So this question came up today - my husband asked me and my best friend, "Is Matt Smith handsome?" We both answered no, but the Doctor is charismatic and attractive.
What do you think? Objectively, without considering him playing the Doctor or any other role, or as himself (since from all I've seen, he's a very dynamic guy), is Matt Smith facially handsome?
We then talked a bit more about different actors, and my friend and I agreed on most points. Tennant's handsome, but not overwhelmingly so. (In fact, when telling my sister about him last week - she had no idea who he is - and showing her a picture, she said, "You think he's handsome??") Like Smith, he's far more handsome when backed by either personality or talent. Hiddleston is our favorite of the hyper-popular British actors (neither of us finds Cumberbatch handsome), and that took the conversation into the Avengers, where again, we both agreed that Chris Evans is best-looking of the bunch. I was actually surprised at how much she and I agreed; I thought she was more into the more rugged type of male face. I definitely prefer more boyish faces.
What do you think? Objectively, without considering him playing the Doctor or any other role, or as himself (since from all I've seen, he's a very dynamic guy), is Matt Smith facially handsome?
We then talked a bit more about different actors, and my friend and I agreed on most points. Tennant's handsome, but not overwhelmingly so. (In fact, when telling my sister about him last week - she had no idea who he is - and showing her a picture, she said, "You think he's handsome??") Like Smith, he's far more handsome when backed by either personality or talent. Hiddleston is our favorite of the hyper-popular British actors (neither of us finds Cumberbatch handsome), and that took the conversation into the Avengers, where again, we both agreed that Chris Evans is best-looking of the bunch. I was actually surprised at how much she and I agreed; I thought she was more into the more rugged type of male face. I definitely prefer more boyish faces.
Comments
As for David Tennant, he's got a very interesting face, not very symmetrical. Each feature taken separately might not be so handsome, but put them all together, and you've got quite a package! Still not classically handsome, but I do have to say his eyes are my favorite, they are so expressive and that smile could light up a whole room! He is really skinny, but you get the feeling that there is muscle under there, built for running.
Wait a minute, your sister had no idea who David Tennant is? Wow!
Edited at 2015-06-16 07:34 pm (UTC)
I absolutely love Tennant's asymmetry! And yes, his eyes are amazing. Actually, his entire face is so plastic and he utilizes it so well.
Another actor whose talent makes him so much more attractive than he is is Nathan Fillion. He's not my type (that rugged look again), but I know he's already considered handsome, but his ability and his expressiveness just draws me in. I remember there was one scene in Castle where his mother is saying something and the camera cuts to Castle for just a couple of seconds and his expression changes very subtly, and it was so perfect.
Yeah. My sister doesn't watch TV or movies other than what her kids or her husband might turn on, and none of them are especially interested in sci-fi or British programming. The only thing that she'd even heard of that DT had been in was Goblet of Fire, and that's only because her daughter had been into HP when she was younger. And even then, she had no idea who his character was, despite being the main villain. Sadly, I was unable to convince her to watch Broadchurch.
But Matt made me see the centuries in the Doctor. Just with the flicker of a smile or a glance. He was definitely 'The Old Man' and I just enjoyed that aspect. More so when he was being a bouncy silly puppy. The storm always lurked underneath - and he was VERY alien.
*HUGS*
Edited at 2015-06-17 12:57 am (UTC)
As for DT being Hollywood pretty- you really think so? I love how different he can look in his roles, seemingly almost effortlessly. But I always have thought the British have a much wider definition of what is attractive and they give high marks for quick wit and charm, which all of the aforementioned actors have in spades. I'd much rather watch any one of them than Tom Cruise, Ryan Gosling, Brad Pitt or any other so-called Hollywood star.
I think of him as a stained glass window: his light just shines through it and all you can see is the design of the character. It's amazing how transparent he is that way.
You're right about Matt, he's endearingly awkward, but can go from crazy goofy to the biggest menace in the room in the blink of an eye. You really can believe he's an alien!
Matt Smith isn't conventionally attractive, but he's not ugly, either. I don't know that I'd call him handsome, though.
Obviously, I'm attracted to Tennant (understatement of the century), but even though I had seen all the Harry Potter movies, I didn't make the connection that he was Barty Crouch Jr until later. I had no idea who he was before I started watching Doctor Who. His portrayal of the Doctor was definitely what made him attractive to me, but I am a sapiosexual, so there's that. I find him handsome now, but I imagine he probably would've flown under my radar if I had never watched Doctor Who.
I didn't know who DT was either. I remember seeing HP4 in the theater and telling my husband that I'd heard that that guy is going to be the next Doctor, but that's it. I never saw anything else he'd done until I started watching DW in 2013, and his Doctor just blew me away - both the characterization of the Doctor and his performance. And then Alec Hardy - that's my favorite role of his and the one that made me a fangirl.
"Sapiosexual". Thanks for the new word! I'm definitely a sapiosexual.
I don't get the internet's fetish for Cumberbatch; he's way off from handsome to me.
Tom Hiddleston is probably the most solidly handsome of the bunch.
I am utterly incapable of being objective about David Tennant. Sort of the inverse of Matt, if someone wanted to say "I don't think handsome is quite the right word" I could see where they are coming from - like, especially a bit younger, he was very much in boyish skinny nerd camp (though I find that extremely attractive) - but my brain wants to use words more like "utterly droolingly gorgeous," so it sort of all falls apart there.
eta: My ideals of attractiveness in men are a bit off the average to begin with, though. I am often into skinny, even scrawny, rather feminine face/limbed types with long hair. David is actually a bit of a departure for me in that sense, although he does have the kind of narrow face, pointed-chin shape I do like. (And DEM EYES THO.) I am really not into the whole standard rugged square-jawed with muscles aesthetic, although there are some such faces I can appreciate as "well, I guess others would say they were handsome, this is a good photo, etc" - but we're back to the wibbly wobbly there. Inevitably with the "built" types I am always saying "ew, too much muscle."
Edited at 2015-06-17 06:53 pm (UTC)
And I feel exactly the same way about rugged, muscly types. I remember when growing up, everyone was drooling over Tom Selleck, and I just never understood it.
I can step back and say that DT is not traditionally handsome, but in my mind, he is so entwined with his characters that he portrayed so well - the Doctor, Alec Hardy, Peter Vincent, Arthur Eddington, to name a few that were so enthralling - and he has so much personal charisma, that he has become in my mind utterly droolingly gorgeous.
I agree about the muscle types, eww! They spend too much time sculpting themselves. There's healthy and then there's that vanity in just showing off, and I don't like it. I much prefer brains than brawn!