Who: Neil Patrick Harris
Age: 33
Know him as: Actor
I've never heard of another woman who, as a teenager, had dreams like mine about Neil Patrick Harris. Common objects of teenage lust included Johnny Depp (brooding on "21 Jump Street") and Mark-Paul Gosselaar (young, but so strong-jawed, on "Saved by the Bell"), not to mention the newly arrived dreamboats of Beverly Hills: Jason Priestley and Luke Perry. But for me, it was Doogie Howser all the way. On my luckiest nights, I would dream of riding the freight-style elevator up to Doogie's apartment, where he -- with help from his friend Vinnie -- would have a candlelit dinner waiting for me. He was a doctor, after all -- no Friendly's for us!
Of course, "Doogie Howser" went off the air in 1993 -- and I went off to college to obsess over Billy Corgan. For the last dozen-odd years, we've really only been able to sneak peeks of Harris here and there -- in guest roles on shows like "Will & Grace" and "Boomtown." There was his hilarious turn in "Starship Troopers," of course, but it was his over-the-top, pure-camp portrayal of himself -- on Ecstasy -- in "Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle" that finally made us all see that Neil Patrick Harris wasn't Doogie anymore. In his current role as rabid womanizer, one-liner-slinging Barney on the charming, post-"Friends" sitcom "How I Met Your Mother," Harris' deadpan interpretation of the frat-boy cum lawyer is one of the most surprising, winning things on television. It's a clichi, but what could be sexier than a man who makes you laugh, from your gut? A man who can actually make you -- forgive me -- snort?
I have one idea, actually. And that is a man who is comfortable and confident in himself, who doesn't lie, who isn't afraid of being exactly who he is. When Harris came out to People magazine a few weeks ago, after much speculation by the media and fans about his sexuality, I swooned all over again. "Rather than ignore those who choose to publish their opinions without actually talking to me," he said, "I am happy to dispel any rumors or misconceptions and am quite proud to say that I am a very content gay man living my life to the fullest." No one was threatening him; he came forward, I imagine, with that perfect, broad smile on his face, his eyes crinkled at the corners. I don't care that he plays for a different team: Sexy is about a lot more than just sex.
-- Hillary Frey
Who: Philip Seymour Hoffman
Age: 39
Know him as: Actor, Oscar-winner for "Capote."
When you're talking about the physicality of an actor, man or woman, the last thing that matters is physique. And when you're talking about men, specifically, it's not that chiseled muscles aren't beautiful to look at. But an actor who wears his muscles instead of using them is less than useless.
By that standard, Philip Seymour Hoffman is all muscle. His sensuality is right there in his carriage and movement, an out-in-the-open secret. I've often watched him in movies -- as a villain in "Mission: Impossible III," as Lester Bangs in "Almost Famous," as a humbly compassionate hospice worker in "Magnolia," as a lovestruck porno-film crew guy in "Boogie Nights" -- and wondered why the whole world isn't hip to his foxiness. Even in "Capote," certainly not a movie designed to trigger ardor in straight women, or maybe anyone, his bearing alone speaks of the longing, and the cautious fearfulness, behind sexual desire. His openness to his character is sexy in itself.
And what about the fact that Hoffman, with that mischievous half-smile, is just damn cute? Not to mention that he's got that great Saturday morning, other-side-of-the-bed voice, the voice of a guy who'd automatically hand you your favorite section of the paper (even if it's his favorite section, too).
I've occasionally seen Hoffman in New York, around Times Square, probably on his way to work at one theater or another. Most people working in New York have to carry a lot of stuff, and that probably applies to working actors too, which means that even Philip Seymour Hoffman sometimes has to schlepp a backpack. Backpacks are very practical, but the last thing they are is hot. Still, even with his backpack, Hoffman always looks like a movie star to me. If you can make schlepping sexy, you've really got something.
-- Stephanie Zacharek
Who: Sufjan Stevens
Age: 31
Know him as: Singer/songwriter.
In that airy realm where the brain competes on a level field with the body for the libido's attention, rock stars and gloomy literary types are two time-honored favorites (cf. Bukowski, Keith Richards). But what if you could have both types at once?
Sufjan Stevens may be the least angry rocker of all time, but he's still got the indie cred and musical chops down cold, and his glowing, literate songwriting (he has an MFA in creative writing from the New School) comes close to the best that fiction offers -- a potent double-threat. The whole piercing green eyes and charmingly scruffy chin thing doesn't hurt a bit, either -- doleful, with a dreamy faraway cast to his eye, he's got the alterna-rocker man/boy look all sewed up. (Yes, we know, he's a deeply religious Christian, but come on -- the challenge of seduction just adds to the allure!)
Stevens catapulted into our hearts with 2003's "Michigan," the first entry in his project to record one album for each of the 50 states (cute!), and proved with last year's "Illinois" that he's no one-note wonder. His songs conjure a landscape of intimate moments and emotions, and who could fail to love a man who can write lines like: "I can see a lot of life in you/ I can see a lot of bright in you/ And I think that dress looks nice on you."
-- Salon staff