Hottest men in Shakespeare?

Cafe Society
1

'Cos hey, you knew there would have to be a follow-up thread.

My picks:

  1. Edmund in King Lear. Oh, OK, I may be overly influenced by the recent TV version, in which the actor playing him is seriously hot, but there’s something about witty and unprincipled villains who nevertheless have a sorta-justified grievance.

  2. Richard III. See above. I totally know better, but that scene with Lady Anne gets me every time.

  3. Benedick (Much Ado). See, occasionally I like the good boys. And clever and skeptical is always sexy.

  4. Domitius Enobarbus (Antony and Cleopatra). A blunt-spoken soldier who is too smart for his own good, and ends up betraying his captain because he can’t stand being loyal to someone who’s bent on a self-destructive course, and then dying because he can’t stand being the betrayer. Sigh. (Also, he’s the speaker of the wonderful “The barge she sat on, like a burnish’d throne” speech, which is pure sexiness all by itself.)

  5. Angelo (Measure for Measure). OK, this one’s twisted. I admit it. But there’s something about the repressed-Puritan-who-suddenly-discovers-sexual-desire story line that I find incredibly hot for some reason. (Also, there’s this one particular stage production I saw a couple of years ago … Yowza. You’ll have to trust me on this one.)

2

I figured it’d be a hands-down landslide for Tybalt, the King of Penis.

3

I’m not sure if I agree with you, but I love the way you say it. :smiley:

4

Romeo in tights.

5

Petruccio in Taming-- but I’m been influenced by ACT’s version.

6

I fell in lust with Iago in my teens (however flat and uncharismatic “You elements that clip us round about” is), swayed in part by a crush on an (alas, straight) actor in a local production. I came out of it with a very good friendship with said actor, and a lifelong love of Shakespeare, so I’m not complaining. I don’t imagine Iago will be a common answer, though ;).

Edmund is another good choice. …Hum. There seems to be a pattern here.

On an unrelated note, I just killed my computer with a virus, trying to torrent that TV series of King Lear.

7

I have wanted Benedick since I was 16 years old. Of course, in my mind he’s better looking than Kenneth Branagh.

8

Richard III - I also love the Anne scene… it takes a certain something to seduce a woman over the corpse of her father-in-law

Aaron from Titus Andronicus - Apparently, I have issues. At least Iago does nothing for me.

Orlando from As You Like It - in spite of his gender recognition issues.

Benedick

Mercutio & Oberon - but there I might be conflating the characters with actors I’ve seen playing them.