And Your B-List Dude of the Week is…

HUGH DANCY!

Age: Good scotch (40)
Height: Serviceable (5’11”)
Nationality: Most polite (He’s British!)

Hugh Dancy worked his way through several British television series before landing a role in Blackhawk Down, a movie with so many future film and television stars it’s easy to lose count. He then played Prince Char in the film adaptation of Ella Enchanted. The movie is not good, but I will watch him dancing with Anne Hathaway as she sings Queen’s Somebody to Love whenever I’m having a bad day, because it’s infectiously cute. From its release in 2004 until about 2011, he did a lot of good work as the affable love interest or brother in several mid-budget movies. Then Hugh got back into television, first with an arc on The Big C, and then, of course, as Will Graham on Hannibal, where he showcased his incredible talents and proved himself as a leading man. Here’s hoping Mr. Claire Danes finds a less ill-fated show or film in the future, because he’s awesome, and I miss him already.

And our runner up, proving that Fannibals, like the Wu Tang Clan, ain’t nothin’ to f**k with:

MADS MIKKELSEN

Age: Like a fine wine (49)
Height: Stately (6′)
Nationality: The happiest place on Earth (no, really – he’s from Denmark)

It’s probably a little unfair to call Mads Mikkelsen B-list. He’s rather well-known in his native Denmark, and he’s been the consummate villain since his wonderful turn as Le Chiffre in Casino Royale. But it’s only recently that folks on this side of the Atlantic have truly come to appreciate his incredible skill. He actually starred alongside Hugh Dancy in King Arthur, but they both went to much better things, including an award-winning performance in the Danish drama The Hunt and Rihanna’s instant music video classic Bitch Better Have My Money. With absolutely no disrespect to Brian Cox or Anthony Hopkins, Mads Mikkelsen has redefined and, if I might be so bold, perfected the role of Hannibal the Cannibal, creating a mannered and dangerous performance that sends chills down many a spine. He’ll be in the upcoming Dr. Strange as a villain – I’m hoping its Mephisto, because if there’s anyone capable of being Satan, it’s Mads.

Thank you all so much for making this the most successful B-List Dude of the Week poll ever. I’m so glad to hear from so many Fannibals, especially as we all come to terms with life without Hannibal. Please continue to join us for the rest of September, particularly 9/29, when Mads and Hugh will face off against other contenders in the Canceled Too Soon B-List Dude Month of Madness.

And Your B-List Dude of the Week is…

ROMAN REIGNS

Age: Dirty Thirty
Height: Epic (6’3″)
Nationality: Forgivable, but barely (he’s from America’s Wang – Florida)

Roman Reigns was born Leati Joseph Anoa’i. He made a name for himself early as a spectacular defensive player at Georgia Tech. He was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings for a season, followed by the Jacksonville Jaguars, but only on their practice squad. He spent most of his professional football career in Canada, playing defensive tackle for the Edmonton Eskimos. He signed onto the WWE as Roman Reigns, crushing his way through their NXT league. He teamed up with Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins, forming WWE team The Shield, and winning a tag team championship in the process. After the team disbanded, he made a number of attempts at the WWE World Heavyweight Champion, but was frequently dethroned. However, this year he won the 2015 Royal Rumble, proving once again that Roman Reigns is one to look out for. I’d look anyway, though. He’s like a mash-up of Bane and Khal Drogo that makes me want to become a WWE fan.

Thanks for playing this week! See you next Tuesday!

Bonus: Roman Reigns and The Rock – Be still my heart!

And Your B-List Dude of the Week is…

JOHN STAMOS!

Age: Vampiric (Is 51, looks nowhere near that)
Height: Acceptable (6′)
Nationality: Domestic (from California)

Born John Stamotopolous, Stamos de-Greeked his name when he began his career in acting on General Hospital. He then re-Greek as Uncle Jesse Katsopolis, whose original last name was Cochran, on the annoying but somehow still beloved Full House. He’s held several TV roles since, including a stint on ER and a recurring role on Glee when it was still acceptable to watch it. Stamos has also played drums for the Beach Boys, and he appeared in their Hot Fun in the Summertime video. He’s currently recovering from a DUI conviction and a stint in rehab, and we wish him all the best as he reprises his role as Uncle Jesse on the upcoming Netflix revival of Full House, aptly titled Fuller House. He looks way better than both Bob Saget and Dave Coulier, so he’s got to be feeling pretty swell.

Thanks for playing! Tune in next week!

And Your B-List Dude of the Week is…

DAVID TENNANT!

Age: Middle (He’s 44)
Height: Surprising (6’1″ – I thought he was short!)
Nationality: Similarly surprising (Dude was born in Scotland with the last name McDonald)

Even if you didn’t vote for him, there was probably a moment when you considered David Tennant. Because he’s lovely, and probably a bigger Doctor Who fan than any of us. As a child, he decided he wanted to be an actor because of his love for the original Doctor Who series. He got his first role in 1988 (the best year ever) at the age of 16 and continued to study acting. He continued to get steady work on several television series until his dream finally came true and he became the 10th doctor. His episodes are among my favorite, not only because he’s infectiously charming, but because the similarly wonderful Katherine Tate was Donna, the best companion. He’s married to Georgia Moffett, whose dad, Peter Davison, was the Fifth Doctor.  She played the Doctor’s Daughter in one of the episodes, a fact that is simultaneously weird and adorable. Outside of his Doctoring, Tennant has been in the well-received series Broadchurch, and in its American remake, Gracepoint. He’ll next be in the Marvel TV series AKA Jessica Jones, which will be awesome.

Thanks for playing!

P.S. I am looking for suggestions for a topic I’d like to cover: Inexplicable A-List Dudes. SO if there’s an actor you think is more famous than his talent or looks would indicate, let me know at blistdudeoftheweek@gmail.com. Thanks!

And Your B-List Dude of the Week is…

A TIE!

MICHAEL B. JORDAN

Age: Fresh (28)
Height: Optimal (6′)
Nationality: Local (He’s from just down the 5 in Santa Ana!)

Michael B. Jordan started acting as a kid, taking his first major role as Wallace in the acclaimed show The Wire. He followed that with a stint on the less acclaimed All My Children. He grew up on Friday Night Lights, and really turned heads with his work in 2012’s Fruitvale Station. Currently, he’s made waves after being cast as Johnny Storm. But he’s handled the misplaced fanboy ire with aplomb, proving himself to be not only an immense talent, but a thoughtful, strong person willing to pave the way for a better, more diverse future both onscreen and in real life. It will not surprise me at all when this guy wins an Oscar in the future.

JASON MOMOA

Age: South of Middle (35)
Height: Barracuda-sized (6’4″)
Nationality: Ideal (He’s from Hawaii – appropriate for Aquaman.)

Although born in Hawaii, Jason Momoa was raised in Iowa, which probably explains why his eyebrows make him look perpetually cranky. He wised up and moved back to Hawaii, where he was cast in Baywatch. His career switch to a much nerdier trajectory when he was cast first in Stargate: Atlantis and then as Khal Drogo in Game of Thrones. It definitely worked well, though. His resume makes him the perfect guy to take Aquaman from being first-draft Mermaid Man to an unmitigated badass. Here’s hoping he succeeds. Although, even if he doesn’t, he’s still gets to go home to Lisa Bonet. Dude knows how to win at life.

Thanks for playing! See you next week.

And Your B-List Dude of the Week is…

ALADDIN

Age: Fresh (he was only 18 in the first film)
Height: Mysterious (It’s not listed)
Nationality: Fantastic (Literally. Agrabah isn’t a real city.)

They called him riff-raff, and street rat, but we didn’t buy that. Apparently, you all wanna look closer at this poor boy, yessirree. And I don’t blame you. If you’re in your 20s, Aladdin was probably your first movie crush. He was one smooth criminal, and he had a heart of gold, sharing his bread with those kids. Plus, who can resist a dude who loves Princess Jasmine not just for her beauty but for her strong will and nascent feminism? He’s the total package, and he can rock a fez in a way that probably makes Matt Smith super jealous.  In addition to all this, he’s a family man who forgives – he totally tried to rehab his dad after a life of crime in the third movie. Aladdin can do no wrong, his best friend is a Genie, and he has a magic carpet that travels faster than any airplane if the amount of ground covered in the Whole New World sequence is any indication. That being said, if I were him, I would have kept Abu as an elephant and not a monkey, because elephants are awesome and don’t fling poo.

Thanks for playing along this week. I’m sure we’ll do more animated dudes in the future, because I have a thing for short dudes and Lord Farquaad is calling my name. (KIDDING!) (But not!)

And Your B-List Dudes of the Week are…

ALFONSO HERRERA

Age: Ideal (31)
Height: Standard issue (5’10”)
Nationality: Neighborly (from Mexico City, Mexico)

Also known by the nickname Poncho, Alfonso Herrera actually attended school with fellow DotW winner Gael Garcia Bernal. I wish any school I had attended ever had people that looked like that. But alas… Anyway, he was part of a dance-pop group, RBD. The group starred and gained popularity in the series Rebelde, which sounds like the Mexican equivalent of a CW show. He appeared on several other telenovelas and TV dramas until landing the role of Lito’s bespectacled boyfriend who steals everyone’s hearts, Hernando. He looks adorable both with and without glasses, and I hope we see more of him in stateside in the future.

 

MAX RIEMELT

 Age: Similarly ideal (31)
Height: Standard-plus (5’11”)
Nationality: Well-engineered (German)

Max Riemelt was born in Germany when it was still two halves. He was on the less-awesome East half, but the wall came down, and he gave us one more reason to be grateful. He’s been acting since he was a teenager, and has appeared in most of director Dennis Gansel’s films, which I would recommend. He’s excellent (and frequently naked) in Sense8, and I am sure, like Alfonso, we will be seeing more of him stateside in the coming years.

Have a wonderful week! I’ll be back with dispatches from Comic-Con next week.

And Your B-List Dude of the Week is…

STEVE ZAHN

Age: Prime (47 – get it? It’s a language meets math joke!)
Height: Twinsie-status (5’7″, just like me!)
Nationality: Minnesota Nice (But not from the Twin Cities)

Steve Zahn has been That Guy for the entirety of my movie-watching life. One of his earliest roles was Sammy in Reality Bites, which is a super cool place to start a career. He’s followed it up with more Tom Hanks movies than any other nominees on the list, an adaptation of Hamlet starring Ethan Hawke, a Werner Herzog movie (Rescue Dawn, super good), and the forever burned into my brain Saving Silverman. Shout out to my bruv for taking up valuable TV time with that movie so many times. So many many times. Most recently, he’s been in all three, yes, three, Diary of a Wimpy Kid movies, Treme, and an arc on Modern Family. I don’t think I’ve ever been so happy or surprised by a winner before. But Steve Zahn is a pretty cool dude, and a perfect winner on Tom Hanks week.

Thanks for playing along! Please enjoy this bonus Hooch:

And Your B-List Dude of the Week is…

RICHARD MADDEN

Age: Burgeoning (He’s only 28, but Craig has two more Bond movies.)
Height: Enigmatic (Google says 5’11”; IMDB says 5’9″ – I’m inclined to believe the latter.)
Nationality: Appropriate (As I said, he’s Scottish, like Connery.)

According to legend, Richard Madden was a shy, chubby boy when he decided to take drama classes in hopes of breaking out of his shell. It worked, and he became King of the North. Recently, he was demoted to Prince Charming, but he got to live through his wedding, so we’ll call it a win. Currently, he’s a little young to play Bond, but he’s got a few years to grow up into an international man of mystery. Currently, he’s filming Bastille Day, a CIA thriller with rumored Bond-hopeful Idris Elba. It sounds super interesting, and with that cast, I am sure we’ll all be clamoring to see it.

Thanks for playing. Tune in next week!

Bonus Puppy!

And Your B-List Dude of the Week is…

AIDAN TURNER

Age: Fresh (31)
Height: Solid (6′, and I believe him)
Nationality: Green (Irish)

Aidan Turner started on the stage, performing in several productions in Ireland’s national theater, The Abbey. However, he found his biggest following on television, appearing as vampire Mitchell on the BBC’s Being Human. The show itself was really good, and he was a particular standout. Although I hate to admit their existence, Aidan Turner found himself on an international stage with The Hobbit films as the Hot Dwarf with No Make-Up. But I get it – I wouldn’t want to cover that face either. This also put him in a film with the late great Christopher Lee who inspired today’s theme. So that’s cool. This year, Aidan is set to appear in the Jim Sheridan film The Secret Scripture and a remake of a series call Poldark which is currently airing on the BBC and will appear on PBS’s Masterpiece Theater here in the states, similar to Downton Abbey. Who knows? Maybe Aidan Turner is the next Dan Stevens. If so, hooray! If not, I hope we still see lots of him in the future.

Thanks for playing. See you next week!