Ever since I can remember, I’ve always been fascinated by freaky and evil characters.
I’ve blogged previously about how Elijah Wood was my first crush, and he’s pretty cuddly generally speaking, but bear in mind that I developed that crush only when I saw him with unnaturally pale stabbed-by-the-nazgul-help-me-i’m-dying eyes. I remember that moment, when my adolescent mind was like “oh”.
^so healthy, so wholesome
It was only downhill from there, my friends.
In most stories the main protagonist is presented as the desirable one, clean-cut and clean of conscience. Yet I’m always drawn to the dark and devilish characters, who are sometimes but not always the cunning asshole characters, the ones who are equipped with a snarling mouth, deeply condescending voice, and heavy lidded eyes full of spite.
Or, sometimes they are good, well meaning characters who are facing something tragic and/or are severely misunderstood.
^Brandon Lee as The Crow
Occasionally they are cocky and controlling, complete with lust for power and soulless eyes.
^Ezra Miller as Kevin in We Need to Talk About Kevin (yeah, I know, totally evil character, I’m not proud that I was attracted to Kevin! But Ezra IS really handsome, so I hope that has a lot to do with it…)
Usually the characters I am interested in are different than the characters my friends (and the general public, I’d think) are drawn to.
In my mid-teens, the tumultuous time of hormones and serious crushes, I fell head over heels for Johnny Depp as Jack Sparrow, and his plentiful eyeliner. Subsequently I sought out more of his films and swooned over Edward Scissorhands, Ichabod Crane, and Sweeney Todd. Johnny was my first HARDCORE crush. Perhaps the most hardcore i’ve ever had or will have T-T
While I had a fleeting crush on Ron in Harry Potter, Snape and Lucius had more staying power.
Criss Angel had a claim to my heart at one point, too. I remember rushing home from theatre practice so I wouldn’t miss Mindfreak (as well as InuYasha, but my anime crushes could fill an other entire blog post, so I won’t go there for now).
Here are some more that come to mind:
Alan Cumming as Nightcrawler (X2)
Clancy Brown as The Kurgan (Highlander)
Ville Valo (H.I.M.)
Tim Curry as Darkness (Legend)
Timour Bourtasenkov as The Wolf (Red Riding Hood, 1997)
I also fell hard for Louis and Lestat, at which point I realized I totally had a thing for vampires- capable fangs, pale skin eclipsed by crimson, captivation by luminescent eyes, an uncontrollable craving that drove them to desperation… freaking gothic euphemisms for sexual expression!
I’ve sought out so many vampire movies, but Interview with the Vampire is something truly special.
Bonus points for Armand!
Triple bonus points for QOTD lestat!
Now that i’m into kpop (namely SHINee), the music videos and performances that excite me the most are usually the ones involving aesthetics of darkness:
Tricksters and eccentrics often also captivate me:
Michael Sheen as Castor/Zuse from Tron: Legacy
Heath Ledger as The Joker
Hiddles as Loki
^Yet more bonus points for sexy mouthguard!
Heck, even Kenny from Kenny vs Spenny has given me feelings a few times, and Kenny’s whole point is that he’s (sorry Kenny) kind of a mean, obscene, no holds barred asshat!
^(Deep down I think you’re probably a nice guy though, right Kenny? Reeeeallly deep down? Maybe? >.> )
I say all this with the caveat that I DON’T think it’s a good thing to want to date someone who is actually emotionally manipulative, controlling or otherwise horrible to you. Happily, I fell in love with my husband, a man who is warm, funny, silly, and kind- the opposite of a creepy, manipulative, controlling jerk!
^& He puts up with my fangirl ways! ❤
To bring all of this full circle back to Lord of the Rings, here is a word of advice: never tell your friends “you know, there’s just something about Grima Wormtongue”, because they will never let you live it down.
“Who knows what you have spoken to the darkness,
alone, in the bitter watches of the night?”
HideNGoShauna 