 |
| Taylor Lautner |
A new breed of brawn
It’s raining men in Hollywood as a flood of fresh male faces — and buff bods — hits the big screen
The reason for the influx: A perfect storm of genres that requires a replenishing of the film industry’s dwindling stock of prime beefcake. With studio slates packed with would-be superhero franchises, the rollout of more Clash of the Titans-style epics and a surge in fairy-tale adventures that require both virile peasants and handsome princes, there’s a run on actors between the ages of 20 and 35 capable of filling the needs of such
cinematic fantasies.
“The sheer volume of these types of films is a casting nightmare,” says Paul Dergarabedian, box-office analyst for Hollywood.com. “These are big shoes to fill, and you don’t want actors who are interchangeable.” Good looks alone do not guarantee a perfect fit. That’s especially true of comic-book avengers who must meet sky-high fan expectations. Brandon Routh’s career was all but grounded after the lukewarm reception to Superman Returns in 2006.
 |
| Robert Pattinson with Kristen Stewart in Twilight |
In the past, adaptations that took casting chances soared, including such offbeat hires as funny guy Michael Keaton, who kicked off the first Batman franchise in 1989, and the less-than-strapping Tobey Maguire, who added emotional depth to the role of Spider-Man in 2002. Going the unconventional route paid off more recently with the brainier-than-brawny Robert Downey Jr in 2008’s Iron Man.
This new breed of Hollywood male, however, basically boils down to two flavours: super-soulful and slim or ultra-masculine and muscular.
 |
| Ryan Reynolds |
Defining this dichotomy are Andrew Garfield, 27, the lanky British-American guy from The Social Network who has been recruited for the 2012 Spider-Man reboot, and Christian Bale, 37, typically a meatier Welsh-born specimen who dons Batman’s cowl for the third time in 2012’s The Dark Knight Rises.
The Twilight factor
The reason for the double standard? “It’s the two archetypes you see in Twilight,” Dergarabedian suggests. In one corner is brooding vampire Edward and, in the other, burly werewolf Jacob. “It’s probably an attempt to make sure women see these films.”
Not a bad guess. Yes, the target audience of such geek-squad fare remains men 18 to 25, who can almost always be counted on to show up for at least the opening weekend of a comic-book adventure. But as the cost of special effects and 3-D treatment escalates, it isn’t a bad idea to reach beyond the core crowd and add some eye candy for the ladies.
Consider that the first three romantic Gothic thrillers based on the hugely popular book series have collected nearly $1.8 billion total in worldwide ticket sales by targeting female ticket buyers. Meanwhile, barely known actors Robert Pattinson, 24, and Taylor Lautner, 19, turned into overnight sensations. Besides, it is normal for the definition of a movie hunk to go in cycles, says Jeanine Basinger, head of film studies at Wesleyan University.
Wanted: ‘Something prettier’
“Just as hats change, male looks come and go,” Basinger says, “from rough and tough to pretty and delicate. A lot of it is linked to what adolescent girls like. Often it’s the same thing that grown women will like and men will like. Now, we are into the fantastical, which requires something prettier than war stories.”
Nor does it surprise her that Twilight is setting the template. “All of a sudden, everyone wants to look like one of these male stars,” Basinger says of Pattinson, a Brit whose bloodsucker issues forth a Bryronic air, and Lautner, the all-American beast-next-door who has several high-paying action roles in the works.
Not everyone suiting up to be a superhero is a newcomer. Ryan Reynolds, who earned his comic-book cred as mutant mercenary Deadpool in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, is leaping into the lead in The Green Lantern (June 17). But often, the filmmakers prefer an up-and-comer who doesn’t carry the burden of an established identity or a hefty star salary — which is why many are imports from the UK or Australia. Also, Brits are better trained dramatically, says Matthew Vaughn, the London-born director of the prequel X-Men First Class. “It is interesting how the new Batman (Bale), Superman (Henry Cavill) and Spider-Man (Garfield) are all British. It comes down to their acting ability. Great actors make me look better.”
Bring on the new blood
Then there is Michael Fassbender, the 33-year-old German-born superstar-in-the-making who was raised in Ireland. He was granted the pivotal X-Men role of Magneto (the villainous mutant played earlier by Ian McKellen). “I imaged Magneto as a young Sean Connery, charming and edgy,” says Vaughn, who put the future James Bond, Daniel Craig, on the casting map as a conniving coke dealer in 2004’s Layer Cake. “Michael oozes charisma, and he is a brilliant actor. Paul Newman, Robert Redford, Steve McQueen— there aren’t that many like them anymore who carry their persona on and off screen. Michael is the real deal.”
“A lot of these movies are origin stories,” notes Catherine Hardwicke, director of the original Twilight in 2008, who was responsible for casting Pattinson and Lautner. She believes that big names like Leonardo DiCaprio, a teen idol back in his Titanic days, have outgrown such parts. Fresh blood also makes practical sense. After all, Sam Worthington, the Aussie who broke through in the past two years after the success of Avatar and Clash of the Titans, can’t be in every action film. Much like Russell Crowe, a fellow Aussie and Oscar winner for 2000’s Gladiator, who couldn’t handle the crush of epic roles that his film generated. In fact, Hardwicke followed a variation on her own Twilight blueprint in casting two relatively untested actors as Amanda Seyfried’s rival beaus in Red Riding Hood, a lusty take on the Brothers Grimm tale.
As Henry, the good-boy blacksmith, she hired fair-haired dreamboat Max Irons, 25, the son of Oscar winner Jeremy Irons. Meanwhile, Shiloh Fernandez, 26, is outsider Peter, a dark-locked woodsman who exudes a dangerous vibe.
If there is any advice that aspiring leading men should heed, it is this: Get thee to a gym. You ain’t got a thing if you ain’t got those abs. Blame the barely clad warriors in 2006’s Spartan epic 300 or those shirtless dudes in Twilight’s Wolf Pack, but rippling tummies are the new cleavage.
Consider that Hardwicke asked Irons and Fernandez to work out so they would be physically believable. “Their characters make a living using their arms,” she says. “I told Shiloh, ‘This guy is a woodcutter. He has to lift heavy logs. I want you in the gym every day.’”
 |
Henry Cavill
Age: 27.
Birth place: Jersey, part of the Channel Islands.
The look: Smouldering elegance.
Height: 6ft 1in.
Where you’ve seen him: As Charles Brandon, the dashing first Duke of Suffolk, on the TV series The Tudors (2007-10).
Where you will see him: As Greek warrior Theseus in Immortals (November 2011); as Superman in Zack Snyder’s Superman: Man of Steel (2012).
Did you know? Cavill was author Stephenie Meyer’s first choice to play high school vampire Edward in the Twilight films, but he was too old for the role.
 |
Michael Fassbender
Age: 34.
Birth place: Heidelberg, Germany, but raised in Ireland.
The look: Euro-suave.
Height: 6ft.
Where you’ve seen him: As Spartan warrior Stelios in 300 (2006);as British soldier Archie Hicox in Inglourious Basterds (2009).
Where you will see him: As the brooding Mr Rochester in the latest,Jane Eyre; as the young Magneto in X-Men First Class (June 2011); as an android in Ridley Scott’s Alien prequel Prometheus (2012).
Did you know? He lost 31 pounds and weighed 130 pounds when he played jailed IRA activist Bobby Sands, on a hunger-strike, in Hunger (2008).
 |
Garrett Hedlund
Age: 26.
Birth place: Roseau, Minnesota.
The look: Countrified jock.
Height: 6ft 2½in.
Where you’ve seen him: As the cousin of Brad Pitt’s Achilles in Troy (2004); as a high school fullback in Friday Night Lights (2004); as a rising singing star in Country Strong (2010); as Jeff Bridges’ son in TRON: Legacy (2010).
Where you will see him: As Dean Moriarty opposite Kristen Stewart’s Marylou in the upcoming film version of Jack Kerouac’s On the Road.
Did you know? He modelled for Teen magazine and retail company L.L. Bean.
 |
Cam Gigandet
Age: 28.
Birth place: Tacoma, Washington.
The look: Surfer-boy cool.
Height: 6ft.
Where you’ve seen him: On TV, in The .C. (2005-06); as evil vampire James in Twilight (2008); as a seductive bartender in Burlesque (2010); as Minka Kelly’s boyfriend in The Roommate (2011).
Where you will see him: As a post-apocalyptic cowboy who joins Paul Bettany’s warrior priest in his crusade against vampires in Priest (May 2011); as an extortionist who kidnaps Nicolas Cage and Nicole Kidman in the upcoming Trespass.
Did you know? He practises Krav Maga, a form of self-defence developed by the Israeli army.
 |
Shiloh fernandez
Age: 26.
Birth place: Ukiah, California.
The look: Bad-boy cute.
Height: 5ft 10in.
Where you’ve seen him: Modelling in American Apparel ads; on TV: Gossip Girl and United States of Tara (both 2009). As Peter the woodsman in the recent release Red Riding Hood.
Where you will see him: As an ’80s roller-rink operator in Skateland (May 2011).
Did you know? He was one of four finalists to play Edward in Twilight.
 |
Chris Hemsworth
Age: 27.
Birth place: Melbourne, Australia.
The look: Angelic muscleman.
Height: 6ft 3in.
Where you’ve seen him: As James T. Kirk’s dad, George, in Star Trek (2009).
Where you will see him: As the title superhero in Thor (April 2011), a role he reprises in The Avengers (May, 2012); in the upcoming horror film The Cabin in the Woods; in the upcoming remake of Red Dawn.
Did you know? He starred in the Aussie soap opera Home and Away for three years until 2007.
 |
Anthony Mackie
Age: 31.
Birth place: New Orleans.
The look: Soulfully smooth.
Height: 6ft.
Where you’ve seen him: As Tupac Shakur in Notorious (2009); with Jeremy Renner in The Hurt Locker (2009); with Matt Damon in The Adjustment Bureau (2011).
Where you will see him: Opposite Hugh Jackman in the boxing-robot sci-fi flick Real Steel (October 2011); with Sam Worthington in the thriller Man on a Ledge (2012); in the horror fantasy Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (June 2012).
Did you know? He wanted to become an engineer.
 |
Tom Hardy
Age: 33.
Birth place: London.
The look: Tough-guy allure.
Height: 5ft 10in.
Where you’ve seen him: As a gay gangster in RocknRolla (2008); as identity forger Eames in Inception (2010).
Where you will see him: As a mixed-martial-arts fighter in Warrior (September 2011); with Colin Firth in the upcoming Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (September 2011); opposite Chris Pine and Reese Witherspoon in the upcoming action comedy This Means War; as Batman’s physically intimidating foe Bane in The Dark Knight Rises (July 2012).
Did you know? In 2001, he made his TV and film debut playing soldier in HBO’s Band of Brothers and in Black Hawk Down.
 |
Liam hemsworth
Age: 21.
Birth place: Melbourne, Australia.
The look: Big-guy sweet.
Height: Around 6ft 5in.
Where you’ve seen him: Opposite ex-girlfriend Miley Cyrus in The Last Song (2010).
Where you will see him: As Ali Baba in the upcoming Arabian Nights (later in 2011).
Did you know? Lost the role of Thor to older brother Chris Hemsworth.
 |
Alex Pettyfer
Age: 20.
Birth place: Stevenage, England.
The look: Dreamboat scruffy.
Height: 5ft 11in.
Where you’ve seen him: The lead in Alex Rider: Operation Stormbreaker (2006); as a teen alien on the run in I Am Number Four (2011); as an arrogant teen who turns into a monster in Beastly (2011).
Where you will see him: With Justin Timberlake and Amanda Seyfried in the sci-thriller Now (October 2011).
Did you know? He turned down the lead in the 2006 dragon fantasy Eragon because of his fear of flying.
 |
Max Irons
Age: 25.
Birth place: London.
The look: Emo handsome.
Height: 6ft 3in.
Where you’ve seen him: In small roles in Being Julia (2004), which starred his father, Jeremy Irons, and in Dorian Gray (2009). As Henry the good-boy blacksmith in Red Riding Hood (2011).
Did you know? A photographer spied him on a street in 2006 and hired him on the spot to appear in a Burberry ad campaign alongside Kate Moss.
 |
Nicholas Hoult
Age: 21.
Birth place: Workingham, England.
The look: Sexy schoolboy.
Height: 6ft 2½in.
Where you’ve seen him: As the young misfit who befriends Hugh Grant’s lothario in About a Boy (2002); in the British version of TV’s Skins (2007-08); as Colin Firth’s object of affection in A Single Man (2009).
Where you will see him: As the human behind blue-hued mutant Beast in X-Men First Class (June 2011); as the star of fairy-tale-inspired Jack the Giant Killer (2012); as an undead hero in the zombie-human love story Warm Bodies (2012); in the much-delayed prequel Mad Max: Fury Road (2012).
Did you know? His distinctive eyebrows are the most talked-about: Vulcan-shaped, say some.
