Loving Hugh | Clare

I’ve always had this thing for British actors. I think it all started with me crushing on Christian Bale years back when he did Swing Kids and I found out he was British. Years later – and along with most of the female population – I swooned at the sight of the most beautiful elf ever on The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Legolas (played by yet another Brit, Orlando Bloom). I also can’t help but mention Matthew Goode, who played that CIA agent/love interest to Mandy Moore in Chasing Liberty.

The three guys I mentioned are all handsome men and competent actors (with accents that I just adore) but there is one actor that I tend to favor who is different from the previous ones I’ve mentioned: Hugh Dancy.

The first time that I noticed Hugh Dancy was when he played the prince opposite Ann Hathaway in the movie Ella Enchanted. My first thought was that he was not the stereotypical handsome prince: he wasn’t the type that you found gorgeous at first sight. He’s not your typical tall, well-built, flawless and pretty-faced guy. BUT, his looks (in my opinion and in a totally female perspective of course) tend to grow on you. The more you see him, the more attractive he becomes.

I think that what makes Hugh Dancy attractive is the way he portrays his characters. He tends to show a certain vulnerability to them, which makes him even more interesting. I think this vulnerability was obvious in the movies The Jane Austen Book Club and in Confessions of a Shopaholic (particularly in the shopping scene where he talks about his family and in the scene at the bank where he asks if he is a good investment). And yes, I still felt that vulnerability in the wolf movie Blood and Chocolate (but then again, that could be the fan girl in me talking). I’m thinking this is also the case with his role in Evening, but since he is there with his fiancee Claire Danes I’d rather pass on that one on account of severe envy on my part — the first time I heard about them hooking up on the set of this movie my first thought was: Nooooo!!

Speaking of that vulnerability, I think this quality of his acting will be more evident in the film Adam, where he plays a man with Asperger’s syndrome, which is a form of autism. If the preview (and the good review from the Sundance Film Festival) is any indication, this is a film to watch if you want to see really good acting. *Sigh* I have a feeling I will be an even bigger fan after this movie, which will be shown in July this year in the US (I have no idea if it will be released in Asia. I’m keeping my fingers crossed on a limited release or at the very least the sale of videos on this side of the globe).

Photo Source: Just Jared