Years ago in a breathless love letter to screen luminary Greta Garbo, essayist Kenneth Tynan waxed rhapsodic on how the Swedish Sphinx radiated sex without gender. Garbo, like others stars of her era -- Marlene Dietrich, Robert Taylor and Tyrone Power come to mind -- exuded pansexual musk, seducing everyone across the gender spectrum.
When Bette Davis tried to put her finger on the phenomenon, she cracked that "An actress is something more than a woman; an actor is something less than a man." Which is a euphemistic way of saying that actresses are a little butch and actors a little femme. (Naturally this is not the rule, as the ultra-feminine Halle Berry and mucho macho Denzel Washington can attest.) Yet as bisexuality doubles one's chances of scoring a date, so the erotic radiance of pansexuality doubles one's chances of seducing members of the audience.
One would think that such sex appeal is the sine qua non of movie stardom. But there is a phenomenon among some actors today that I would call the opposite of sex appeal: Erotic inscrutability. Non-sex appeal. Katharine Hepburn had it. So do Sandra Bullock, Johnny Depp, Jodie Foster, John Leguizamo, Keanu Reeves and Hilary Swank. Before the camera, they chip away at gender expectations and customize characters to their own specs. Erotic inscrutability is not unsexy. But Bullock. Depp and Reeves are sexy because the battle of the sexes rages inside them.
Why has there been a shift from erotic radiance to erotic inscrutability? Does it reflect cultural acceptance of metrosexuality? That unavailability is a potent aphrodisiac? Your thoughts? Other actors with an offbeat vibe?
Gael Garcia Bernal. In BAD EDUCATION, he's fetching in drag and even more so in his undies in the swimming pool. The actor just radiates impishness, sexuality, and unbridled eroticism.— garyk- Too much food for thought. Robert Taylor (it's nice to see him remembered and mentioned); Sandra Bullock erotically inscrutable? (Never occurred to me.); John Leguizamo (huh?); Jodie Foster (simply unerotic and lacks believability in heterosexual roles; it would be great to see her cast in a gay role). Johnny Depp? I never thought I'd say this but after that Vanity Fair cover story I wish he'd just disappear so that I can someday enjoy his acting again. But thank you for providing the food for thought and the good Bette Davis quote.— ccjroberts
- Tilda Swindon— A Friend
- Not an actor- at least not yet. Adam Lambert exemplifies absolutely everything mentioned above. I know of gay women and straight men who admit to being incredibly attracted to him. And of course, the legions of heterosexual women (like myself) who adore him. I think it is that "battle of the sexes" you mention that makes him so appealing- he projects an aggressive sexuality with a tough edge, but consciously molds his physical image into stylized hybrid of butch/femme. Very cool and very hot.— pippy
- Joan Crawford was handsome. Gary Cooper (the young GC) was beautiful. Tony Curtis--the classic embodiment of the war between butch and femme. Marlon Brando--beautiful or manly, depending on the role and the period of his career. Rock Hudson--a total hottie, no matter how you were (or who was) looking at him. Rosalind Russell had a kind of androgynous quality about her; same with Hedy LaMarr although in a very different way--she was so exquisite as to be beyond human (i.e. common/sexual) reach, almost goddess-like in her unapproachable perfection.— Nancy KC
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