One Feisty Blog

Background pictures courtesy of Laila

Friday, July 21, 2006

Not to be Anglo-Centric: Top 8 Hot Not-Quite English Gents

This is just for Ryan, because I know how much he enjoys celebrity-centric posts.

A bit of a geography lesson before we begin: England is the country that occupies the majority of the island (know to most as Britain) that is also shared by Scotland and Wales. Together, along with Northern Ireland (and maybe some other small islands), these four countries make up the entity known as Great Britain. FYI: plain ol' Ireland does its own thing, but Northern Ireland is at least nominally under British control (it's a complicated Catholic vs. Protestant thing, with lots of tricky politics thrown in for good measure). Therefore, for example, people from Scotland can be called Scottish (which they perfer) or British (which they're not particularly fond of, considering their long and bitter history of conflict with England--think Braveheart). I don't think English people mind being called British, but if you know someone was born and raised in England, might as well be precise and call them English.

Australia and New Zealand were both British colonies once upon a time, but they are now autonomous like the U.S.A. and Canada. Australia does not govern New Zealand, nor vice versa.

Since most of the citizens of the above mentioned places speak English with lovely, if sometimes unintelligible accents, the uninitiated ear will sometimes assume that a Kiwi is from Ireland when he's really from New Zealand. Or some rube might call a Scottish man a leprechaun when they should be asking what he wears under his kilt. It doesn't help that many of these talented actors are adept at assuming other accents, so you never know if you're hearing their normal speaking voice when you watch them on the big screen. In fact, one of my favorites, Christian Bale, never used the same accent twice in any of the movies he made from 1986 till at least 2000. (Maybe that is still the case, but I don't know where to find more recent information.)

I know, I know, ENOUGH with the geography lesson! Time for pictures of charming, talented, gorgeous men! As promised, my favorite hot guys who aren't exactly English (but I'm willing to bet they're called English by dozens of random yokels every day):

1.) Eric Bana (Australia)




















2.) Christian Bale (Wales)




















3.) Gerard Butler (Scotland)




















4.) Hugh Jackman (Australia)




















5.) Ewan McGregor (Scotland)




















6.) Liam Neeson (Northern Ireland)




















7.) Pierce Brosnan (Ireland)


















8.) Karl Urban (New Zealand)




















Kind of makes me want to travel...

17 Comments:

  • Nice! But I must admit, I was never really one to swoon over men's looks. I was always a "personality" girl. Still am, but God is SO good in my Luke. He's gott oobers of personality, and looks to boot!

    I left Suzanne's blog addy on Prissy's comment thing to the mood thing.

    Man, I need to retake 3rd grade english!

    By Blogger Kara Deal, at 1:18 PM  

  • Thank you for your number one being Eric Bana. For this we shall be friends for life.

    By Blogger Lisa, at 2:38 PM  

  • Oh, same here, Kara. Looks are nice to admire from a distance, but they don't carry the weight that personality does. I had a ridiculous crush on this bowlegged redhead with, like, no eyelashes when I was a teenager--but dude! He was nice, smart, and FUNNY.

    From what I can tell from interviews and such, seven of the eight guys on my list are either bright or funny or both. AND are as charming as heck. I don't know about Karl Urban because he doesn't make it to late night TV much.

    Thanks for hooking us up with Xana's address. I was wondering what was up.

    By Blogger Unknown, at 2:43 PM  

  • Lisa, we clearly have good taste in men. (Thank goodness that applies to husbands as well as celebrities.)

    I did have a hard time choosing between him and Christian Bale for the #1 slot, since they're both gorgeous, bright, talented, bemused by their hunk status, devoted to the normal women they married, AND they keep their personal lives out of the press. But the fact that Eric Bana started out in comedy (and those sparkly brown eyes) gave him a slight edge.

    By Blogger Unknown, at 2:47 PM  

  • What? No comments on my educational geo-political intro? You guys just aren't nerdy enough these days.

    By Blogger Unknown, at 4:34 PM  

  • Did you know that Protestants in Ireland, including the guys in your list, are supposed to wear orange instead of green on St. Patrick's Day?

    By Blogger Unknown, at 4:41 PM  

  • I did know that. Because I am exposed to your overwhelming nerdiness on a daily basis.

    By Blogger Unknown, at 4:56 PM  

  • And I'm glad I don't live in Ireland. I look better in green than orange.

    By Blogger Unknown, at 4:57 PM  

  • Dear Gina:
    this post sucks. until I see DMony on something, we are through.
    Thanks
    The management.

    ps: thank you for putting Mr. McGregor in there. for that, you can still tell your friends that you know me.

    By Blogger arwen, at 6:27 PM  

  • I approve whole-heartedly and must say that I am much more fond of the not-quite english gents than the actual english gents. pris

    By Blogger Priscilla, at 12:21 PM  

  • gina is boy crazy.

    By Blogger rebecca marie, at 5:10 PM  

  • I am glad that you signed this one Priscilla!

    By Blogger Jess, at 10:16 PM  

  • also where is dougray scott? he's scottish. i vote for him.

    By Blogger rebecca marie, at 9:17 AM  

  • Arwen, in the interest of avoiding a brawl, I'm not going to say anything negative about DMony. I'm just going to say that I left him off the list because I know you've already staked your claim and I know I can't compete with you. And also, I think it's a good thing we have different tastes in celebrity men, because this way we don't have to fight when they come knocking on our doors.

    Pris and Jess: Me, too!

    Becky: A.) I've heard that accusation before. My response? Yeah. So?
    B.) Since I limited myself to a Top 8 list, I had to leave Dougray and Ioan Gruffudd off the list. Ain't nothin' wrong with those boys, I just had to prioritize. Feel free to make your own hot foreign guy list if it will make you feel better about Mr. Scott's exclusion.

    By Blogger Unknown, at 9:29 AM  

  • good choices.

    i fully support you.

    you did, however, leave out colin firth. you might want to expand your list to the top 9

    By Blogger tabitha jane, at 2:54 PM  

  • Tabs, you were gone for the English Gents Top 8. Darling Colin was #1 on that list. And may I say you have excellent taste?

    By Blogger Unknown, at 3:51 PM  

  • don't lie. It's on Gina. I kid. I know you don't get it, I just like to see the most possible DMony that I can (and no, I don't mean the nude kind.... i'm only into one nudie dudie...)(naked man body in general= not hot)(my opinion)

    By Blogger arwen, at 7:42 PM  

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