, those seasons of pining on The Good Wife!! Why did it all have to end?
But I had to vote for my homeboy James Corden. I love him on The Late Late Show. He’s my favourite late night host. I too love his unashamed love of lowbrow things and his unabashed emotionalism.
Glad to make it hard for you! We love all these guys so much!