Top Five . . . Current Crushes

Hamish Linklater

5.  Hamish Linklater

Linklater is a classically trained actor who has appeared in several Shakespearean plays, but he is probably best known as Christine Campbell's sweetly sarcastic brother, Matthew, on "The New Adventures of Old Christine".  He also appeared in one of my favorite episodes of "Pushing Daisies".  Although he's gangly and a bit goofy-looking, he's funny and self-effacing, which pretty much makes him adorable.  (He also has excellent timing on "Old Christine".)  My favorite line:  "Are they still making floozies?  I thought they discontinued floozies in the '40s."

Alan Tudyk as Wash on "Firefly"

4.  Alan Tudyk

Tudyk is recognizable from roles in several films, including Simon in the original British version of Death at a Funeral and Steve the Pirate in Dodgeball, but to geeks, he will always be Wash in Joss Whedon's "Firefly" and the subsequent movie Serenity.  I first saw him in A Knight's Tale as Wat, the grouchy and perpetually hungry squire to Heath Ledger's Sir Ulrich.  Tudyk is an excellent comedic actor and has a hard-to-name endearing quality that makes him especially appealing.

Lee Pace as Ned on "Pushing Daisies

3.  Lee Pace

Pace is best known as Ned the Pie Man from "Pushing Daisies".  He usually appears in small supporting roles, but he did star in the gorgeous and cinematic film by Tarsem Singh, The Fall.  He has upcoming parts in the eagerly awaited films Breaking Dawn (as Garrett) and (yay!) The Hobbit (as Thranduil, the Elven king)

Paul Bettany

2.  Paul Bettany

In addition to being married to one of the most gorgeous women in the world, Jennifer Connelly (I always wanted to look like her after seeing Labyrinth), Bettany is a fabulous actor who can do both drama and comedy.  I loved him as Charles Herman in A Beautiful Mind, but I first saw him in A Knight's Tale (with Alan Tudyk!) playing the celebrated author Geoffrey Chaucer.  The word that comes to mind when I think about Bettany is "charming" and he makes any movie he's in infinitely better.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt

1.  Joseph Gordon-Levitt

Gordon-Levitt started out as a child actor, best known for playing Tommy in "3rd Rock From the Sun".  He took a break from acting to attend Columbia University, but reemerged in several indie films, including the adorable 500 Days of Summer, which all but relaunched his career.  He then appeared as Arthur in the Oscar-nominated and critically lauded Inception and was recently cast in Christopher Nolan's newest installment of his Batman series, The Dark Knight Rises.

Of course, my favorite crush will always be Heath Ledger, who I've loved since Ten Things I Hate About You.  I was so sad when I heard he died, especially since he had such a promising career ahead of him.