Nerd girls' dreamboat

6. Joseph Gordon-Levitt lost his love in "(500) Days of Summer," but he's turning out to be our perfect match

Published November 19, 2009 12:01AM (EST)

<a class="invokeSlideshow" href="/ent/sexiest_man_living_2009/2009/11/18/joseph_gordon_levitt/slideshow.html">View a slide show</a>
View a slide show

 Let's just get this out of the way first: Hot damn, he's good-looking. Joseph Gordon-Levitt is exceedingly well-built, with deep brown eyes and thick dark hair. He's a versatile actor who's deftly transitioned from youthful sitcom stardom in "3rd Rock From the Sun" to edgy teen roles in "Brick" and "Stop-Loss" to, at last, bona-fide leading man status. He's also possibly the only fellow in the world who could make us crush out to a Hall & Oates song.

In his breakthrough, "(500) Days of Summer," Gordon-Levitt winningly ricocheted between romantic bliss and dumped despair, eyeing Zooey Deschanel with a hungry appreciation that made audiences go limp. In "G.I. Joe: Rise of the Cobra," an opus the actor cheerfully claimed "makes '3rd Rock From the Sun' look like a Cassavetes movie," he gamely went action hero. In a "(500) Days of Summer" promotional Cinemash video, he dolled up as an eyeliner-smeared Nancy Spungen for a fun stab at gender bending. And on his charming, collaborative Web project hitrecord.org, he humbly introduces himself as "Regular Joe" and serves up stuff like a visual adaptation of Page 439 of "Finnegan's Wake." In other words, if a nerd chick asked Santa to build her heartthrob, Joseph Gordon-Levitt is likely what would appear in her stocking. He may not have been Mr. Right for manic pixie dream girl Summer Finn, but for the rest of us, Gordon-Levitt makes our dreams come true.

 


By Salon Staff

MORE FROM Salon Staff


Related Topics ------------------------------------------