Sometimes when you least expect it an idea comes into your head and won't leave it. Finally all you can do is write about it.:) This is what happened yesterday when I came upon that notorious article in Newsweek by Ramin Setoodah about how gay actors shouldn't be playing straight roles. My daughter and I started to think about some gay actors who definitely pulled off looking and acting straight. My first picks were of course, Rock Hudson and Cary Grant who managed to become romantic leading men. A more recent pick my daughter supplied is Raul Esparza, who is definitely "hot". Then we started discussing what makes a guy hot.
As far as we could tell between both my daughters and myself the key ingredient to making a guy hot is the eyes. It's the way they look at the world and at women that is the main reason they are hot. So a guy can be very cute and have a great body, but if he has what one of my daughters said "dead eyes" he is not hot. So does a guy have to be gorgeous to be hot? Not necessarily, but he does need to have a good body, maybe. It all depends on whether he has the look in his eyes. Sometimes a little hint of little boy doesn't hurt either. Does it matter what age he is? NO!! There are guys who are hot even before puberty, which is a little creepy to contemplate and there are those who are hot even into their later years. An example is Sean Connery who was hot when he was young and just continued in that same category. I think it's a combination of sex appeal and those eyes. In the end it is really subjective. What's hot for you may not be hot for me and vice versa. :)
So can a guy who is gay in real life play a romantic lead? Absolutely!! Our main example is Raul Esparza who is so hot in person I was surprised to find out he was bisexual. It all depends on the actor. A good actor can play anything. Another very good example is Neil Patrick Harris, who plays a straight guy on "How I Met Your Mother" and is very believable.
The final thing I have to say is to applaud Ryan Murphy and the cast of "Glee" for boycotting Newsweek. If you read the articles that have been generated by all of this you can see the furor that has been created too. I think it's important that people look at people for their abilities rather than their sexual orientation. In 2010 isn't it time for the stereotypes to be swept away and the worth of each individual to be recognized?
But this discussion started me thinking about the idea of what makes a male character hot in writing? One of the possiblities since you can't see the eyes of a character is to write him from the eyes of female characters. Can you describe his expression in those eyes? Also what kind of person is he? One of my daughters said that if he volunteered on weekends to work with the poor that would make him hot. One said that maybe there should be a trace of angst and a small hint of violence in his eyes. For me a guy needs to be attentive to the woman, but he also needs to be funny in an offhand sexy way. He needs to look at the woman with passion too. Like when you first meet him he kind of devours you with his eyes and then gives a slow sexy smile while looking right at you. What do you think? Did you ever write a hot guy as a character? What makes a guy hot for you in real life? What makes a character hot?
Please leave a comment and let me know. Also if you haven't already visited there, please visit the guest author interview with Eric Luper. If you leave a comment there you are in the drawing to win his new book, Seth Baumgartner's Love Manifesto. Also catch Eric at BEA in New York City. He will be signing copies of this same book.:)
Until the next time I'm looking forward to reading what you think makes a guy hot. Guys you are welcome to chime in here too.:) Thank you to my new readers and of course to the ones who have continued to follow my crazy meanderings you are the best!!!
Lastly, we do not have any answers about my husband yet, but we are closer and I hope we will know next week. His condition is unchanged and I am starting to have a quiet desperation, because there is nothing else I can do. Writing helps, but eventually I have to close my computer and go into real life. :)
