Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Serverus Snape, Jean-Luc Picard, the Outlaw Josey Wales, and a Lifeguard


Maureen here being totally silly and shallow.

I have been inspired by my friend Kathleen Valentine's blog about gorgeous men who could play the character of Baptiste from her novel The Old Mermaid's Tale. I got thinking about what makes men attractive, and one of those attributes for me is the voice. Here's part of my "Gee, I wish I could be awakened by that voice on the pillow next to me" list. I'm limiting myself to actors this time (that means no Barry White) and I'm sure I'll think of more as soon as I publish this blog.

  1. Alan Rickman. Yeah, I know Severus Snape has greasy hair and a tendency to bully our hero Harry. But whether he's playing the lovelorn Colonel Brandon in Ang Lee and Emma Thompson's Sense and Sensibility or the totally evil Hans Gruber in Die Hard, that silky, insinuating voice hypnotises me. My rental recommendation is Truly, Madly, Deeply.

  2. Patrick Stewart. He'll always be Jean-Luc Picard to me, the thinking woman's starship captain. Even when he was Locutus the Borg, the resonant voice held the promise of his inner humanity. Stewart is also on my list of Men Who Look Great Bald or the Yul Brynner Legacy. My rental recommendation is I, Claudius where Stewart is part of a magnificent cast - and I forgive him the hair.

  3. Clint Eastwood. The young Eastwood as Rowdy Yates in Rawhide was, actually, sort of raw. Once he matured. he developed that slow, measured delivery that is quintessentially American and incredibly sexy in its control of its power. I prefer the Westerns to the Dirty Harry series. My rental recommendation is Eastwood's first directorial effort: Play Misty for Me.

  4. Sam Elliott - another American cowboy. Here's another man who entrances me with his deep drawl even when he plays a black-hearted villian like Dr. John Hill in Murder in Texas. He's more known for his cowboy roles in The Sacketts, Conagher or The Shadow Riders. My offbeat recommendation is The Big Lebowski where he's billed as "The Stranger."

That's all I can think of for now. Feel free to add your own!

3 comments:

Chris said...

The actor who (I wish) does it for me is Robert Redford. At all ages. Oops, here, let me mop up the drool.

Unknown said...

I'm glad that I inspired you, Mo. Or that "my" men did. Actually I didn't mention my favorite actor in that blog --- I'm a totaly sucker for Gabriel Byrne with that low, soft, Irish accent of his. Aurgh!

Actually, last night I watched part of Buffalo Girls with him AND Sam Elliot --- and one of my very favorite actresses, Anjelica Houston.

I love Alan Rickman, too, long before his Snape days. Even though Kevin Costner's Robin Hood pretty much stunk, Alan Rickman was so hilarious as the Sheriff of Nottingham it is worth renting just for that. You get the feeling he was thinking "Okay, this movie sucks --- I might as well have fun..." And he did.

Mo said...

Thanks, you two.

I KNEW I was going to forget somebody and it occurred to me as I was driving to work today at OMG I'm Late miles per hour.

Antonio Banderas! I love that accent, even when he's doing voice overs for the bee in those allergy meds commercials.