Channing Tatum

Born: April 26, 1980

Hometown: Cullman, Alabama

Height: 6'1"

He has a fiery-hot past

Before he got paid millions to show off his sexy bod, he used to dance as a stripper in an all-male revue called Male Encounter. Now that's one show we would like to have seen in person — but we can get as close as possible with this old footage!

As for those business types close to Tatum who would rather not have him admit to shaking his groove thang in a thong? "I don't care what they think," he told Details. "I'm happy I did it. I'm not proud, because it's not something to be proud of, but I had an experience that only one out of a thousand — a million — people can say they've ever had. I've been through this crazy sort of life, and I came out the other side fairly unscathed."

We like how he turned out, that's for sure!

He does his own stunts

You know those crazy backflips in Step Up? All Channing. He told GQ: "You know when someone is so nervous about something, it makes you doubt yourself? Like on Step Up, I was going to do this back?ip off the car. That's something I do, like, all the time. I just do back?ips off things. By the time it was time to do it, I was, like, shaking, because everyone was all, 'Are you sure you want to do this?' But then I did it, and it was ?ne."

Or, ummm... much more than fine, from our perspective!

But Chan has a whole lot more going for him than his face : He received critical acclaim for his performance as a streetwise boy from Queens in A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints, including a Best Supporting Actor nomination from the Independent Spirit Awards.

He's a small-town kind of guy

Chan isn't a huge fan of the club culture in L.A. — especially when he could be shaking his groove thang down in Tampa, Florida, where he spent his teen years:

"L.A. sucks for going out," he told Details. "Everything here is a 'lounge.' Everyone just sits around at a table, drinking a cocktail, looking at each other. There are no dance clubs. Back in Florida, I'm gonna go into a club, get drunk, get sweaty, dance, have a good time, and get a taxi home. There's no place here that does dancing like that. I miss it, man. I miss it."

We'll challenge you to a dance-off anytime, Chan!

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Channing Tatum's relationship status:

This hottie has been married to his equally good-looking wife, Jenna Dewan , whom he met on the set of Step Up, since July 2009. The two created a production company, 33andOut, together — and they recently starred alongside each other in in this year's high school reunion film, Ten Year. Cutest co-stars ever!

What's next:

Check out Channing Tatum try to win back the heart of his wife, played by Rachel McAdams, who lost her memory after a horrfying car accident in The Vow, on DVD May 8. And up next on the big screen: Magic Mike, an almost true-to-life story of a male dancer. Sign us up!

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Photo credit: WENN.com, Summit Entertainment, Apega/WENN.com

The dulcet tones of Brian Williams' voice combined with his classic good looks and his warm, witty countenance lull us into what we can only describe as a sensual, crush-driven hypnosis every time we watch NBC Nightly News .

We're infatuated with America's sweetheart

What is it about Brilliams that makes our hearts go pitter-patter? We hardly have to explain, since America as a whole — from feminist bloggers to Fargo residents — totally feels us on this one.

He's America's heartthrob

How hard does America crush on Bri-Wi? Hard enough that NBC replaced a TV drama about Playboy bunnies with Rock Center with Brian Williams, a serious news show helmed by Brian — and it's lasted far longer and garnered much better ratings. Our living rooms are wide open to Brian, whether he's anchoring NBC Nightly News, popping up to hang out on the Today show or bantering back and forth with Jon Stewart on The Daily Show.

Seriously, Google "crush on Brian Williams," and you will get more than 20,000 results. And it's not hard to see why: Aside from being smart, he's also wildly modest, insisting to ELLE that he "never" had the courage to talk to women when he was young, and emphasizing that he knows his role on TV:

“I will write the words that you hear me speak," he told the New York Times about his show Rock Center, "I will be doing some stories and interviews of my own, but you don’t want me selecting the pieces that will run. They would all be about presidential history, the Supreme Court, the military and aviation. No one would watch that show.”

Um, we would! And did we mention he slow-jams the news alongside Jimmy Fallon? Awwww, yeeeahhh...

He's hipper than we are

Brian has a blog, is friends with Gawker Media founder Nick Denton and even launched a music-driven website cutely called BriTunes, on which he introduces us plebs to awesome bands. Brian likes Florence and the Machine , and he once named She Wants Revenge as one of his faves. Yes, Brian Williams is cooler than we will ever be. And we're OK with that.

One of his recent razor-sharp moments was an e-mail he sent to Denton, critiquing Gawker's current state, specifically their failure to eviscerate Lana Del Rey's SNL appearance in January. Here's part of it:

"In my humble opinion as a loyal customer and while I know you're in the midst of an editor change, weekends have been allowed to go awfully fallow — and it was a fallow holiday period for those of us who check your s*** 10 times a day by iPhone. I know you've been watching NBC Nightly News religiously each evening and I'll no doubt be getting a withering, detailed critique from you straight away."

Ah, we love this uncensored side of Bri-Wi. We don't want to brag, but we once had the pleasure of seeing Brian speak, and not only was he more handsome than he is on TV, but he has the funniest sense of highbrow humor we've ever heard.

We dig his daughter

HBO's buzzy new series Girls is a critical darling, and it boasts one fun piece of trivia: Allison Williams, Brian's stunningly pretty songstress daughter, plays Marnie Michaels, lead Hannah Horvath's best friend. And if you haven't heard, the show doesn't leave much of the women's awkward sexual exploits to the imagination.

So is it uncomfortable for him to watch his daughter in less-than-flattering sex scenes? No way, because our Brian is — as always! — ultra even-keeled:

"No, no. It’s kvelling, pride. It’s incredibly great. Her co-creator and I have known always that she was going to be an actress. So it’s fantastic," he told New York magazine's Vulture blog. When pressed, he said that he felt "unmitigated joy" watching her in the show.

A dad who can draw the line between a TV show and reality... and is nothing but proud of his baby girl? Well, that's pretty cool.

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Brian Williams' relationship status:

Brilliams is beyond grounded: He's been married to his wife, radio and TV veteran producer Jane Gillan Stoddard Williams, since the summer of 1986. She's currently the host/producer of Bloomberg Radio's weekly education program.

What attracted Brian to Jane isn't unlike what we love about Brian: He was entranced by her voice when the pair worked together at WTTG in Washington, DC.

"I actually heard her before I saw her," he told ELLE. "We wear this cable in our ear — this little piggly curlicue thing called an IFB — and I had her in my ear first. Voices are a huge part of attraction. When I was growing up, every teenage boy listened to Alison Steele, the New York DJ known as the Nightbird, and we all had a mental vision of her. When you’ve got great pipes, it’s the most romantic thing in the world."

That day, he said that he was going to marry Jane... and he did. Twenty-five years with this TV hunk? Kudos, Jane!

Watch: Brian Williams for President!

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Photo credit: Charles Norfleet/PR Photos, Lloyd Bishop/NBC, Peter Kramer/NBC, WENN.com, Ivan Nikolov/WENN.com

He's still our school
-girl crush

As far as high school crushes go, Scott Speedman had charismatic jock perfection down so well that it skyrocketed him to stardom when he graced TV screens across America playing Ben Covington on J.J. Abrams' show Felicity.

It's been 10 years since the show wrapped, but Scott has only grown more handsome — and now we get to gaze at him on the small screen as Channing Tatum's romantic rival, opposite Rachel McAdams in The Vow, on DVD tomorrow. Channing plus Scott... Does it get any hotter than that?

He’ll always be Ben from Felicity to us

Scott's arguably best-known work? His role as crush-worthy Ben Covington, opposite Keri Russell on Felicity. As you may well remember, Ben was the impetus for Felicity Porter to ditch her Stanford University plans to follow him to New York. With those chiseled jock-y good looks and that blond hair, it’s not hard to see why Scott can make otherwise smart women make spur-of-the-moment decisions.

"We always joke about — me and my friends — about doing a Felicity movie, and I would be, like, so overweight and working as a nurse somewhere [laughs]," he told Moviefone. "I don't know, maybe a drug addict. Trying to rebound, coming out of rehab, trying to get his life together after a broken marriage... I don't know, I'm just trying to think of what's an interesting place to start for the character. If you're finding him now, he's got to be at a low point so we can get him back to a high point. We need him to recover, we need Felicity to come in and help him out or something."

Aw, we hate to think of Ben at a low point, but if Felicity isn’t available, we’ll rescue you, Scott!

He’s as laid-back as can be

When Felicity hit its zenith of popularity in the late 1990s, Scott lived the high life for a bit, even dating Hollywood darling Gwyneth Paltrow. After the series ended in 2002, though, Scott took a step back from superstardom, choosing to do mostly small parts and bum around New York. “I was always ambivalent about this [acting] thing,” he told the Daily Beast. “I just wanted to have fun for a while.”

Now, he plays a mighty good looking foil to Channing Tatum in The Vow, as Rachel McAdams' ex-fiancé whom she tries to reconnect with while suffering from amnesia. Acting aside, when Scott's not on a set, he's enjoying the little things in life:

“I do a lot of hiking. I play a lot of basketball," he says. "I do a lot of hanging out with friends. I manage to fill my time, although that’s the challenge of being an actor in Los Angeles. I keep busy. I’m busy finding work. You get there and start hustling.”

The idea of relaxing right next to Scott — or taking him on in a mean game of man-on-man hoops — sounds pretty appealing!

He was a hot '90s Ned Nickerson

It's great when our favorite girlhood novels come to life, and it's even better when the male characters are smokin'! Scott filled the shoes of girl detective Nancy Drew's boyfriend Ned Nickerson in a 1995 TV series. With his wavy blond hair and casual '90s duds, Scott embodied the ultimate fantasy supportive boyfriend for adventurous young women everywhere.

"I did six episodes of that and I had no idea what I was doing," he told Just Jared. "I was a horrible actor. This director was really nice to me and taught me a lot, and was shooting Goosebumps one day and he asked me to come down and do a day to play a cop. I showed up and put glasses on, of course with Ryan Gosling so that was pretty hilarious."

Scott and the Gos? Be still our hearts!

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Cary Grant was probably the most well put-together actor in the history of film. The debonair Brit was always sharply dressed and his dry wit only added to his charisma. Since then, the bar was set for male characters of the big and small screens to measure up to. We dive in and take a look at some of Hollywood’s broad spectrum of hotness.

Check out our showdown of Man Candy Mondays and see who came out on top >>

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Photo credits: WENN.com, WENN.com, Ivan Nikolov/WENN.com, Eric Ogden/USA Network, Paramount Pictures via WENN.com, Warner Bros. via WENN.com

Nobody knows how to make us fall in love like Nicholas Sparks. With 18 books to his name — many of which have landed at the top of the New York Times bestseller list — the love game belongs to handsome Mr. Sparks.

We've been romanced
by this novelist

There's a reason that The Notebook is a classic, and we love that the person who penned it is a man with a keen sense of what romantic types want in a sweet story.

We love his books — and the movies that follow

Which Nicholas Sparks novel is our favorite? Ooh, that's a toughie. And even if you haven't picked up one of his tomes, aside from the obvious , a slew of his stories have been made into movies, from tales of young love like The Lucky One and The Vow to connections made later in life like Nights in Rodanthe and Message in a Bottle. And the list goes on! One piece of trivia we love is that a few of his film adaptations have starred real-life female singers breaking into acting, like Miley Cyrus in The Last Song and Mandy Moore in A Walk to Remember.

"I think, above all, the characters in my novels feel universal to the readers," Sparks told USA TODAY. "I feel as if, when they read them, they can feel — for instance, if you take The Last Song — that 'I know a 17-year-old like Ronnie.' And these characters are by no means perfect, but when the going gets rough, they do the right thing. People want to say, 'I would do that.'"

He basically discovered Ryan Gosling

Without The Notebook, would Ryan Gosling as we know him now even exist? Maybe not! And that's a world that we're just not prepared to imagine, because the Gos is our number-one fantasy boyfriend.

"We've been pretty fortunate with our casting," Sparks told the Huffington Post. "I always want young actors with great emotional depth. That's essential. I wish I could say that it was these movies that launched their careers, but they're all just good actors. We were lucky that we found them."

Whether you take responsibility or not, we thank you, Nicholas!

He gives back

Sharing his good fortune is old hat to Sparks, who has donated large sums to charities like the Nicholas Sparks Foundation, which spotlights the Christian prep school he founded, and the creative writing program at the University of Notre Dame.

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Married with five children, Nicholas is a family man. After all of these years — he and his wife Cathy got married in 1989 — how does he keep the "spark" alive?

"We get up at 6 a.m., before any of the children, so we can eat breakfast together," he once told People. "For some part of the day, the marriage relationship has to be primary — it's one of the best things you can teach your children. So we don't feel guilty if we go for a walk, just the two of us."

Walks to remember, you could say.

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Photo credits: Johnny Louis/WENN.com, Apega/WENN.com, PNP/WENN

If you didn't have at least a teensy crush on Mark-Paul Gosselaar as Zack Morris in Saved by the Bell, well, we'd like to meet you.

This prankster
rings our bell

Because if there were ever a recipe for a high school crush , MPG knew it by heart, and American girls everywhere swooned in response. Mark-Paul, we'll share fries at The Maxx with you any day!

He was the coolest mini-adult in school

Let's be real: Zack Morris ran Bayside High, not Mr. Belding, a point made even clearer when Zack strolled the halls clutching a brick-sized cell phone and orchestrating elaborate plots to get himself out of — and into — trouble. After all, the guy could freeze time by calling "Time out!" And lest we forget, he had his own band, Zack Attack.

Was there any character who was more fun on TV at that time? Has there been since? If only we were so lucky to have Zack Morris as our high school classmate...

We got to follow Zack's whole young-adult life

Mark-Paul was game to reprise his Zack Morris role for several years. After Good Morning, Miss Bliss became Saved by the Bell, the series ran until 1993 before spawning Saved by the Bell: The College Years, Saved by the Bell: Wedding in Las Vegas and then Saved by the Bell: The New Class, which had a new cast of characters, but MPG reprised his role as Zack for one episode.

"I'm extremely proud of the work that I did on Saved by the Bell, and I'm extremely proud of all the work I've accomplished throughout my career — minus a few things I wish weren't on my resume," he told StarPulse. "But for the most part, I don't want to disappoint my fans. I respect my fans and I respect the people that watch all my shows — whether it be Saved by the Bell or NYPD Blue. I think it's cool musicians can always play their old songs and people expect them to play them."

And SBTB is one "old" show that we hold dear!

He made us want to be Kelly Kapowski

Only a special woman could inspire Zack Morris to keep a cardboard cutout of her in his bedroom, and that was cheerleader/swimmer/All-American girl Kelly Kapowski, played by Tiffani-Amber Thiessen.

Even juicier: As a guest on Conan O'Brien's show, MPG revealed that he, in fact, dated all three of his female costars — Elizabeth Berkley, Lark Voorhies, and Thiessen — at different points throughout the show. Maybe a little bit of mischievous Zack Morris rubbed off on Mark-Paul!

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Even though we're not sure where Zack ended up, post-Bayside, Mark-Paul took on a series of darker movie and TV roles, including a date rapist in the TV film She Cried No, alongside Candace Cameron, a detective on NYPD Blue, and a love interest of Mary-Louise Parker's in the TV drama Weeds. Most recently, he's played the title character Peter Bash in the law series Franklin & Bash — alongside Clueless's Breckin Meyer. Double the hotness! The series was renewed for a second season, which will air starting June 5.

In a retro throwback, Mark-Paul appeared on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon as Zack Morris — without breaking character! — in 2009 to promote his role in the TNT drama Raising the Bar. He looked exactly the same, which made the special appearance even sweeter.

Another important role for MPG: That of "dad." He had two children, son Michael and daughter Ava, with his actress/model ex-wife Lisa Ann Russell, whom he met while filming the wedding episode of Saved by the Bell. The pair divorced in mid-2011, and he proposed this past August to advertising exec Catriona McGinn, a tall blonde stunner.

Thank you for the memories, Mark-Paul!

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Photo credits: NBC Universal via WENN.com, Adriana M. Barraza/WENN.com

Which one was your favorite?

Raise your hand if you had a giant New Kids on the Block button , or a huge stack of New Kids trading cards, or a treasured copy of BOP magazine with the group's picture printed on the glossy cover. Us too!

In the early 1990s, if you were a young girl, it was nearly impossible to escape the draw of NKOTB. And what wasn't to like, really? The bubble-gum pop, the cute boys, the synchronized dance moves, those Boston accents... One listen and we were done for. The New Kids were the boy band we cut our teeth on, before the proliferation of teen pop in the early 2000s. We feel warm and fuzzy just remembering where we were when we obsessed over these cute guys.

The band broke up in 1994 and then reunited in 2008 to record an album, The Block, and tour. After another tour, they linked up with the Backstreet Boys in 2011 for the NKOTBBSB tour. Bizarrely — and we are not making this up — their NKOTB-themed annual cruises, on which the guys perform concerts and slapstick-y skits, regularly sell out within 24 hours of going on sale. Want to go? The next one sets sail from Miami on June 7, but there are no tickets left. Boo. Next time, perhaps?

Jordan

Post-New Kids, Jordan had a moderately successful solo career, including the song "Give it to You," which may be the only music video in history to have a "sexy carnival" theme. He appeared on VH1's The Surreal Life in 2004 alongside such luminaries as Flavor Flav and Full House's Dave Coulier. His most recent album, Unfinished, was released in 2011. Jordan married Evelyn Melendez in 2004; the pair have two boys.

“We toured back in the day with all five of us on the same bus with bodyguards and a tutor,” Jordan recently told the Chicago Tribune. “We were like sardines — nine dudes on a tour bus. Now I have a shower on my tour bus and satellite and Wi-Fi. We didn’t have that. We had Nintendo in the back of the bus. Later on when we started doing stadium tours, it got a little better.”

Joey

Like Jordan, little Joe also went solo, recording songs like "Stay the Same" and also performing in a few musicals. He was recently featured on a 2011 episode of MTV's Cribs, and we were totally jealous: both of his wife, Barrett Williams, whom he met when she sold him a house and married in 2003, and of his sweet Boston digs. Joe and Barrett are the parents of two boys and a girl.

"When you are a teen idol sensation, it's a moment in time in your fans' lives," he recently told the U.K.'s Female First website. "They got absolutely bananas, they lose their minds and then they grow up and get their own boyfriends. They go to college, they have life experiences and we all move on. Specifically for New Kids fans, I think, you know, they're at a different place in their life. They've jumped into a career, or they've got married and had kids. Now they can look back on that time with... more of an open heart. They can really embrace the past."

Donnie

After his NKOTB success, Donnie took on a variety of film roles, including his turn as a truly creepy psychiatric patient in The Sixth Sense. Other shows and movies he's starred in: Saw II, III, and IV; Rizzoli & Isles; and Blue Bloods. Donnie married Kim Fey in 1990; they divorced in 2010. The pair have two boys.

"You know, we left different marks on different people," he told LimeLife.com in 2010. "I like to think that we just tried to do our best. We weren't always perfect, we made mistakes, but we were real guys, and we came from real families and real neighborhoods, and we just wanted to do our best. That's all we tried to do. I think by the reaction of the fans this time around, they got that from us. They appreciated that, and we appreciate the fans back. Because the reality is, all those little girls were just doing their best too. They were excited, they loved something, they wanted to be a part of it. And they just did what they could do to be a part of it."

Jonathan

Jonathan ditched boy band life for a quiet life in the real estate industry. He's been openly gay for about 20 years, but the world at large wasn't aware until ex-girlfriend Tiffany outed him publicly on Bravo's Watch What Happens Live in 2011. Whoops! As for whether he's coupled, we don't know. He released this statement in 2011: "I love living my life being open and honest, but at this time I choose not to discuss my private life any further!"

"We had control over our career before, but this time around we had 100 percent control over it," he told the Riverfront Times about the 2008 NKOTB reunion. "It was definitely all of us. We wanted to do an album that was a good album and that would appeal to all five of us. When we started the recording process, we weren't even signed to a label. We just said let's go into the studio and start recording some songs and see where it goes. That came out of our pockets, there was no record company, there was basically no management company behind us at that point. So that all grew into what it is today."

Danny

Like Jonathan, Danny largely stayed out of the spotlight, choosing to produce albums on his own Boston-based record label. He released a few of his own albums in the late 2000s, with all proceeds of Stronger: Remember Betty going to the Susan G. Komen foundation in memory of his mother. Now, he's a part-owner and VP of the somewhat notorious Halcyon private jet company. Danny married Patty Alfaro in 1997; they divorced in 2005. Danny has four children total.

"[I]t’s like being brothers, you know what I mean?" Danny told The Oklahoman about getting back together with his old band mates. "It’s like rekindling old friendships, you know. It’s been easier to work together this time around because we’re all mature. We all got families, it’s all real lives we have that are a lot more important than being up on stage. So it’s been a lot easier this time around."

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Photo credits: Johnny Louis/WENN.com

This boy next door rocked our world

Let's hear it for good guys! If you were a young woman who didn't miss an episode of ABC's Friday night TGIF lineup in the 1990s, you know Ben Savage, star of Boy Meets World — and you probably had a wee bit of a crush on him. Seeing Ben onscreen each week gave us a feeling of control in a world full of chaos, as if it were proof that nice boys do exist!

Cory was one of the good ones

Equipped with endearing neuroses and a level head, Boy Meets World's Cory Matthews didn't have a nefarious streak in him. In fact, he was usually the one reining in his occasionally rebellious pal Shawn Hunter. Tantamount, in Cory's mind: friendship. Which made him our ultimate fantasy boyfriend.

"I never really saw myself as an integral part of the ‘90s because I was a teenager too," Ben told College Candy about his character Cory. "But without sounding too cheesy I will say that I think it was two fun lovable characters and I think it was a fun relationship to watch flourish and develop. I think it gave people something to follow and be interested in and get excited about. They were relatable characters. I always saw Cory as the neurotic, funny kid that you know, and I feel like everyone has a friend like that."

He was always sweet to Topanga

At first, Cory couldn't even work up the nerve to ask his crush Topanga Matthews out . But by the end of the series, after a few bumps in the road, including the pair kissing other people, the two were married.

In watching their big wedding episode, we find out that the two are not only virgins, but haven't done any pre-marital touching, really. Aw. How innocent.

As for what really went on behind the scenes on BMW? Ben isn't telling:

"There were some romances which I am probably not at liberty to talk about," he told Glamour's Smitten blog last year. "You know we all grew up together so, it was at a certain point that we became like brothers and sisters rather than lovers, if you will. So, when you start working with someone at 11 and they see you go through all of you[r] awkward phases growing up and your teens, you know by the time you’re 19 and 20, you don’t really want to date each other. You just know way too much about each other. But that being said, they’re all great people and they’ve all grown up very well."

He didn't marry Topanga in real life — even though they were so inseparable onscreen we thought they might be a real-life couple! In fact, Savage is still single, ladies! To prepare yourself for a possible real-life rendezvous with Ben , here's what he recently said was his idea of a perfect first date:

"I’m not into the fancy dinners on a first date," he told Glamour. "I think it comes off as trying too hard. I think a nice romantic dinner should be saved for when you and the girl you’re dating or seeing have something special and it’s a more special occasion. Honestly, I think just drinks somewhere really nice. At a nice bar, a nice hotel lobby or nice restaurant. And I don’t know, talking for a couple of hours, it sounds better to me than anything else."

As for his professional life, right now he's writing and acting. Ben's no slouch — after BMW, he graduated from Stanford University with a political science degree and even interned for U.S. Senator Arlen Specter in 2003 as part of his program.

Most recently, he's been in an episode of Bones and starred alongside Jane Seymour in the TV movie Lake Effects. He's particularly interested in working on independent films and possibly creating a sitcom of his own at some point.

We say: Bring it, Ben! We'd love to see anything you have a hand in.

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Photo credits: Lionsgate Home Entertainment

Posters of JTT lined our bedroom walls

With a face like an angel and a too-cool-for-school 'tude, it's no surprise that Jonathan Taylor Thomas landed on the cover of all of the teen magazines back in the 1990s.

He was the perfect specimen to distract us from the Tool Time girl on Home Improvement... and inspire a few puppy love fantasies in the process. We'd like to pay tribute to adorable JTT — one of our very first crushes.

Cherubic face + laid-back personality = crush central

Middle child Randy on Home Improvement wasn't always incredibly well-behaved — his super-smarts made him a perfect smart aleck and troublemaker — but he was a one-woman gal, staying with his girlfriend Lauren throughout most of the series.

His role as liberal-minded Randy aside, being Jonathan Taylor Thomas in the '90s had its perks. From having his face plastered on every teen magazine on the newsstand to starring in a slew of movies , JTT was livin' large .

He gave dimension to our favorite cartoon characters

Disney's The Lion King was special for so many reasons — among them, the fact that JTT provided the voice of young Simba. Could he sound any sweeter? Another bit of trivia: Jonathan lent his pipes to 1996's The Adventures of Pinocchio, providing the voice of the wooden boy himself.

He's wasn't afraid of challenging roles

Playing a gay swimmer in the TV movie Common Ground ignited a flurry of gay rumors, which Jonathan shot down in an interview with The Advocate: "It was just a blatant lie put on the Internet, and then it was just like a feeding frenzy. And I'm sure it was validated by my recent roles."

"I thought, if I am going to grow as an actor, I need to challenge myself," he told the magazine. "I didn't do these pieces to change my image. I did them for me. I had an attachment to these characters."

Jonathan said sayonara to Home Improvement in 1998 so he could focus on education. He went to Harvard from 2000-2002, then studied abroad in Scotland and finally graduated from Columbia University in 2010 with a degree in general studies.

Acting-wise, he largely stayed out of the spotlight, taking a few small one-off roles in TV shows including Ally McBeal, Smallville and Veronica Mars, and playing a recurring character on 8 Simple Rules for Dating My Daughter. Then, Entertainment Weekly caught up with him when they did a Home Improvement reunion photo shoot last year. Here's what he said he's been up to:

"I’ve been going to school and traveling quite a bit, getting to read a lot of books I’ve wanted to for quite some time," he told the magazine. "I think at this point, I’d eventually like to work behind the camera. That’s not to say I would never act again; I’m not quite sure to be honest. I still have a passion for TV and film [and] could see myself working in it."

Please show us that beautiful face on camera again, JTT! We'd shell out to watch you on the big screen.

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Photo credit: Glenn Harris/PR Photos

We'd like to get jiggy wit' this

Jokester. Actor. Father. Rapper. Which Will do we like best? That's a tough one, seeing as he grabbed our attention in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and held it through action flicks, albums, talk show appearances, rom coms, red carpets, and now, Men in Black III.

Has it really been 10 years since the first MIB came out? Because we feel like we fell in love with boy-next-door Big Willie just yesterday.

He's always fun to watch onscreen

Quick, pick your fave Will Smith scene: Maybe he's laying the smack down on some aliens in MIB or Independence Day, or torturing his cousin Carlton on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, or reassuring his son that it's all gonna be OK in The Pursuit of Happyness. You can't deny that the guy is compelling as all get-out, which makes him one of the most likeable and bankable Hollywood stars in the country.

Did we mention that when he's defeating said aliens, he looks really, really good in a tank top — or suit, as the case may be? Yeah. That helps too. Will always looks like he's having a blast working and that makes us feel pretty good about crushing on him so hard. Actually, his Oscar-nomination-winning work ethic came from a relationship — at 16 years old when his girlfriend betrayed him in a major way:

"In my mind, she cheated because I wasn't good enough. I remember making the decision that I will never not be good enough again," he told Time magazine.

We'll bet she's kicking herself now! Way to turn lemons into lemonade, Will.

He's part of a power couple

Strong, sexy and outspoken, Jada Pinkett Smith is our kind of woman — she's even in a heavy metal band, Wicked Evolution! What we love most about Will and Jada together is that they've always seemed more like partners and equals than just lovebirds. Will agrees!

"She is just absolutely hardcore, like she absolutely is unfazed by the weight and the pressures of life," he told People. "She is so calm and cool and easy in any situation. She can bear anything, and I just love that about her."

He's a disciplinarian — and proud of it!

Hey, daughter Willow's future boyfriends? You'd better watch your back, because Papa Smith has his eye on you. He recently spoke candidly about his fear of Willow, 11, starting to date:

“When Willow does bring a boy home, I’m going to screen him and find out everything about him,” he said at the Men in Black III premiere. “And that’s going to happen when she’s 40, when she’s allowed to go on dates!... It’s coming, and I’m nervous about it.”

We have a feeling Willow knows how to take care of herself, with these passionate and dedicated parents!

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Lucky guy! Will has been wed to gorgeous actress and musician Jada Pinkett Smith for 14 years; the pair have three children, Willow, Jaden and Trey . So what's their secret?

"We make the effort to always put the family first," he told People. "Being there for each other and being present with our kids is the most important thing. I take being a parent very seriously."

We believe it!

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We wouldn't kick penultimate rom-com hero Matthew McConaughey out of bed for eating crackers... or playing the bongos... or spending too much time on the road in an Airstream trailer.

All right, all right,
all right...

Because what you see is what you get with this laid-back, nature-loving, newlywed dude. And we really, really like what we see — especially that chest and those abs. So it's handy that Magic Mike, a movie about male strippers starring such genetically blessed hotties as Channing Tatum and Joe Manganiello, opens this weekend. We'll be pushing our way to the front of the line to stick our dollar bills into the ticket booth's Lucite slot.

He works so he can do what he loves

You're probably not going to see McConaughey campaigning for an Oscar any time soon — and he's said as much himself. Separating work from life isn't an easy task, but McConaughey intrinsically understands how the two feed off of each other, with his most popular roles enabling him to take long road trips across the U.S. in an Airstream trailer, loved ones in tow and live the life he always dreamed of.

“Romantic comedies aren’t the first movies I hop out to go see,” McConaughey told Men's Journal. “But those are the ones that have done really well with the public. They’re supposed to be like an easy Saturday afternoon. Keep it afloat, keep it buoyant. Bring some balls to it, but don’t go too deep to sink the thing. Move it forward, have a good time, and tell the truth when you can. Wages are good, and they’re enjoyable to do, man.”

And we enjoy watching him, especially when said roles call for him to appear sans shirt!

We admit: We like those aforementioned romantic comedies!

Sometimes you want to hunker down on the couch and watch a Matthew McConaughey rom-com because, much like with the man himself, you know what you're gonna get. Our faves: The Wedding Planner , How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days and Failure to Launch . Plus, there was also that oft-forgotten episode in season three of Sex and the City in which Matthew, playing himself, dares to ask, "What the f*** is Carrie's problem?"

It's a fair question.

He practices what he preaches

Yes, he loves his Airstream trailers and his travels. He named his production company j.k. livin, after his life motto, "Just keep livin'." Is there more to McConaughey than that? Of course. But back to that "what you see is what you get" thing: It's not wrong either.

"Do I think the image of me is a true picture of who I am? No, it's incomplete," he told Esquire. "But things about me that are out there — I'm not going to say they're false... Am I a fun-loving guy, man? Who likes running around in the summer with his shirt off, man? Am I a guy who likes to hang out with his friends, and party and go to concerts and football games with his friends?... Well, yeah! Yes, I am. Always have been. Always hopefully will be. You know?"

"But I didn't just fall off the apple cart. I worked for all of it. I worked to put myself in a position where I'm like, This place is paradise. Go west, young man!"

Yep. We know. And that lifestyle sounds pretty awesome to us.

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Everyone who thought free-spirited McConaughey would be a bachelor forever has officially been proven wrong: Matthew wed Brazilian model and designer Camila Alves just this month. The pair has two children, Levi, 3, and Vida, 2. But proposing to the beauty at Christmastime after five years of dating didn't go as smoothly as one might think.

"The first word out of her mouth was not 'yes,'" he told Us Weekly. "I'm not gonna say what it was. But I did say, 'Look, I'm down on a knee. I'll stay here awhile. I will outlast you.' And I did! She conceded."

Still, we're guessing it wasn't too difficult a decision!

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Michael Fassbender isn't a beefy muscleman. He's not hyper-masculine. He doesn't have long, flowing Samson locks or a super-hetero beard. But we want him. So badly. Like, now.

This stud strips away our inhibitions

Who is this guy, and why are we so attracted to him? Good question, actually. True, we watched him strip down to nothing in the sex thriller Shame and spank Keira Knightley while playing Carl Jung in A Dangerous Method. Now, he's made the leap to inarguable leading man in the summer blockbuster Prometheus. But despite his previous roles, one very specific thing speaks volumes about Michael Fassbender: In what is probably the most ringing endorsement of anyone's sex appeal ever, he's on many fans' short lists to play Christian Grey in the upcoming Fifty Shades of Grey movie. Yep. He's sexy, all right.

His sex appeal is so raw, it's almost scary

Getting an eyeful of Fassy's generous package in Shame caused quite the stir among filmgoers — even George Clooney, who remarked at the Golden Globes, “I would like to thank Michael Fassbender for taking over the frontal nude responsibly that I had. Really Michael, honestly, you can play golf like this with your hands behind your back. Go for it, man, do it!"

But the size of what he has to offer isn't the sole reason why we find Michael so attractive. The way a man carries himself — particularly this man — goes farther toward stoking our imagination than physical endowment. Still, we're not exactly, um, disappointed by what he's packing.

GQ asked him what he makes of all of the fuss over that very specific body part of his:

"It's fun to a point... and after a certain point you worry that it kind of detracts from the movie. But there's nothing I can do. I just have to laugh it off. I can. Pretty much. Because I take my work seriously but I can't take myself too seriously. I'm in such a crazy privileged position — s***, this is the pinnacle of the dream when I was 17... Nobody wants to hear really how difficult it is."

Pardon us while we let the idea of a well-endowed, attractive and humble man wash over us. Ahhhh.

He might take on the character of Christian Grey

A few very vocal Fifty Shades of Grey enthusiasts won't rest until Fassy is cast as Christian Grey in the tale's film component. There's even a Facebook page titled "Michael Fassbender for Christian Grey."

Tell us: Who do you think should play Christian Grey? Share your pick in the comments below!

Says one fan about Fassy's potential to be Grey: "Christian Grey is a man filled with demons from a dark past. He is best left to the one man who could play him without resorting to cliché or textbook acting techniques. Fans want a Christian who is bold, damaged and believable. It’s a task for Michael Fassbender. No pretty boy will do."

He plays superheroes as well as he does academics

He breathed life into the comic book character Magneto in last year's X-Men: First Class, and he's currently saving the planet onscreen in the sci-fi flick Prometheus. But he's also lent us an indelible image of psychoanalyst Carl Jung and embodied a sex addict named Brandon in Shame.

“I must admit — I initially thought it might be fun," he told W about Shame. "You hear ‘sex,’ and you think… sex! But this was definitely the hardest job I’ve done. I can usually shake a character off, but I couldn’t shake Brandon. He had no sensual enjoyment in his life, and since we filmed the movie so quickly, I found myself living in his skin. Keeping him close to me was exhausting, cold, horrible. As Brandon, I never ate. He had one container of Chinese food in his fridge. All that sex and he didn’t have any pleasure.”

“That sad container of noodles tells you more about Brandon than any nudity.”

We love it when our pieces of man candy come infused with a little bit of depth.

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Dipping his pen in the company ink, Fassbender recently said he is now dating his Shame costar, relatively unknown actress Nicole Beharie, 27, known for her roles in American Violet and The Good Wife.

But forget any notion of clandestine meetings after shooting: "Nothing happened while we were filming," he told GQ. "We started talking more on the promotion thing. So, yeah, it just sort of unfolded like that."

Nothing like a nice romantic surprise after a bout of hard work.

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Spidey's never been
so sexy

Adorable Andrew Garfield has been around for quite some time now, from stints on British TV shows to a role in 2008's The Other Boleyn Girl. But not until recently has this U.K.-raised gent gotten his due in big-deal films like The Social Network and now, The Amazing Spider-Man.

We're psyched that now the whole world can bask in the glow of his cuteness. With smart, stone-cold fox Emma Stone at his side, as both his leading lady and his real-life girlfriend, there's no telling what Andrew will be capable of. Brace yourself, world!

His background is British

Just looking at Andrew is rewarding enough, but when he begins to speak, hold us back: His smooth British accent multiplies the sexy. Even though he was born in Los Angeles, he moved to England at age three and was raised in Surrey. And that reserved demeanor that sometimes comes along with being an Englishman has helped him out career-wise, too: He's done well-regarded stints on Broadway, including a recent turn opposite Philip Seymour Hoffman in Death of a Salesman.

"I think my dad was also always very romantic about America," he told director Terry Gilliam in Interview magazine. "He romanticized the period in his life when he lived in L.A. He still talks about it very fondly. So it’s nice that I’m now able to spend some time in L.A. and go back and forth between there and London. I think that kind of soul kiss, that California thing, is something I’ve always dreamed about and been drawn to. It somehow calls to me — and I think the great cinema that has come out of America is certainly part of that."

We're glad Andrew found his way back to the States!

He made tech sexy

After we saw The Social Network, not only were we reassured that geeks are totally hot, we kinda fell in love with Andrew's portrayal of Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin. And we're guessing that was because Andrew made Ed so darn sympathetic — nice work, Andy!

He's also the first one to admit that the line between good and bad was often blurred in the movie :

"There is no wrong and there is no right — and everyone is in the right and everyone's in the wrong," he told Parade about The Social Network. "It's very rare that you find a film that's so great that leaves you kind of confused. From my own subjective view, I feel like he behaved incredibly with good morals and loyalty toward his friend Mark and he was betrayed. He was mistreated and wronged."

We suddenly feel a need to watch the film again. And maybe again...

His version of Spider-Man is our kind of superhero

We've always had a soft spot for Spider-Man. The other comic book heroes can have their muscle-bound stars, but we like a do-gooder with some heart. Enter Andrew.

Plus, it sounds like Andrew enjoys embodying Spidey as much as we love watching him as Peter Parker.

"It's fantasy fulfillment," he told NPR. "He's a human hero that goes through all of the same struggles that we all have gone through, especially the skinny ones that want more power than they feel they have. I think it's a very inspiring, aspirational character that symbolizes goodness — and how difficult it is to be good — but how worth it it is."

A guy with a moral compass: so hot!

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Andrew Garfield's relationship status:

Garfield was in a relationship with Raising Hope actress Shannon Woodward from 2008 to 2011, but he recently confirmed that he is indeed now dating his The Amazing Spider-Man co-star Emma Stone, 23, who plays Parker's girlfriend Gwen Stacy. The pair fell in love on the set.

"We got on really well as people, in between [takes]," he told Us Weekly. "That was the fun stuff: In between, we'd just mess around and I felt, 'Ah, this is different.' I wasn't really aware of what was happening in the screen test. She keeps you on your toes and that wakes you up. That was the beginning."

Sounds like a lovely start!

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This sexy werewolf has us howling

There's something about Joe Manganiello's stature that encourages surrender. With that height, those pecs, and — let's be honest — that girth, we're basically putty in the hands of this specimen who looks like he'd be equally at home either chopping down a giant redwood or ripping a bodice on the cover of a romance novel.

Whatever your Joe M. fantasy is, we'll bet you're as psyched as we are that he's finally getting some serious screen time as both an ultra-sexy werewolf on True Blood and as a veteran stripper in Magic Mike. Throw us over your shoulder, Joe — we'll go wherever you take us!

He bared it all in Magic Mike

We didn't think we could swoon over Joe any more than we already had, and then we saw Magic Mike. His role? "Big Dick Richie." Whoa. Imagine our surprise when we saw the somewhat pivotal scene in which he, um, inflates his member to epic proportions. Silly? Perhaps. Uncomfortable? Kind of. But still pretty hot? Um, yup.

In fact, Joe learned a few things while shooting Magic Mike:

"I’m not the kind of guy who’s going to go out to a club and go dancing," he told AfterElton. "I’m just not really that guy, but yeah, I think that male stripping is all about the hips, the pelvis and that whole thing. You come away with some basic moves that are either applicable to life or, like I said, you can take those on to a show like True Blood and use them there. There are definitely some moves that I can use this year on the show."

Yes, Joe, show us that swivel again!

He has a sense of humor

Recently ousted Today show host Ann Curry got one heck of a farewell present when Joe and Channing Tatum came to the Today show to show off their Magic Mike moves to promote the film. Joe took it a step further, freak-dancing a terrified-looking Ann Curry and making women the world over totally jealous of the Today anchor. Why couldn't it be us? Why?

Even crazier, he pooched out his belly on a recent episode of The Soup and let diminutive singer Kylie Minogue seductively eat Doritos off of his middle. Doritos and Joe? Again, why couldn't it be us? Why?

The best part about his laugh-garnering antics? By Joe letting it all hang out , he showed us that he doesn't take himself too seriously — which is pretty awesome when you're talking about a guy this ridiculously good-looking.

He might be our favorite werewolf ever

Some of us will always think of Joe as bartender Owen from One Tree Hill, but when he took the role of werewolf Alcide on True Blood , he was exposed to a whole new breed of fans. And his commitment to the role is both mental and physical .

"I mean, I feel like I've been pretending I was a werewolf since I was a little kid," he told Interview magazine. "But it takes work. It's about dialect work... I'm not going to lie — it's about going to the gym. It's a lot about letting it all go, remembering when you were a crazy primal kid running around and screaming. I wouldn't tell anyone to study werewolves — I studied wolves, how they moved, their tendencies and sensibilities."

Mmmmm... beastly...

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He's got a new main squeeze! Cameras captured Joe locking lips this past week in Hollywood with his new girlfriend, lovely blonde French actress Veronique-Sophie Lazoore. Rumors flew last month that Joe was seeing actress Demi Moore, 49, but he shot those down tout de suite. Before that, he was with model fiancée Audra Marie, but the pair split in 2011.

This might be wishful thinking, but if he and Veronique-Sophie aren't serious yet, there might still be hope for us. Fingers crossed! Joe — call us, maybe?

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We're boiling over for this swim stud

When a man has graced the cover of a cereal box, that automatically ups his attractiveness quotient by at least 10 percentage points.

Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps has not one, but two breakfast boxes under his belt , and that's pretty sexy. If an athletic type is the kind of Man Candy you crave, Phelps has talent as far as the eye can see — and we're referring specifically to his pecs and his shoulders. He'll be repping the USA in the 2012 London Olympics later this month, and we've got our DVRs set. Did someone say "breaststroke?" Because we hope so.

He's a multiple medal winner

Oh, those shiny things? They're just Phelps' 14 gold medals, from 2004 in Athens and when he was unstoppable in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. And we can't wait to watch him in seven events in a few weeks: the men's 100m fly, 200m fly, 200m individual medley, 400m individual medley, 200m freestyle and three relays. Still a youngster today at age 27, Phelps was inspired early to reach his goals:

"At the age of 11, my coach told me I could make the Olympic team in four years, so I said 'Okay, I want to make the Olympic team, so that's what we're going to do,'" he told Parenting. "And I started training for that. I went five straight years without ever missing a workout. Every single day, 365 days a year."

This year, could a red-blooded American woman ask for anything more beautiful than a competition between Phelps and fellow U.S. swim hottie Ryan Lochte, specifically the men's 200 and 400 medleys? Probably not — which is why we've got our eye on the guys and the prize in these potentially game-changing events. We're just happy our country is being, um, represented so well!

Plus, this might be our last chance to watch this swim stud in action. He recently told Anderson Cooper on 60 Minutes that he's retiring after the London Games. We'll miss you, Michael!

He gives back

Via his charity, the Michael Phelps Foundation, he's teaching thousands of kids not only how to swim, but how to respect and take care of their bodies in the process, and another arm of the organization helps promising swimmers out financially so they can practice goal-setting just like Mike. Awww.

He knows how to relax

Being an international swimming superstar is no easy feat, but Phelps works hard and plays hard. He hosted an episode of Saturday Night Live , and he eats and drinks big. Perhaps he plays a little too hard in his leisure time — a photo of him smoking pot surfaced in 2009, and once he hopped a jet to Vegas instead of turning up at practice — but when you're young and have wild oats to sow, you're bound to make a few mistakes. He calls it a "learning experience." But now he says he's more driven than ever:

"I realized that I probably hadn't reached my full potential," he told Details. "There was still more in the tank. As I come to closure on my career, am I going to look back in 20 years and say, 'What if?' That's something I don't want. This is it. I've always said I wouldn't swim past 30. I don't want to be that guy who's hanging on, but I want to reach my max potential. I don't care how much pain I have to go through or the sacrifices I have to make. I'll get it."

We don't judge! We're just psyched he's back in action.

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Michael Phelps' relationship status:

With such physical prowess, Michael has no problem amassing more than his share of ladies. He's been linked in the past to women ranging from Victoria's Secret model Lily Donaldson to socialite Brittny Gastineau, but he dated former Miss California Nicole Johnson the longest — off and on for several years. The pair split in January, which means he's single and looking!

Good luck in London, Michael! We'll be watching.

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we'd let him score

This Portuguese footballer is known for his fancy footwork, but to be honest, we were staring somewhere north of his cleats — specifically at his tight backside and beautiful face. If Cristiano Ronaldo is playing, you can bet we're down at the local pub, demanding they change the channel to the Real Madrid match so we can take in this physical specimen in all his on-field glory.

He's ridiculously attractive

Let's be honest: Cristiano is smokin'. He's young, ripped, tan and has a butt that won't quit, and those features alone are enough to not only pique our attention, but hold it for a really, really long time. We'd be remiss if we didn't mention that he appears in his underwear in this Armani Jeans commercial, where a sneaky maid spies on a shirtless Cristiano for as long as she possibly can. Sounds like a good starting point for a fantasy to us...

And not to go totally gaga over all of Cristiano's commercials , but here's another hot one, for Nike this time, featuring Cristiano and tennis pro Rafael Nadal going head-to-head with tennis balls. It's double Man Candy!

He has a heart

Our beautiful Cristiano isn't exactly known for being modest. And his penchant for fancy clothes, hot cars, jetsetting, bling and ladies like Kim Kardashian and Paris Hilton has been well documented.

But he has a son, Cristiano Jr., , who attends every match he plays, with Cristiano's mother, Delores. As for Cristiano's father, he died of alcoholism when Cristiano was 19. Cristiano says he doesn't drink as a result.

In an interview with the Mirror, Cristiano recently said, “My family comes first — my son is the most important thing in my life. After that, it’s the football that matters most to me. Money comes after that.”

Seems like he has his priorities straight!

He's an insanely talented player

How good of a player is Cristiano Ronaldo? Let's put it in terms of cold, hard cash: Forbes lists Ronaldo as the ninth highest paid athlete in the world, with an annual salary of $20 million, plus endorsement deals. Ronaldo's mad skills were noticed by a Manchester United scout at the ripe young age of age 16, and he was soon signed for close to $19 million.

Now, he plays for team Real Madrid for most of the year, and teams up with Portugal every so often. Portugal lost to Spain in the Euro 2012 semifinals this summer, but one thing was certain: Even though the team lost, high-scoring Cristiano continues to shine.

As girlfriend choices go, Cristiano has exquisite taste: He's been with Russian model Irina Shayk, 26, since mid-2010. Recent pics showed Cristiano and Irina cavorting on a yacht in St. Tropez this month. Now if you'll excuse us, we're just going to close our eyes and pretend that that's us in a sassy orange bikini, with a killer bod, sipping a beverage next to a shirtless Cristiano. Ahhhhh... A girl can dream!

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These studs spiked our hearts

That ultra-memorable scene in Top Gun, when the guys are all playing sand volleyball wearing tight jeans and that's about it, is a distant memory when we watch Olympians Jake Gibb and Sean Rosenthal play beach volleyball on TV.

Those lean, muscular bodies, those nice tans — sign us up for doubles!

They're a tight team

Move over, Ryan Lochte and Michael Phelps: Gibb and Rosenthal just might be the cutest Olympic teammates ever to grace a Games. They played together at the Olympics in Beijing four years ago, placing fifth after losing to Brazil's Ricardo Santos and Emanuel Rego. This year, however, after only one loss, they're still going strong in round 16 of the men's beach volleyball semifinals in London, as of press time.

After their first game in London, Rosenthal tweeted this:

"First game in the books!!! Thanks for all the love and support for @JakeGibb and myself through this process. It's amazing out here."

We don't doubt it, Sean!

They have strong spirits

In between Olympics, Gibb was diagnosed with testicular cancer in December 2010 . Ironically, he wouldn't have known he had testicular cancer if he hadn't gotten a positive result on a drug test for high hormone levels that year. After he consulted with doctors, it was confirmed that he had cancer, which was responsible for the test's positive result. Gibb thought he'd need three rounds of chemotherapy but ended up needing none after having surgery to remove his testicle, enabling him to qualify for the 2012 Games.

“I feel like I’m the luckiest guy in the world,” Gibb said in a statement. “To have my family and friends around me, and to be able to play the game I love [means] more than anything. And to be able to go back to something as big as the Olympics, after not knowing if I’d even be able to play again, is so … overwhelming. It’s hard for me to articulate other than to say I’m just beyond grateful.”

Rosenthal shared his thoughts in a statement:

"We really got to put volleyball in perspective after something like that. Volleyball is just a game," Rosenthal said. "Jake is one of my best friends. He's like a brother, and I wouldn't be here without him. To get through something like that and turn around and play like he has is crazy. But I'm glad I'm on his team, 'cause as far I'm concerned, he can beat anything."

Well said, guys! We're so glad you're cancer-free, Jake.

They came to the sport at different times

Far from being career athletes with their eye on the gold from an early age, Jake and Sean found their love of beach volleyball at different times in their lives. Jake didn't pick up a ball until age 21, but Rosenthal went pro at age 16 in Hermosa Beach.

That goes to show that you can succeed at any age.

Sorry, ladies! Gibb is spoken for. He's been married to his wife, Jane, since 2000. The day before Gibb was scheduled to have surgery to remove his testicle, Jane told him she was pregnant. They're now the parents of a son, Crosby, who is almost a year old.

As for Rosenthal, last we heard he was dating a fellow pro volleyball player -- tall, blonde Jessica Gysin, 26. Whatever his official relationship status, he has a special cadre of fans in California's South Bay who call themselves Rosie's Raiders and are known to heckle the duo's opponents. We'd probably have to fight a few of them for his number!

Good luck, guys! We'll be watching!

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Photo credit: Bjarteh

This tough guy makes
us weak

Scrappy, macho, smoldering, gritty, real... those are our serious adjectives to describe seriously hot actor Jeremy Renner.

Intense characters are Renner's specialty, so it's no surprise he's taken up Matt Damon's action-star mantle in The Bourne Legacy, which was just released in theaters. Let's put it this way: The guy is so tough he played the lead in The Hurt Locker, about a U.S. Army bomb disposal unit, and the film won the Oscar for Best Picture, definitely a testament to Renner's ability to convince us he's a powerhouse of brute force. We're hoping that that's at least partially true for him as a person too, because sometimes a gal just wants a guy who can throw a solid punch.

He's a regular guy

We hesitate to say "regular," though, because Jeremy Renner is kind of the platonic ideal of a regular guy: He's like your best buddy from high school, except if your best guy friend were smoking hot and manly as all get-out. He even renovates old houses as a hobby. We like to imagine that Renner is the kind of guy who would take you out to a dive bar, keep you laughing all night and defend your honor if any hooligans tried to make trouble by hitting on you.

Take, for example, this telling anecdote in this month's Esquire:

"'I used to hang out at karaoke bars all the time. It was the most fun you could have when you had no money. I went right here twice a week' — and Renner points to Barney's Beanery, a beer-and-burgers-and-karaoke place that conveniently appears to his right — 'from 1995 until, like, 2002. Religiously.... There was a whole clan of people, this circuit of people. We'd get together and just have the best time.'"

But, wait, Esquire interviewer Chris Jones! What's Renner's signature song?! Please tell us it's anything Springsteen or maybe a Johnny Cash number. Now we're not sure there's any date that sounds more appealing than grabbing burgers and a couple of beers and singing our lungs out with Jeremy Renner. Even a dinner date on the moon with Ryan Lochte.

He scares us — in a good way

Jeremy has that whole "loose cannon" thing down pat when it comes to past roles such as serial killer and cannibal Jeffrey Dahmer in the movie Dahmer and the friend you're not sure you can trust in The Town... Dimension is always attractive in an actor, because that usually means a man understands and loves his craft.

"I don't know, man, I don't feel like a tough guy by any means," he told Interview magazine. "You know I also played a lot of bad guys... Dahmer... a lot of bad guys. And I think there's a part of me in those characters, sometimes more than in others. In The Hurt Locker there's a lot of me in there, a sense of humor, a man of few words and a lot of action. But then a movie like Dahmer... there's very, very little of me in Jeffrey Dahmer. So I think it's all about how people see you..."

"I had to do a lot of work and allow myself to go places that were a little scary. You know when you play a guy like that it allows you the freedom to explore really weird parts about you. And it's OK. In order to really get it, I've got to allow myself to go there."

We're glad Jeremy can free himself so we can go along for the ride.

He worked hard for his success

Only now, at age 41, is Renner truly famous and something of a household name. Notably, he's played a superhero alongside Scarlett Johansson and Robert Downey Jr. in The Avengers and jumped off of buildings in close proximity to Tom Cruise in Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol. Sounds exactly like wild success to us — but Renner is conscious of how long it took to reach this point. After all, his big break was in the 1995 film National Lampoon's Senior Trip .

"It's a wonderfully high-class problem to have," he told Details about his newfound popularity in Hollywood. "All these people want you to be in their movie. Or work with you. Or maybe they want to kick you in the balls. Half the time I don't know. But it's better than wondering if I have to write a play and direct it myself just to get that next job."

We'd see that play too!

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Jeremy Renner's relationship status:

We're officially picturing ourselves living in a beautifully restored Frank Lloyd Wright home and waking up in a platform bed next to Jeremy each morning... because — hooray! — he's single. And looking, according to the Details article. But, gals, know up front that he's a workhorse who's dedicated to his career:

"There've been a handful of girls over the last years. But it's been very difficult. How does it go any further? I have a wonderful life, but it means nothing if it cannot be shared. That's all I'm missing right now. It's a little unbalanced for me. Right now the only thing consistent in my life is that little dog. That's why I got it. I was getting really lonely. I needed somebody or something to be there with me through the whole journey."

Jeremy, if you're wondering, we like beer, burgers and especially karaoke. Duet time!

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This Sparkle star caught our eye

After bursting into the public consciousness as Antwone Fisher in the movie of the same name, hunky Derek Luke has parlayed his success into a laundry list of movies — and music videos! — that showcase his talent.

Now, playing Jordin Sparks' love interest in the Motown movie Sparkle, Luke is poised to shine on the big screen once again, alongside the late Whitney Houston.

He likes acting in movies just as much as he does TV

Snobbery? None here! Derek is cool as a cucumber when it comes to accepting major film roles like his big break, Antwone Fisher, and superhero Gabe Jones in Captain America: The First Avenger, or spots on lesser-known cable shows such as HawthoRNe.

"You know what? TV was what I was interested in when I first came to L.A. with my dream," he told IAmRogue.com. "I always wanted to do a show like The Cosby Show. I never even thought about film; I didn't even know much about it. I only remember a few films that I even saw as a kid that my mom actually took me in the theater and paid money to see. Most of it was television. So when I came to L.A., my desire, my dream was TV. So movies were like the big picture, meaning it became a part of the view by looking forward."

"I enjoy movies, and so with doing TV, I feel like I get a chance to be around mentors. Some of my mentors like Denzel Washington and people who have started on TV. Even Will Smith started on TV. I always felt like, 'Man what would it be like if I got a chance?' Now I'm getting a chance to do both."

We love a positive, grateful guy.

He's worked with some of our favorite music superstars

He's flirted with Alicia Keys in her "Teenage Love Affair" video. He's romanced Jordin Sparks in Sparkle. And he played one of the world's biggest modern music moguls when he took on the role of Puff Daddy in the 2009 Biggie Smalls biopic Notorious. No pressure or anything, Derek! But he played Puff with flair — so much so that Luke said he'd be game for taking on Diddy in a longer film.

Diddy might be cool with that, as he was so taken with Luke even before he saw the film. He said this to MTV: "People asked me years ago who you'd want to play me, and I said Derek Luke... so it was just destined. I got to see him do his thing, and it was scary for me. I had to leave, 'cause he was acting just like me."

Freaky! But pretty awesome for Derek.

He's keeping Whitney Houston's memory alive

After Houston's tragic death, Derek relayed spiritual comfort in the best possible way.

“I thought it was a rumor when I heard that she passed away,” he told Celebuzz. “I remember hearing an analogy about heaven — it’s like being in another room — that you spend more time in heaven than you do on earth."

Derek Luke's
relationship status:

We can look, but we can't touch! Derek married actress Sophia Adella Hernandez in 1998, and the pair is still going strong. He recently praised how she kept his spirits up during his acting journey on Good Day L.A. He also explained that he keeps his marriage commitment sacred and separate from the whirlwind movie business and that it is no fluke.

"I don't get caught up in it because I remember quotes like: 'Take the garbage out! Wash the clothes! You ain't that hot,'" he told BV Buzz. "I think marriage is there to give you a dose of reality. Part of my success is because I am married, because I was less focused when I wasn't. I didn't have anybody to answer to. But when I really thought about it, marriage was something that I really wanted to do, because I saw so many broken ones when I was a child."

"Divorce not being an option doesn't just have to be a statement, but it's also creating a reality. It doesn't have to exist inside you, inside your mind, inside where you live and that's definitely a humility that I want to stick with."

We don't think we'd ever say you're not "that hot," Derek, but we appreciate that self-awareness in a man!

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Photo credits: Andrew Evans/PR Photos, 20th Century Fox via WENN.com, Nikki Nelson/WENN.com

We're bonkers for this beautiful 'bad boy'

Even without the veneer of fame around him, Romanian-born Sebastian Stan is suave, chic and a looker to say the least. His serious demeanor has even been compared to movie legend James Dean's, but Stan's oeuvre is all his own.

Now we get to watch Sebastian strut his sexy stuff alongside Twilight actress Ashley Greene in the thriller The Apparition, in theaters now.

He holds his own next to Captain America

If you're playing a superhero while standing directly next to hottie Chris Evans, who is also playing a superhero, you'd better be pretty darn attractive. That's easy-peasy for Sebastian, who played sidekick Bucky Barnes to Evans's Captain America in Captain America: The First Avenger. And lucky us!: Sebastian will reprise his role in the next movie in 2014.

In the first movie, Sebastian took the challenge of breathing life into his 1940s-era character very seriously:

"I think what essentially jumped out to me literally was the period, I had my ideas growing up about what I read in Ernest Hemingway books and movies about World War II, just the whole romantic idea about it," he told Cinemablend. "I thought the period thing was really neat. I guess what really, even from the scenes I was auditioning for, I really related to, I understood Steve’s point of view and the yearning that he had for wanting so badly to contribute to something and not be fading in the background. I understood that feeling."

"And I think on Bucky’s level I understood the feeling of how much is riding on his coattails because he feels responsible that a life, which is Steve Rogers’ life, is on his hands. So what would happen, hypothetically, if that guy died on his watch? I related to those issues and that spurred a lot of interest in me in parts."

Well, you sure spur our interest, Sebastian! We can't wait to watch Bucky again.

We loved to hate him in Black Swan

Seeing Sebastian play a certain type of yupster, flannel shirt-wearing misogynist that you could meet at any typical New York City bar so well was almost scary. But that's a testament to his talent and his look: He's hot enough that his character can say awful things and you still kind of understand why goody-two-shoes Natalie Portman would still want him.

Which brings us back to that whole brooding, dark image. Seventeen asked him whether he is, in fact, a bad boy à la Hollywood icon James Dean:

"Absolutely not!" he told the magazine. "It’s an incredibly flattering, amazing thing, but no. I always see myself as, like, Paul Rudd. But I grew up watching those iconic figures and I want to emulate them, but I don’t usually think of myself that way. I really laugh at myself a lot."

Oooh, we like a guy who appreciates Paul Rudd's personality as much as we do!

He'll always be Carter Baizen to us

Big movies, TV roles... Sebastian does it all. One of our favorite roles of his before the major film scripts started rolling in: bad-boy Carter Baizen on Gossip Girl. Double-crossing has never been sexier. "I'll always be grateful for that show," he told MTV. "The exposure for me has been huge."

And Sebastian's willingness to try a little bit of everything, acting-wise is no accident. He actually got advice about diversifying from another of our favorite actors, Liev Schreiber, when he starred alongside him in the Broadway play Talk Radio. Here's what Stan told ELLE about Liev's acting wisdom:

"He said, 'Every emotion is like a muscle. One muscle will get stronger than the others if you don't work them all.' "

And we like all of Sebastian's muscles, artistic and otherwise.

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It's no surprise to us that Stan has dated some of the choicest young lasses in Hollywood: He called queen bee Leighton Meester his girlfriend for about two years, from 2008 to 2010, and he was also linked to Glee's Dianna Agron for a bit. Now, however, he's dating adorable blond Jennifer Morrison, who plays Emma Swan on TV's Once Upon a Time. And it began as a workplace romance — technically, she's his co-star. Sebastian only appeared in three episodes of the series, as the Mad Hatter — he kidnapped her on the show!

Back in March, Jennifer said of Sebastian, "It was probably the most fun I've had so far shooting episodes. It's one of my favorite scripts. I had such an amazing time... he’s such an extraordinary actor. It was so great coming to work with him every day."

Looks like Jennifer's fairy tale came true. Good luck, kids!

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Photo credit: Ivan Nikolov/WENN.com, CW via WENN.com