Honestly Ladies (and/or gents)
am I the only one who finds Capaldi incredibly gorgeous?
Somehow the Malcolm Character adds to his overall appeal, a testament I guess to his tremendous acting skills
Sorry for drooling all over a perfectly drool-free board :D
Anyone with me on this?
Hells yes I would!
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So I knew about Peter Capaldi, had seen him on Torchwood and stuff, and then I went to see The Ladykillers in London and saw him at the stage door, and have developed a huge crush on the man, he is absolutely gorgeous! Now I've started watching The Thick of it, and yeah I would! :D He might not be "classic handsome" but he is just really sexy and has a great smile :)
I think what's going on is the opposite process of sublimation: people find him interesting for the unusual combination of traits in his character, and seem not to know what to do with this unexpected fascination so they turn it into something physical for a lack of a better option. Behind all the snarling and all the spittle-laced shouting there seems to be a slightly above-average intelligence, a sort of moral or ethical code and the meritocratic vocation of a self-made man in a political elite full of undeserved privilege, and that leads everybody (men and women alike) to empathize with his character and find him appealing. Same applied to some extent to Dr. House, but his intellect was undeniably above average, to the point of being able to bully people without having to shout profanity or make horrible grimaces at them.
I'm not a woman or a gay man so I know my opinion will be underrepresented in this thread but I do think my point is close to the truth on this.
This man is not attractive. Even in his younger years he fit, at his best, in the Hugh Laurie/Griff Rhys Jones category of lanky, gawky, long-faced, too prognathic (or too micrognathic) HP Lovecraft clones that were so useful as comic reliefs or even starring comedians. There is a scene in Season 3, episode 3 when Julie Price leaves the room after insulting him and Nicola, that he stands looking at the door till she's left and in that scene he truly had the profile of a rat. With that tuxedo on and his pose, he looked like a 1950s graveyard keeper who has smoked a Gauloises too many. There's no way anyone in their right state of mind can find him attractive in a scene like that.
There is a deleted scene where he's mentioned to have been some sort of a serial womanizer, and I think there's a reason why it didn't make it to the final cut. I'm also surprised the scene where he punched Glenn did make it past the editing room; it takes some suspension of disbelief to accept he could knock him down, let alone knock him and Olly to the floor at the same time with a single punch.
But then, many British women will probably find anyone who's light-skinned, well-dressed and not overweight attractive. That has a reason to be: most British men are as ugly as Malcolm, plus overweight and have a loutish appearance even if they're not. And my opinion does count here because I live among them.
Interesting and easy to sympathize with, definitely. Attractive, definitely not. That's my (straight guy's) conclusion.
An interesting post, Arthur; thank you for your thoughts. I have to say, though, attractiveness is something that's very subjective, and you will have seen that there are an awful lot of people here who find Mr Capaldi to be an attractive man. That's not to say we think he's 'handsome' or 'beautiful' because he's not - or at least not beautiful by 'Hollywood standards', like a Brad Pitt or a Johnny Depp. But that still doesn't mean we're not allowed to find him (or Malcolm in this case)attractive.
The beauty of this world is that we're all different, and we all like different things and different people. Personally, I think Johnny Depp looks like he needs a good wash, but my friend Marj puts him at #1 on her list and has done for years. It's personal taste.
Malcolm is attractive to us not because of the way he looks but despite it. That aquiline nose; the piercing eyes; the grey buzz cut; the Scottish burr - they're attractive. Then, when you add in the power, the authority and the take no sh!t attitude, it adds up to a man who we think is very sexy. This thread discusses people who wouldn't normally be seen as sexy being considered attractive to women: David Mellor was my earlier example. Silvio Berlusconi is another. There must be *something* about him, right?
My friends tell me I have weird taste in men. What they mean is unconventional and different from their own. I can wax lyrical about Philip Quast (big, burly, great singing voice, piercing blue eyes, 55) or Chris Addison (skinny, floppy curls, a bit effeminate, looks about 20, actually 41)and feel comfortable that I'm not the only person in the whole world who fancies them. And that, most importantly, if I find them attractive, that's all that matters.
Your massive generalisation that '...many British women will probably find anyone who's light-skinned, well-dressed and not overweight attractive' is exactly that. And it's an unfair one. I like men of all different shapes, sizes, looks, colours, ages.
Perhaps you should re-read this thread and see that there are lots of us who would dispute your argument. Malcolm (and by extension, Capaldi) is an attractive man. And since Capaldi himself is married - someone else obviously thinks so too. Hell - someone even fell in love with Piers Morgan. Let's be thankful that there's someone out there for everyone, shall we? And let us carry on thinking that this interesting, scary, powerful, predatory-looking silver fox is a hottie.
It'll be difficult-difficult-lemon-difficult...
I agree with everything you say. And I'd never pass judgment on something as subjective as taste, I just gave my very limited perspective from a straight man's position.
Malcolm is attractive to us not because of the way he looks but despite it.
Arthur -
Thanks for reading my (long-winded) post. Appreciate it. I find your last paragraph most interesting. There *are* an awful lot of people here in Britain who are fat and unattractive. And they seem to be on the increase. I was going to say that the Americans are still streets ahead in that regard, but I notice you've written 'offense' so I don't want to offend *you* if you're not a Brit!
But since this is a thread about attractiveness (Malcolm in particular, powerful, authoritative figures in general), I'd be interested in finding out who you would deem attractive. My husband is a fan of Nigella Lawson and Reese Witherspoon - shame he's married to someone who looks like a combination of Ally Sheedy and Sue Perkins!
It'll be difficult-difficult-lemon-difficult...
Don't worry: no, I'm not a Brit or an American, and yes, Americans still are and will be, from what I know, several streets ahead in the fatness department. Several streets and several towns I'd say.
Concerning personal tastes, in spite of the reference to Reese Witherspoon I assume you want me to restrict myself to British examples so I guess the top 3 would be Rachel Weisz in her prime, Olivia Wilde and Alexa Chung (minus the skinny legs). Followed closely by Rihanna (if you consider Barbadians British), Kirsty Hume, Naomi Campbell, Kirsty Mitchell and Julie Christie if past generations are allowed into the ranking. I would also include Kelly Brook if she didn't look so damn stupid, it's almost as if stupidity became physically embodied in her face expression and permeated out through her pores.
I loathe Nigella, she's so over-botoxed she looks like a wax figure out of Mme Tussauds.
yes....i bet he would talk so dirty..............................
shareBloody hell I would.
I'm glad I found this thread as I was starting to think that it was just me :/
Jamie is hot too but not as hot as Malcolm IMO.
Oh my God yes.
shareI know this is an old thread, but having had my two-yearly rewatch of this great series, it's very much the same thought that crosses my mind each time. Absolutely I would... the previous posts regarding power, subjective attractiveness etc., make interesting reading.
All I know is, Capaldi has been my 'weird crush' for a while now, but Tucker makes him 100% hotter in my eyes.
Sure the whole 'yes he's an evil bastard' thing is right on the money, but I think you often make allowances for that when it's a fictional character you find so attractive.