Whatever happened to the hunks? Channing Tatum

I stumbled across Channing Tatum five years ago while looking for yummy photos for my (then) monthly hunk post. My favourite fishing site was one I discovered back in 2002, mostbeautifulman.com. In the photo I remember best Tatum is dressed (barely) in briefs and a tattered straw hat as he sprawls back against something.  Let me tell you, that photo stopped me in my tracks. Still does. Just as striking as the pose and body were the face and expression. I went back to that photo several times, was struck afresh by the sensual appeal each time but never got around to posting it. Why? I think his age might have been a factor: he just looked so young! Insolent, gorgeous - but just too damned young for my demographic.

Never forgot him, though. Last night my niece insisted that I watch the trailer for something called Magic Mike.  I did, just to appease her - and there was Tatum in all his stunning glory, in a movie in which he plays - get this - a male stripper. Still very young, but all grown up now. Think I died and went to heaven right there and then. 

So, any of you ladies want to accompany me to Movietowne to watch this, give me a shout. Be warned, though; there will be screaming. Lots of it. Gnashing of teeth. Palpitations and hyperventilation. Tears of joy. Fists bitten to shreds and fisticuffs in the aisles. Think you can handle it? Well - see you there! Remember to check your inhibitions at the door or they will be trampled to death by the thundering female herd.

Hunk of the Month: Olivier Martinez

I recently watched the movie Unfaithful, a cautionary tale about infidelity and the tragedy it can unleash. My sympathies should have all been with the cuckolded husband, right? I did empathize with him, but also, to my surprise, with the guilty wife. I totally understood the madness, the passion, the recklessness that drove Diane Lane's character into the affair. I blame my regrettable lack of moral steadfastness on Olivier Martinez' character in the movie. Someone, please tell me how on earth can a mere female mortal find the strength to resist the charms of such a one?

The man is beautiful. He's French, and his accent is to die for. "Heet me!" he tells Diane Lane at the start of their first erotic encounter, and she does hit him, shedding her principles and inhibitions in the process. Not only is Olivier's character très bandant, but his house is full of books - everywhere, on shelves and stacks from floor to ceiling. Aarrgh! He's dangerously hot and he's got thousands of books too? It was easy to understand how he could make a woman like Lane's character lose her head and risk everything that was good in her life. Far, far too easy. And very disquieting.

Martinez is 43, the son of a French mother and Spanish-Moroccan father. During his promotional tour in the USA he was billed as "the French Brad Pitt." (A preposterous comparison, in my opinion. So - you can tell I'm not a Pitt fan!) He's dated Kylie Minogue and Mira Sorvino, and lived with Juliette Binoche.

Personal quotes:
"I like Paris. My problem is I don't like Parisians."

"I'm not very comfortable in love scenes because I'm shy, because I don't play naked. It's very rare for a French actor. I have an issue with that." [Awww!]

"I personally think you must believe in something. You must have a point of view on everything even if you have to change it often."

"I don't consider myself a sex symbol because all my cousins would laugh at me."

Monsieur Martinez, you're a sex symbol, and I'm not laughing.

March hunk: Jimmy Jean-Louis

Born in Haiti 40 years ago, he lived in a remote village until, at the age of 12, he moved to Paris. "From a young boy growing up in Haiti, living with no electricity or running water, my journey to Hollywood has been rich with experience. I take little for granted and appreciate the beauty of life, knowing that there is so much more to learn." Jean-Louis is fluent in English, French, Spanish, Italian, and Creole. He has strutted the catwalks of London, Paris, Milan, South Africa and New York. As an actor, he's worked alongside some of the top names in the business in productions such as Diary of a Tired Black Man, Tears of the Sun, Derailed, Hollywood Homicide, Monster-in-Law, and Phat Girlz. And there's more, much more.

A week ago I didn't know he existed - then I stumbled across a photo that stopped me in my tracks. What do I like best about him? I think it's those lit-from-within eyes. Some dudes, it seems, just have it all.

February hunks

Did I have a January hunk? I don't think so... To make up for this unforgivable lapse we've got two hunks on show today. Ta-da!


I don't know his name, but he's featured on the Calendrier Paysan 2009 calendar and the photo stopped me in my tracks. Comme il est délicieux! Just look at him - driving a big power tool, all sweaty and dirty, doing man-stuff. Don't you just want to take him inside and give him a shower? Mais oui! **fans herself frantically at the thought** He can be my lead character's love interest any day!


And here's Chris Evans, whom I recognize from the movie Cellular and who's currently starring in the sci-fi movie Push. My teenage niece thinks he's super-cute. Well, guess what, Chicken? So do I! Wanna star in my novel, Chris?

December Hunk: Jason Momoa

To round out the year, here's a drink to warm the cockles of your frost-bitten little hearts, me dearies. Jason Momoa, model and actor, is a 6'5" green-eyed hunk of hotness. He was born in Honolulu but raised in Iowa. He has won "Hawaii's Model of the Year," participated in the prestigious "Governor's Fashion Show," and walked the runway for Louis Vuitton. He also hosted the 1999 "Miss Teen Hawaii USA" contest. And he surfs. But you guessed that, right?



You might know him from Baywatch Hawaii. He caught my eye because he looks so, well, Trini. Just toss him in the crowd here with my son and his surfer pals and you'd never guess he hadn't spent his life riding the waves at Beach Break and Mount Irvine*.

In case anyone is wondering what to get me for Christmas... Ahem. Hint, hint... Forget the gift paper; unwrapped is fine with me. I'll make him my muse for novel #3.

(* Surfer hangouts on Trinidad and Tobago respectively.)

Hunk du jour - Charles Divins

I've been neglecting those hunks again, so without more ado... Presenting the divine Charles Divins, a former model who now plays the character Chad on a soap opera I've never seen, Passions.



32 year old Divins is a native of Dallas, Texas. He has modeled for Tommy Hilfiger in magazines like GQ, Glamour, Cosmopolitan, and Gear. He was also a winner in the Male Spokesmodel category on the television series Star Search. He appeared in a commercial for the Nissan Maxima.


What do I find so attractive about him? Well, there's the pretty face, of course, and that neat, trim body. I'm not into huge bulging muscles, and Divins appears to fit at the rangy end of the spectrum - right where I like 'em.

Hunk of the Month: Ralph Fiennes

Spiral Skies mentioned - actually, insulted - a British celebrity on her blog, and he dropped by to exchange some good-natured banter with her, causing quite a stir in that comment thread. I wrote there that I'd be mentioning Ralph Fiennes twice daily on my blog in the daft hope that he'd drop by here and cause some havoc. I was joking, of course (I'd be so lucky), but it reminded me that I've been again neglecting one of the raisons d’etre of this blog, which is to showcase hunks!

I've had a thing for 'Rafe' for ages. He starred in one of my favourite movies of all time, The English Patient. He was fascinating and terrifying in Red Dragon. Heartbreaking in The Constant Gardener. I didn't care for Maid in Manhattan but hell, I'd watch him in anything - he's that brilliant, that intense. No other actor, imho, quite manages his strange but potent combination of aloofness, sensuality, mystery, menace and almost-but-not-quite-boyish vulnerability. He has an aura of suppressed passion, or is it violence? He makes me a little - afraid.

• Born in Suffolk, England in 1962, he was the son Mark and Jennifer, the former a photographer/artisan, the latter a novelist.
• He's an 8th cousin of Prince Charles.
• He joined Britain's Royal National Theatre in 1987 and the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1988.
• He had an 11 year relationship with Francesca Annis, 19 years his senior, after being cast as Hamlet to her Gertrude (Hamlet's mother) in 1995. Being partial to younger men myself (aye, I married one), I totally approved!

Yum.

Hunk of the Month: The many faces of Viggo

Most people would recognize him from his role as Aragorn in Lord of the Rings, but I saw him first in A Perfect Murder playing the sexy 'other man' to Gwyneth Paltrow's unhappy wife character. He was contemptible yet utterly compelling to the point where I could easily - easily - understand how a woman confronted with someone like him could fall hard. He was exactly the sort of guy you should run from, but don't. He had the fascinating charm of the serpent, of the rebel, the dropout, the nonconformist. He radiated sex and danger. He was irresistible. I asked back then: Who is this guy? Who is he?



Then I saw G.I. Jane and didn't even recognize him in the role of hardass Master Chief John James Urgayle. When the credits rolled I did a double take. He's that good! Hidalgo followed, and that cowboy was the stuff of dreams. **sigh**



So what exactly do I like about him? What's there not to like? I particularly love the intensity in his eyes, the aura of self-possession. To put it in local parlance, he's 'mucho hombre'.



Mr. Mortensen's offscreen persona is no less fascinating. Born in New York in October 1958 to a Danish father and American mother, Mortensen spent the early part of his childhood in Manhattan. He speaks fluent English, Spanish, Danish, and French, and also speaks Swedish and Norwegian reasonably well. This man has:

• worked as a truck driver while living in Denmark.
• been photographing for years and debuted with an exhibition at the Robert Mann Gallery in NYC.
  
• is a poet, and published a book of poetry before he became well known.
• owns a publishing company, Perceval Press.
• has been named one of the sexiest men by a number of magazines, and ranked number ten on VH1's Hottest Hotties.
• is a jazz musician (has released three CDs so far).
• is a painter - he actually painted the large murals in his artist's studio in the film A Perfect Murder (1998)

As I said, what's there not to like? Awesome. Awesome.

Hunk of the Month: Taye Diggs

Now, to get back to the serious business of this blog: hunks! [Warning: if you're a heterosexual male, you might want to bypass this post! :) ]



Taye Diggs' sizzles onscreen. He just has that 'something'. Remember the bathroom scene in Stella? Or the scene where he's dancing with Nia Long in The Best Man? Hot!!!



He sings (he was Benny in the Original Broadway Cast of Rent and reprised his role in the film). He’s conquered film (How Stella Got Her Groove Back, Chicago, The Wood, Brown Sugar, and my personal favourite, The Best Man). He starred on TV’s Kevin Hill, and did several smouldering turns on Ally McBeal. Add to all of that one of the sexiest bodies ever to be captured on screen, and a 1,000 watt smile.

Here's a dirty little secret. I stumbled across a link to a nude photo of Taye. Anyone who's seen The Wood (I hated that movie) will remember the guys bathing nude in the garden after Taye's character threw up over everyone. We saw Taye's back view in that scene. The link I found shows the full frontal. Heh. Heh!

Hunk of the Month: Clive Owen!

"Smoothly virile." "Steely intensity." Those words accurately describe this British actor who first grabbed me in Closer. I expected back then that Jude Law would command all my attention in that movie, but it was his co-star who succeeded in fascinating me. I subsequently saw Mr. Owen in Inside Man, and that confirmed it for me: the man is hot! In a mysterious, somewhat dark and dangerous way, too. Saw Elizabeth: The Golden Age a week ago and I must say, if the real-life Sir Walter Raleigh was anything like the man who played him in this movie, it was no wonder Elizabeth 1 was smitten.

The 43-year old Brit has won a BAFTA (Best Actor in a Supporting Role, 2005, Closer), and a Golden Globe (Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture, 2005, Closer). He was also nominated for an Oscar, again for Closer.

Not bad for a bright boy who left school with one O-level pass - in English - and spent several jobless years hanging around pool halls before coming to his senses and entering the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts. The rest is history, as they say.

Hunk of the month: Marcus Patrick

I've been terribly amiss with regard to the monthly posting of hunks, so I'll start 2008 off right with these photos of Marcus Patrick.

The 33-year old actor was born in Bath, England, and has been based in the US for several years. His father was of English, Irish, and French descent, while his mother is of Jamaican, Cuban, and Cherokee descent. He has appeared in such American television shows as My Wife & Kids, CSI:Miami, Days of our Lives, All My Children, Beyond The Break, Just Jordan, Dancing With The Stars, and Passions.

In 2007 he posed for the cover of the September edition of Playgirl Magazine and the magazine website. Patrick elected to pose full frontally nude for several shots, in darkened silhouette. I've never bought/read Playgirl, and now I'm beginning to think I might be missing out on... um... interesting stuff.

Hunk of the month: Jamie Bamber

I didn't post a hot guy last month. That's simply unforgivable.


So here's Jamie Bamber. He stars as Major Lee "Apollo" Adama on SCI FI Channel's Battlestar Galactica - a show I've never seen, but when I stumbled across this photo I became a fan. No, not of BG. Of Bamber.

Hunk of the month: Tyson Beckford

Sorry, guys. This one's strictly for the girls. My hunk of the month is the part Jamaican, part Chinese, part Panamanian model and actor Tyson Beckford. A bit young for me, but I can look, can't I? Just call him one of my muses...

Hunk of the Month: James Hyde

So what was the purpose of posting gorgeous hunks on a writer's blog again? You weren't paying attention, were you. (And why should we need a reason to ogle anyway?)

Who are the leading men in our steamy romance novels? What do we want to see on the covers?

Hunks! Hotties of every description. Guys like actor James Hyde - who once posed (in nothing but his Calvin Klein briefs) for the cover of Playgirl Magazine's September 2002 issue. Look at that half-smile. The humor comes through, the dangerous charm, the glint of mischief, the challenge. This guy will probably drive our heroine out of her mind, but when he falls, that girl will have the ride of her life.

A man's man. A woman's man. All man.

Hunk of the Month - Boris Kodjoe

I've decided that besides posting on writing, publishing, and my journey to published author status, I'll also post about other stuff that interests me. So where does the Hunk of the Month post fit in all this, you may well ask. Well, men surely interest me, but that's beside the point. Seriously. Before I begin writing I have to form a physical picture of my characters. So this post is really about the writing. Every month I'll try to post a pic of a gorgeous man whom I would love to play main man in my stories, guys I'd actually like to see on the covers. Come on - this is serious stuff.

Then again, maybe I just want to post pics of assorted sexy guys. So, sue me.

Sorry ladies. This one's spoken for. But there's no harm in lookin'...

And no, he's not my significant other (if wishes were horses...). He's actor Boris Kodjoe from the Soulfood series and lately of Madea's Family Reunion. Married to Nicole Ari Parker, father of Sophie Tei Naaki Lee and Nicolas Neruda Kodjoe.

Yumm. I mean, great inspiration for crafting my male protags. He's the number one contender for the hero of my third romance novel.