First, the concept of a man crush.
Now the first basic thing to know about a man crush is that it is not a sexual attraction. I mean that can be an element of it, but that is not the basis of a man crush. A man crush is a guy that you look up to and idolize. It's like, "wow this guy has won 85 superbowls and has stared in 30 movies. I want to be him." A man crush is kind of like that guy who has done what you want to do with your life. Also, he can be a good looking guy. As a straight man I have no problem saying a guy is decent looking. Girls do it all the time. However, the basis of a man crush is to have that guy that is just so awesome that his awesomeness just kind of ends world hunger and stops global warming. Well maybe not that great. But something along those lines. It's not so much a Bromance, but more of a father figure that you can look up to.
Anyways, that is the concept of Man Crush. Now, here is my list of man Crushes over the years.
Zach Braff: My original Man Crush. It came about in early 2005 when I saw Garden State for the first time. Then I found out Zbraff had written and directed the movie, and it was just about the time when I had gotten into writing. He became an instant role model for me. Not only that, but Scrubs was an incredible show.
George Clooney: The only reason I think I had a short lived Man Crush on Clooney is because he stared in the Ocean's movies, and I was obsessed with those movies for a good amount of time. Then he decided to direct Leatherheads and that was that.
John Krasinski: In March of 2005 "The Office" premiered on NBC. I was immediately hooked to the show, and was a huge fan of Jim. In all honesty, I feel like I don't know John Krasinski enough to have a Man Crush on him, it may just be his character Jim. But I like to think they're one in the same.
Michael Cera: This is a strange Man Crush since Michael Cera is basically my age, but this crush blossomed during the time of "Arrested Development." Although I didn't know too much about Michael Cera at that time and only really knew George Michael, I quickly found out Michael Cera was just as socially awkward as his character counterpart. I'm a pretty socially awkward guy a lot of the time, and it was good to know that someone as awkward as I could figure out a way to be successful in the Hollywood sense. Even if he does play the same role and personality every movie (Here are my suggestions for Michael Cera's next movies)
Robert Downey Jr.: RDJ has done a lot with his acting career as well as going to hell and back with all his crazy stuff. Then he emerged from hell to star in Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, and a Man Crush-spark was ignited. Since then, he has done some awesome movies that have yet to disappoint me, and seems to be really down to Earth and a lover of life.
Jason Segel: One of my favorite TV shows that I always try to get people to start watching is "How I Met Your Mother." In this show, Jason Segel stars as Marshall, the best friend of the main character that is married to Alyson Hannigan. Also, he is the man on this show. If there was ever a sitcom character that I would like to be friends with in real life it would be Marshall. Then, Segel decided to write and star in Forgetting Sarah Marshall, and it made me realize that he is as awesome in real life as he is on HIMYM. My favorite part about him writing Forgetting Sarah Marshall is that he also composed the songs for the Vampire Musical. Pure Genius.
As for a new man crush, my top prospect is Paul Feig. He created and wrote "Freaks and Geeks," and he also has a hilarious childhood and dating life as I've read in his two memoirs, Kick Me and Superstud. Many of the stories in these books have incredible similarities to my life and my misadventures with women and dating, and it gives me hope that I can be a successful writer/anything else in Hollywood.
So who are your Man Crushes (or Female Crushes for the ladies)?
