Men of the Year 2008 // (50-26)
4th annual yearly round up. I did this in 2005, 2006 and 2007 HERE and now it's just becoming a tradition.
As you may remember, this list is never really a "hottest" list - just men in entertainment that did great things in the past year, in my eyes. Though, lots of them are very hot. ;)
Anyway - so here's the start of my picks for the Top 50 Men of 2008.
#50 // Michael Raymond-James
Last Year // Not Ranked
Previous Rankings // None
And You Are?: Rene Lenier on True Blood
Why? The (fake) accent during this first season was a panty peeler, indeed.
#49 // Joshua Gomez
Last Year // Not Ranked
Previous Rankings // None
And You Are?: Morgan Grimes on Chuck.
Why?: Morgan is pathetic, but lovable. His bro-love with Chuck is great.
#48 // Jason Manns
Last Year // Not Ranked
Previous Rankings // None
And You Are?: Singer.
Why?: His voice is oh-so-pretty. Though, he's one of those guys that with a haircut or hat or beard or maybe even a different shirt he looks incredibly different. I could run into him on the street and I'm not convinced I'd recognize him, it's strange.
#47 // Sam Trammell
Last Year // Not Ranked
Previous Rankings // None
And You Are?: Sam Merlotte on True Blood.
Why?: I like his mostly understated portrayal of Sam Merlotte. And his shirts.
#46 // Lee Pace
Last Year // #15 (Change -31)
Previous Rankings // None
And You Are?: Ned on Pushing Daisies.
Why?: I still love his Ned on Pushing Daisies, but I've had a terrible time watching the episodes in a timely manner this year. I think knowing the end is near, makes me hang onto them for a rainy day or something.
#45 // J. August Richards
Last Year // Not Ranked
Previous Rankings // None
And You Are?: Marcus McGrath on Raising The Bar.
Why?: Welcome back to TV, J. August! I still have your 2006 series Conviction to watch, and I'm nowhere near caught up on RtB, but it's good to have you back on TV. All Lawyered-Up, once again. (As a sidenote, I had to triple check as I couldn't believe he wasn't on the list previously for Angel. Only to realize Angel ended a year before me doing this list started. Holy hell, Batman, where has time gone?)
#44 // Dulé Hill
Last Year // Not Ranked
Previous Rankings // None
And You Are?: Gus on Psych.
Why?: I've just started Psych up again (I love it, but I'm just so behind!) and his Gus is so brilliantly dry. I love it. Great straight man in a fab comedy duo.
#43 // Simon Helberg
Last Year // Not Ranked
Previous Rankings // None
And You Are?: Wolowitz on The Big Bang Theory; Moist on Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog
Why?: You all know, I'm a sucker for sitcoms. TBBT has grown on me SO MUCH this year. I really love it. Wish it didn't have a laugh track, absolutely, but I really do dig it and Wolowitz is hilarious. It'd be sad if he was ever sad about being rejected, but he's not, there always another lady in waiting for him to perv on, which makes it all the more funny. Plus, he was part of Dr. Horrible. Legendary!
#42 // Scott Patterson
Last Year // #22 (Change -20)
Previous Rankings // 2006; #38 & 2005; #20
And You Are?: Gary on Aliens in America.
Why?: I still think it's pitful sad that AiA didn't make it. I enjoy it while it lasted, though.
#41 // New Kids on the Block
Last Year // Not Ranked
Previous Rankings // None
And You Are?: Jordan and Jonathan Knight, Donnie Wahlberg, Joey McIntyre & Danny Wood
Why?: Welcome back, childhood! I'm still pouting that nobody would go see them with me. I would have enjoyed it, as I saw them in their heyday when I was in the 2nd grade. I was obsessed, I tell you! Down to the NKOTB bed sheets. Heh.
#40 // Bryan Greenberg
Last Year // Not Ranked
Previous Rankings // None
And You Are?: Nick Garrett on October Road.
Why?: Oh, October Road you were a pretentiously bad show. But you were so bad you were good and I couldn't look away. Your dialog would often never occur in a natural setting. "HOW CAN THIS BE?" I do have goodwill towards Greenberg because he was great as Jake Jagielski back in S1 on OTH, when it was actually decent and the inmates didn't run the asylum.
#39 // Victor Garber
Last Year // Not Ranked
Previous Rankings // 2006; #10
And You Are?: Jordan Wethersby on Eli Stone.
Why?: SpyDaddy is back! Eli Stone might not be long for this world, but I've enjoyed it for what it is. And Garber getting a chance to sing and dance on primetime is priceless.
#38 // Alton Brown
Last Year // Not Ranked
Previous Rankings // None
And You Are?: Food Network personality.
Why?: He makes cooking and food so scientific and fun! He's a good chunk of why I've lusted for a KitchenAid stand mixer for the past couple years. (I finally got one for Christmas this year, yay!)
#37 // John Goodman
Last Year // Not Ranked
Previous Rankings // None
And You Are?: Pops Racer on Speed Racer; Dan Conner on Roseanne
Why?: I've crushed on John Goodman (generally as Dan Conner) as long as I can remember. He may not be as spry as he once was, but I love him and am always happy when he shows up somewhere.
#36 // Jonny Lee Miller
Last Year // Not Ranked
Previous Rankings // None
And You Are?: Eli Stone on Eli Stone.
Why?: I'd kind of forgotten about Miller, to be honest. Hackers is one of my favs, but I haven't seen it in awhile and after that I hadn't seen him in much. (I haven't seen Trainspotting yet. I know, I know.) So it was great to see him back as Eli Stone.
#35 // Francis Capra
Last Year // Not Ranked
Previous Rankings // 2006; #24 & 2005; #14
And You Are?: Jesse Murphy on Heroes
Why?: I've missed him as Weevil so much. He didn't have much to do on Heroes, but I was so glad to see him back. I also saw his Criminal Minds ep an his Friday Night Lights ep this year and hope to see him pop up more often in the future.
#34 // James Roday
Last Year // #45 (Change +11)
Previous Rankings // None
And You Are?: Shawn Spencer on Psych.
Why?: I want to hang out with his Shawn Spencer. Life would never, ever in a million years be dull.
#33 // Jackson Brundage
Last Year // Not Ranked
Previous Rankings // None
And You Are?: James Lucas Scott on One Tree Hill.
Why?: I shook OTH like a bad habit way back in it's second season. Then the writer's strike happened and OTH had new eps and I heard they did a time jump. I was weak. It's a soap, 100%, and I'm embarrassed to admit that I'm watching it, but I am. I even went back and watched all the hilariously trainwrecky eps I missed over the years. But yeah. Jackson Brundage is a delight. One of the least annoying child actors I've seen. Especially on the show he's on, good god. He can act circles around a good damn share of the adults!
#32 // Hugh Laurie
Last Year // #27 (Change -5)
Previous Rankings // 2006; #11; 2005; #03
And You Are?: Dr. Gregory House on House.
Why?: Hugh Laurie is still brilliant, but I've all but given up House. It lost me somewhere during the search for the new ducklings phase and I've just grown tired of the formula. When I do watch, I still love Laurie though, it just isn't appointment TV anymore.
#31 // Josh Holloway
Last Year // #21 (Change -10)
Previous Rankings // 2006; #13 & 2005; #05
And You Are?: Sawyer on Lost.
Why?: Dare I say that Lost is on a upswing again? I really got into last season again, and of course, Sawyer is still a constant.
#30 // David Boreanaz
Last Year // #14 (Change -16)
Previous Rankings // 2006; #09 & 2005; #18
And You Are?: Special Agent Seeley Booth in Bones.
Why?: I'm still digging Bones, and his Booth is a big part of that.
#29 // Dean Winters
Last Year // Not Ranked
Previous Rankings // 2006; #04
And You Are?: Charley Dixon on Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles.
Why?: Winters is so damn great. His TTSCC role might not be super meaty, but I've been glad to see him in on TV again.
#28 // Nathan Fillion
Last Year // #29 (Change +1)
Previous Rankings // 2006; #32 & 2005; #08
And You Are?: Captain Hammer on Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog
Why?: Oh, Captain! Whether you have tightpants or a hammer as your penis, I *heart* you. I can't wait for Castle to start up.
#27 // Hugh Dillion
Last Year // Not Ranked
Previous Rankings // None
And You Are?: Ed Lane on Flashpoint.
Why?: Flashpoint was a damn fab summer series, and I'm SO looking forward to its return. Dillon is a big part of that.
#26 // Heath Ledger
Last Year // Not Ranked
Previous Rankings // 2006; #47
And You Are?: The Joker on The Dark Knight.
Why?: I wrestled with putting him on the list, because it seems that since he's death everybody has put him up on pedestal, not to mention every list known to man. But I stepped back and asked myself, "Were he still alive would have have made the list?" and the answer was yes. He's been on it before when he deserved it and his Joker was brilliant.
The rest of the list will be posted before the end of the year. :)
As you may remember, this list is never really a "hottest" list - just men in entertainment that did great things in the past year, in my eyes. Though, lots of them are very hot. ;)
Anyway - so here's the start of my picks for the Top 50 Men of 2008.
#50 // Michael Raymond-James
Last Year // Not Ranked
Previous Rankings // None
And You Are?: Rene Lenier on True Blood
Why? The (fake) accent during this first season was a panty peeler, indeed.
#49 // Joshua Gomez
Last Year // Not Ranked
Previous Rankings // None
And You Are?: Morgan Grimes on Chuck.
Why?: Morgan is pathetic, but lovable. His bro-love with Chuck is great.
#48 // Jason Manns
Last Year // Not Ranked
Previous Rankings // None
And You Are?: Singer.
Why?: His voice is oh-so-pretty. Though, he's one of those guys that with a haircut or hat or beard or maybe even a different shirt he looks incredibly different. I could run into him on the street and I'm not convinced I'd recognize him, it's strange.
#47 // Sam Trammell
Last Year // Not Ranked
Previous Rankings // None
And You Are?: Sam Merlotte on True Blood.
Why?: I like his mostly understated portrayal of Sam Merlotte. And his shirts.
#46 // Lee Pace
Last Year // #15 (Change -31)
Previous Rankings // None
And You Are?: Ned on Pushing Daisies.
Why?: I still love his Ned on Pushing Daisies, but I've had a terrible time watching the episodes in a timely manner this year. I think knowing the end is near, makes me hang onto them for a rainy day or something.
#45 // J. August Richards
Last Year // Not Ranked
Previous Rankings // None
And You Are?: Marcus McGrath on Raising The Bar.
Why?: Welcome back to TV, J. August! I still have your 2006 series Conviction to watch, and I'm nowhere near caught up on RtB, but it's good to have you back on TV. All Lawyered-Up, once again. (As a sidenote, I had to triple check as I couldn't believe he wasn't on the list previously for Angel. Only to realize Angel ended a year before me doing this list started. Holy hell, Batman, where has time gone?)
#44 // Dulé Hill
Last Year // Not Ranked
Previous Rankings // None
And You Are?: Gus on Psych.
Why?: I've just started Psych up again (I love it, but I'm just so behind!) and his Gus is so brilliantly dry. I love it. Great straight man in a fab comedy duo.
#43 // Simon Helberg
Last Year // Not Ranked
Previous Rankings // None
And You Are?: Wolowitz on The Big Bang Theory; Moist on Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog
Why?: You all know, I'm a sucker for sitcoms. TBBT has grown on me SO MUCH this year. I really love it. Wish it didn't have a laugh track, absolutely, but I really do dig it and Wolowitz is hilarious. It'd be sad if he was ever sad about being rejected, but he's not, there always another lady in waiting for him to perv on, which makes it all the more funny. Plus, he was part of Dr. Horrible. Legendary!
#42 // Scott Patterson
Last Year // #22 (Change -20)
Previous Rankings // 2006; #38 & 2005; #20
And You Are?: Gary on Aliens in America.
Why?: I still think it's pitful sad that AiA didn't make it. I enjoy it while it lasted, though.
#41 // New Kids on the Block
Last Year // Not Ranked
Previous Rankings // None
And You Are?: Jordan and Jonathan Knight, Donnie Wahlberg, Joey McIntyre & Danny Wood
Why?: Welcome back, childhood! I'm still pouting that nobody would go see them with me. I would have enjoyed it, as I saw them in their heyday when I was in the 2nd grade. I was obsessed, I tell you! Down to the NKOTB bed sheets. Heh.
#40 // Bryan Greenberg
Last Year // Not Ranked
Previous Rankings // None
And You Are?: Nick Garrett on October Road.
Why?: Oh, October Road you were a pretentiously bad show. But you were so bad you were good and I couldn't look away. Your dialog would often never occur in a natural setting. "HOW CAN THIS BE?" I do have goodwill towards Greenberg because he was great as Jake Jagielski back in S1 on OTH, when it was actually decent and the inmates didn't run the asylum.
#39 // Victor Garber
Last Year // Not Ranked
Previous Rankings // 2006; #10
And You Are?: Jordan Wethersby on Eli Stone.
Why?: SpyDaddy is back! Eli Stone might not be long for this world, but I've enjoyed it for what it is. And Garber getting a chance to sing and dance on primetime is priceless.
#38 // Alton Brown
Last Year // Not Ranked
Previous Rankings // None
And You Are?: Food Network personality.
Why?: He makes cooking and food so scientific and fun! He's a good chunk of why I've lusted for a KitchenAid stand mixer for the past couple years. (I finally got one for Christmas this year, yay!)
#37 // John Goodman
Last Year // Not Ranked
Previous Rankings // None
And You Are?: Pops Racer on Speed Racer; Dan Conner on Roseanne
Why?: I've crushed on John Goodman (generally as Dan Conner) as long as I can remember. He may not be as spry as he once was, but I love him and am always happy when he shows up somewhere.
#36 // Jonny Lee Miller
Last Year // Not Ranked
Previous Rankings // None
And You Are?: Eli Stone on Eli Stone.
Why?: I'd kind of forgotten about Miller, to be honest. Hackers is one of my favs, but I haven't seen it in awhile and after that I hadn't seen him in much. (I haven't seen Trainspotting yet. I know, I know.) So it was great to see him back as Eli Stone.
#35 // Francis Capra
Last Year // Not Ranked
Previous Rankings // 2006; #24 & 2005; #14
And You Are?: Jesse Murphy on Heroes
Why?: I've missed him as Weevil so much. He didn't have much to do on Heroes, but I was so glad to see him back. I also saw his Criminal Minds ep an his Friday Night Lights ep this year and hope to see him pop up more often in the future.
#34 // James Roday
Last Year // #45 (Change +11)
Previous Rankings // None
And You Are?: Shawn Spencer on Psych.
Why?: I want to hang out with his Shawn Spencer. Life would never, ever in a million years be dull.
#33 // Jackson Brundage
Last Year // Not Ranked
Previous Rankings // None
And You Are?: James Lucas Scott on One Tree Hill.
Why?: I shook OTH like a bad habit way back in it's second season. Then the writer's strike happened and OTH had new eps and I heard they did a time jump. I was weak. It's a soap, 100%, and I'm embarrassed to admit that I'm watching it, but I am. I even went back and watched all the hilariously trainwrecky eps I missed over the years. But yeah. Jackson Brundage is a delight. One of the least annoying child actors I've seen. Especially on the show he's on, good god. He can act circles around a good damn share of the adults!
#32 // Hugh Laurie
Last Year // #27 (Change -5)
Previous Rankings // 2006; #11; 2005; #03
And You Are?: Dr. Gregory House on House.
Why?: Hugh Laurie is still brilliant, but I've all but given up House. It lost me somewhere during the search for the new ducklings phase and I've just grown tired of the formula. When I do watch, I still love Laurie though, it just isn't appointment TV anymore.
#31 // Josh Holloway
Last Year // #21 (Change -10)
Previous Rankings // 2006; #13 & 2005; #05
And You Are?: Sawyer on Lost.
Why?: Dare I say that Lost is on a upswing again? I really got into last season again, and of course, Sawyer is still a constant.
#30 // David Boreanaz
Last Year // #14 (Change -16)
Previous Rankings // 2006; #09 & 2005; #18
And You Are?: Special Agent Seeley Booth in Bones.
Why?: I'm still digging Bones, and his Booth is a big part of that.
#29 // Dean Winters
Last Year // Not Ranked
Previous Rankings // 2006; #04
And You Are?: Charley Dixon on Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles.
Why?: Winters is so damn great. His TTSCC role might not be super meaty, but I've been glad to see him in on TV again.
#28 // Nathan Fillion
Last Year // #29 (Change +1)
Previous Rankings // 2006; #32 & 2005; #08
And You Are?: Captain Hammer on Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog
Why?: Oh, Captain! Whether you have tightpants or a hammer as your penis, I *heart* you. I can't wait for Castle to start up.
#27 // Hugh Dillion
Last Year // Not Ranked
Previous Rankings // None
And You Are?: Ed Lane on Flashpoint.
Why?: Flashpoint was a damn fab summer series, and I'm SO looking forward to its return. Dillon is a big part of that.
#26 // Heath Ledger
Last Year // Not Ranked
Previous Rankings // 2006; #47
And You Are?: The Joker on The Dark Knight.
Why?: I wrestled with putting him on the list, because it seems that since he's death everybody has put him up on pedestal, not to mention every list known to man. But I stepped back and asked myself, "Were he still alive would have have made the list?" and the answer was yes. He's been on it before when he deserved it and his Joker was brilliant.
The rest of the list will be posted before the end of the year. :)