Yes, they're Hot Guys, but are they Bad?

Yes, Virginia, sometimes these guys achieve that which we hope for - promotion to Hot or Cool Bad Guy status. See the success stories of our Graduates!

Naveen Andrews

The Oh So Pretty Iraqi soldier in Lost, Mr. Andrews is pretty close to being a Bad Guy. You know, for the torturing. But then we get all caught up in his tragic back story and we just can’t see him as a Big Bad Torturing Guy. And he’s so Pretty!

Eric Bana

While oiled-up Brad Pitt is fine for most people, there's nothing quite like oiled-up Eric Bana. In a toga. Or whatever the Trojans were wearing. Hee. I said Trojans. BE EVIL, ERIC!

Sean Biggerstaff

Scottish Hottie Sean Biggerstaff made a Big Impression on us as Oliver Wood in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. We learned, much to Our Chagrin, that he was only 18 when he was in the movie, but he is Getting Legaler By The Minute, so we continued forth undeterred and put Mr. Bigger...er...staff amongst the Stunning Brethren of the Wanna Be List. After all, how could we not, knowing how well he could handle his, er, broomstick?

Orlando Bloom

Okay, Mr. Bloom, how much longer will you continue with Guys Who Are So Squeaky Clean That They Slide Across Linoleum? It's nearly painful. And you'd be such a wonderful Bad Guy! You had such a Fabulous Opportunity in Pirates of the Caribbean, what with all those Pirates running around, but were you tempted to move over to the Dark Side? No. Dammit.

Adrien Brody

Although he consistently plays Good Guys caught in Bad Situations (see The Pianist, The Thin Red Line, and Summer of Sam), we have hopes that Mr. Brody can overcome this Early Career Handicap and move on to roles of a more villainous persuasion. After all, we saw how he manhandled Halle Berry at the Oscars.

Ben Browder

Oh, to be stranded on a bio-sentient spaceship with a cranky Ben Browder! Ever since Farscape entered the universe, bringing with it the yummy-luscious John Crichton, not-a-few of us have tuned in to watch Crichton duke it out with aliens and his own hot-tempered cohorts. We Goddesses pray nightly for the chance to see him play an unrepentently bad character which we suspect will fully unleash his potential for Seething Hotness.

James Caviezel

Despite playing Mr. Vengeance Man and Man Struck By Lightning During the Filming of The Passion (while playing one of the Least Bad Guys in History), We feel that Mr. Caviezel has much potential to go Bad. Perhaps if he had hit someone with a golf club while playing Bobby Jones, but, alas, no dice.

John Corbett

Best known for playing sweet, sensitive, deep guys, we here at Hot Bad Goddess Central would love it if he would play a sweet, sensitive, and yet remarkably Evil Guy. Just once. Please?

Martin Csokas

Mr. Csokas has come so close so many times. He was Awfully Pretty as Celeborn and he could have kicked the Fellowship (full of Hotties) out into the cold with the Uruk Hai in Lord of the Rings. And he was Bad, but Not Hot and Not Very Cool About It in Kingdom of Heaven. We’re sure he’ll get both down at the same time eventually.

Hugh Dancy

This gent’s Hot Bad Potential may have been permanently ruined by his portrayal of Squeaky Clean Galahad in King Arthur. After all, Galahad was the Knicest of the Knights. But he rallied admirably to play the Smarmy and Yet Somehow Utterly Charming Robert Devereaux, Earl of Essex in Elizabeth I. We know he can be a Bad Guy. Even in a ruff.

Taye Diggs

After seeing How Stella Got Her Groove Back, we know you can play a nice guy. We know you can be firm with those you love. But...please...just for us... Show us your Naughty Side. You know you want to.

Robert Downey, Jr.

While definitely a Bad Boy in his personal life, the Hot Bad Goddesses have yet to determine if Mr. Downey has played a Genuinely Bad Guy in any of his movie roles. With his career semi-back on track, We hope for the best. Maybe as a drug dealer? Art imitating life and all that...

Aaron Eckhart

Aaron grabbed our attention in Possession, a surprisingly sexy little gem of a chick flick about literary researchers digging into the scandalous past of Victorian writers. As an affable post-grad studying in England, his rugged hottitude blasted off the screen and veritably screamed, "My next role should be eeevill because I'm way too nice in this one!" Aaron, we hear you loud and clear and have high hopes for you in the forthcoming Paycheck.

Chiwetel Ejiofor

You’d think someone who constantly has to spell his name every time he orders a pizza would have some inner rage that must be channeled into playing villains, but thus far, no good. He is pretty, though. Even in a dress.

Chris Evans

The Lovely Chris Evans made an immediate impression on us as Johnny Storm, aka the Human Torch, in the film Fantastic Four. Of course, the spandex outfit may have helped that. We look forward to a long and, hopefully, Evil career from Mr. Evans.

Rupert Everett

Cads? Yes. Sneaky boys? Absolutely. Villains? Nope. Dammit.

Joseph Fiennes

Despite excellent Bad Guy Genetics (see brother Ralph Fiennes), Mr. Fiennes the Younger has failed to pick up any Villainous Tips. The best he can manage is some mild philandering. But we've got our eyes on him. For purely scientific reasons, of course.

Matthew Fox

Alas, the worst thing that Mr. Fox’s character has done on Lost is to neglect regular shaving. And with looks like that, it’s hardly a crime. But you can just tell he wants to smack down some of The Others. Do it!

James Franco

Ahhh, the lovely James Franco. After playing Bad Boy James Dean and Super Angsty Boy Harry Osborn in Spider-Man, We have high hopes that he will take on the role his on-screen father, Too Creepy to Joke About Guy Willem Dafoe, er...vacated to become the new Green Goblin. We think he would look marvelous on that glider.

Brendan Fraser

Okay, Brendan, enough with the goofy characters. You're gorgeous and we all have faith that you have a Dark Side. Let it out, Baby. You'd be a brilliant con artist. With those beautiful eyes and that sweet smile, no one would ever suspect you. Or a ruthless assassin. Or a criminal mastermind. See? The possibilities are endless!

Clark Gable

We've made an executive decision to disqualify Mr. Gable for Mutiny on the Bounty, because we just don't think the character is Bad Enough. We are doing further research in the Prodigious Body of Work of this Historical Hot (Bad?) Guy, to see if we can get him on the list.

Paul Gross

This Hottie from North of the Border first got our attention (and many other things) while wearing a Mountie Uniform in Due South. Tragically, he was Frightfully Good. And, of course, since he’s Canadian he’ll need to be 30% Badder to make Our List because of the exchange rate. We’re sure he’s up to the challenge. After all, Mounties have a lot of skills, right?

Ioan Gruffudd

The Lovely and Talented Ioan Gruffudd (he's Welsh, can you tell?) is best known for playing the Disturbingly Heroic Good Guy Horatio Hornblower on a series of recent A&E movies. And Goodness, didn't he look fabulous in those uniforms? His role as Lancelot in the latest film version of King Arthur brought him closer to the Hot Bad Guy List. Come on, Ioan. We'll learn to pronounce your name if you play a Bad Guy next.

Jake Gyllenhaal

Along with Fellow Wanna Be Hot Bad Guy Tobey Maguire, Jake Gyllenhaal carries the Flag of Geek Chic to new levels. Hot? Undoubtedly. Especially when covered in water. Does he have it in him to be a full-fledge Bad Guy? Time will certainly tell on that one - he has some demonic-looking moments in Donnie Darko, so we find that promising.

Josh Holloway

The closest thing The Lost Island has to a Castaway Bad Guy, he’s not even all that Bad. His villainy pales in comparison to The Others and when a bunch of Psychologists Obsessed with Operant Conditioning make you look like a Nice Fellow to Have Round for Tea, well, you can see why he ended up here.

Djimon Hounsou

Mr. Hounsou first made an impression on us in Amistad. Tragically, as a Good Guy. He also impressed us with even more of his...assets... in Gladiator. Also as a Good Guy. Maybe he'll get more evil over time. We certainly hope so.

Hugh Jackman

You would think with his penchant for black leather, Mr. Jackman would already have played a Villain, rather than simply Mr. Snarly in X-Men. He could certainly pull it off. He may even be able to handle a Super Villain Role, someplace he could really put all that glowering to good use.

Daniel Dae Kim

For heaven’s sake, he worked at Wolfram and Hart on Angel and he was a henchman for a Korean gangster before getting stranded on Lost and he’s STILL not a Bad Guy! What does this guy have to do to get a piece of some Real Villainy?

Hugh Laurie

It may be wrong for us to be lusting after a Vicodin addict, but if loving Mr. Laurie is wrong, well, we don’t want to be right. All we want is for him to be Bad. The Hotness just comes naturally. You’d think such a brilliant actor would have a streak of villainy in him. After all, villains are so much more interesting.

Jude Law

Joining the exodus from Wanna Be status, Mr. Law recently graduated to full-fledged Hot Bad Status. To see why, read his homage.

Heath Ledger

Ah, the Beautiful Heath Ledger. Although way too pretty to die, he did, and before we knew if he would break the Hot Bad Barrier in The Dark Knight. While we're concerned about the amazingly realistic makeup used, we hold out hope that this will posthumously move Mr. Ledger to the Hot Bad Pantheon. Farewell.

Adrian Lester

With that sweet smile and big brown eyes, you would never see it coming with this guy. Now, if only he would be more than a con man with a moral code. Con man totally works for us. It’s the moral code that’s the stumbling block.

Matthew MacFadyen

As Tom Quinn in MI-5 (Spooks in the U.K.), Mr. MacFadyen walks a fine edge of evildoing that we wish he would explore further. He even gets to play with really nifty futuristic weapons. A new season is due to start filming soon. Maybe he'll change from being British and Enigmatic to British and Evil.

Tobey Maguire

Once again, the Hot Bad Goddesses' Will has been Foiled by a Perfectly Hot Guy Not Being Bad. Mr. Maguire was not mean to the horse in Seabiscuit. He connected with it instead. To make matters worse, he will next be seen in Spiderman II, in which he reprises his role as Spiderman and Peter Parker, neither of whom are remotely Bad. Dammit.

Kevin McKidd

Known best as the Painfully Honorable Lucius Vorenus in Rome, We hear rumors that his film debut features him as the vicious leader of a gang. Clearly, more research is needed and in the mean time, We’ll just watch how well he fills out a toga.

Cillian Murphy

Mr. Murphy has, as we hoped, joined the ranks of the Hot Bad Guys as a result of Batman Begins! Relive the glory with his homage!

Liam Neeson

Mr. Neeson has finally been paroled to the Hot Bad Guy Pantheon! Go see!

Judd Nelson

Oh, Mr. Nelson you came so close to being a Hot Bad Guy in The Breakfast Club. You made Molly Ringwald cry and you nearly sent poor Anthony Michael Hall into cardiac arrest. But alas, being Bad Ass, doesn't make one Bad. We know you'll try harder next time.

Paul Newman

Okay, Mr. Newman hit his Hotness Peak slightly before our time, but he was Superhot in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Trouble was, he was just too damn likable to make our Hot Bad Guys List. He may be moved as soon as we make it through more of his impressive body of work.

Chris O'Donnell

Mr. O'Donnell, you've already proven that you look Fabulous in Black Leather (see Batman Forever). Extrapolate. Please. You'd be a fabulous villain.

Timothy Olyphant

Perhaps best known for his role as Seth Bullock on the HBO series Deadwood, Mr. Olyphant tragically isn't a Bad Guy. That's right. He's a Good Guy in a Whole Town of Reprobates. The worst we can get him on is a spot of adultery and even that is a little bit understandable. Of course, in a town like Deadwood, it's only a matter of time, right?

Clive Owen

We were all set to anoint him as a Hot Bad Guy for his performance in Inside Man, but then the twist just ruined it! ARGH! Foiled again. But never fear, Dear Readers. He has to be a Bad Guy eventually. It’s practically his God Given Right.

David Oyelowo

As Danny Hunter in MI-5, Mr. Oyelowo gets to work with Fellow Wanna Be Hot Bad Guy Matthew MacFayden. Maybe the two of them can team up and be a Supervillain Team in the next season. Oh, and he needs to take off his shirt more often.

James Purefoy

The wonderfully lickable Mr. Purefoy is now thrilling us with his portrayal of Mark Antony on Rome. We seem to remember that this bodes well for his Future Hot Badness. For now, we’ll just enjoy watching him run around in a toga.

Robert Redford

Co-starred with Mr. Newman in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and in The Sting, but he suffers the same problem. He's too sweet, even as a criminal, to be considered a True Bad Guy. Again, we have a lot of movies to watch, but we'll keep our eyes peeled for Mr. Redford in a Villainous Role.

J. August Richards

Sadly, Mr. Richards' work as Charles Gunn on Angel falls in to the category of "vigilante", and thus he is not technically a Bad Guy, although heaven knows, he's Hot Enough for the List.

Michael Rosenbaum

We’ve been waiting for a few years now. And Smallville’s Lex Luthor, played by the luscious Mr. Rosenbaum, is finally starting down the path of Evil. Come on, Mr. Rosenbaum, with your beautiful bald head and big blue eyes, we know you’re going to grow up to be Evil. Any minute now…

Tim Roth

Oh, we'll get you eventually, Mr. Roth. We just need to review some more of your movies. Just you wait.

Paul Rudd

Maybe people who are in Cider House Rules just can't be Bad Guys. We call it the Tobey Maguire Effect.

Mark Ruffalo

Here's another good-looking guy obsessed with playing Good and Somewhat Goofy Guys. He, Tobey Maguire and Elijah Wood should team up. They could be an evil criminal team. No one would ever see them coming.

Rodrigo Santoro

It takes quite a man to stand out from the background of Hot Bad Guys Hugh Grant, Colin Firth and Alan Rickman and Wanna Be Hot Bad Guy Liam Neeson, but in Love Actually all eyes were drawn to this lovely Brazilian Hottie. Alas, he is starring in a Brazilian soap opera at the moment. Hmmm... I should look into a satellite dish to get more of this guy. I mean, everyone eventually turns Evil in soaps, right? Anyway, he had a small part as a Bad Guy in Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle (Princess doesn't want to know how Dandelion knew that), but his part is too small to really be able to qualify him for the Hot Bad Pantheon. We need to see, er, more, yeah, more of him.

Rufus Sewell

Mr. Sewell certainly has a knack for playing someone who may be a cad, but then having a rather remarkable turnaround. We hope he continues. Only without the turnaround. Or something.

Alexander Siddig

So few can overcome early casting in Star Trek. Let's blame in on the spandex jumpsuits. However, Mr. Siddig has proven his Potential Hot Bad Guy Mettle most notably in Kingdom of Heaven, in which he played Nasir and in which he nearly overpowered the Hotness of his co-stars Orlando Bloom, Liam Neeson, and Jeremy Irons. A most impressive performance. Now just imagine if he used his powers for Evil.

Will Smith

You would think with all the violent roles Mr. Smith takes on, some of them would be on the more, er, dubious side of the law, but so far, we haven't been able to come up with anything. Maybe you should try not protecting the earth from aliens for a change.

Ray Stevenson

As Legionary Titus Pullo in HBO’s series Rome, Mr. Stevenson has shown Us that he can play a nice guy who still has a wicked way with a sword. Now, We’d like him to play an Evil guy who has a wicked way with a sword. Work on that, will you?

Donald Sutherland

We Goddesses are still debating the Coolness of one of Mr. Sutherland the Elder's Villainous Portrayals. He's also in well over a hundred movies. That's a lot of reviewing, my friends. He must have played another villain at some point in his career, plus he should get points for passing down Excellent Genes to one of Our Hot Bad Guys (see Kiefer Sutherland).

Eric Stoltz

The Hot Bad Goddesses have debated Mr. Stoltz's status at length, but were unable to conclude anything other than that he's got potential. He hasn't been simultaneously Hot enough and Bad enough, but he's done enough of both - we know it's in there! A Place of Honor awaits you, Mr. Stoltz. Claim it anytime!

Henry Thomas

Yeah, we know what you're thinking, "ew, those pervy girls are lusting after the little kid from E.T.! Gross!" But have you seen him lately? Mr. Thomas receives tons of bonus points for surviving puberty with his cuteness turned to Hotness. Will he ever be able to overcome his Elliott days? We await with bated breath.

Karl Urban

The Hot Bad Goddesses fell head over heels for Mr. Urban as the incredibly Hot but tragically Good and very masculine Guy Eomer in Lord of the Rings. The combination of his full lips and intense eyes gave us all that half-melted look. If only he'd been a Bad Guy, we'd have been fully melted. I'm sure Sean Bean, Viggo Mortensen, Christopher Lee, Ian McKellen or Lawrence Makoare would be happy to give you some Bad Guy pointers, if that would help.

Marc Warren

After flirting with Hot Bad Guy status for quite a while, Marc Warren finally did the deed. Read about it!

Ken Watanabe

He did it! In Batman Begins, Mr. Watanabe lived up to his Bad Guy potential, playing Ra's Al Ghul. See his homage!

Tom Welling

Tom Welling, best known for his portrayal of the Lovely Clark Kent on Smallville, needs to go evil more than just about anyone I've ever seen. He's beautiful. Just beautiful. No one would ever suspect. And don't you think playing SUCH a good guy and the constant red and blue costume thing would get a bit old? Come on, sweetie. We know you have it in you.

David Wenham

Well, one thing that must be said about the Lord of the Rings movies is that they certainly do have lots of Beautiful People. As Faramir in The Two Towers and Return of the King, Mr. Wenham demonstrated that good looks certainly do run in the family. If only evil tendencies did as well. Maybe next time.

Elijah Wood

Oh, the Beautiful Elijah. Sin City finally allowed one of our Perpetual Wanna Bes to take his place amongst the Hot Bad Guys. Now he can be worshipped properly.

Verification of most movie titles and character names from The Internet Movie Database