# Hottest men in Shakespeare? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 8, 2010, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hottest-men-in-shakespeare/538719 "2010-05-08T03:11:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Fretful\_Porpentine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fretful_porpentine/32/2873_2.png) [@Fretful\_Porpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fretful_Porpentine)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2010, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hottest-men-in-shakespeare/538719/1 "2010-05-08T03:11:18Z")
'Cos hey, [you knew there would have to be a follow-up thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=562408). My picks: 1. Edmund in _King Lear_. Oh, OK, I may be overly influenced by the [recent TV version](http://www.pbs.org/wnet/gperf/episodes/king-lear/introduction/475/), 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.) ---
**Author:** ![SoulFrost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f07891/32.png) [@SoulFrost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SoulFrost)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2010, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hottest-men-in-shakespeare/538719/2 "2010-05-08T03:21:41Z")
I figured it’d be a hands-down landslide for Tybalt, the King of Penis. ---
**Author:** ![MacSpon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/34f0e0/32.png) [@MacSpon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacSpon)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2010, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hottest-men-in-shakespeare/538719/3 "2010-05-08T05:43:25Z")
> [@SoulFrost](#): > > I figured it’d be a hands-down landslide for Tybalt, the King of Penis. I’m not sure if I agree with you, but I love the way you say it. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2010, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hottest-men-in-shakespeare/538719/4 "2010-05-08T05:46:21Z")
Romeo in tights. ---
**Author:** ![Sandra\_Battye](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sandra_battye/32/552_2.png) [@Sandra\_Battye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sandra_Battye)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2010, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hottest-men-in-shakespeare/538719/5 "2010-05-08T16:38:57Z")
Petruccio in Taming-- but I’m been influenced by [ACT’s version](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RdqOHvcD-VU). ---
**Author:** ![JohnnyMac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@JohnnyMac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnnyMac)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2010, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hottest-men-in-shakespeare/538719/6 "2010-05-08T16:54:17Z")
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_. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2010, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hottest-men-in-shakespeare/538719/7 "2010-05-08T17:33:46Z")
I have wanted Benedick since I was 16 years old. Of course, in my mind he’s better looking than Kenneth Branagh. ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2010, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hottest-men-in-shakespeare/538719/8 "2010-05-08T19:51:16Z")
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.