Red Hot: Ten Gingers We All Would Drop Trou’ For!
Written by: Phoebe Raven, CC2K Staff Writer
In my never-ending exploration of American culture and pop-culture I once came across a phenomenon that struck me not only as curious, but also as derogatory and somewhat offensive. I am talking about “Ginger Hate.” Instead of explaining it myself, I will let Cartman of South Park elaborate (video after the jump).
South Park of course exaggerates by profession and yet I have talked to many people, male and female alike, who frown in disapproval when I have professed my love for the ginger-haired and strawberry blond population. For the life of me I cannot fathom why sparkling blue eyes and freckles should be a turn-off. Therefore I have compiled a list of outstandingly crush-worthy gingers and strawberry blondes, to change everyone’s mind.
Note: some of these actors and actresses are not natural gingers, but we have come to know and love them as such. By putting them on this list, I vote for them to keep the look going. I have also included a few “honorable mentions”, who were obviously “strawberry-kissed” and or are full-blown gingers in their own right.
Let’s get started with the fairer sex:
1. Amy Adams
Amy Adams has everybody under her spell and it isn’t because of Enchanted. Her talent oozes out of her every pore and even when you cannot see her luscious ginger mane because it is covered by a wimple, she still draws you in with her hypnotic baby blues. Her career is only getting started and so we forgive the odd misstep she makes (Leap Year). She will settle into her own soon enough and yes, she might even change her hair color for some roles in the future, because she is a committed actress. But that doesn’t change the fact she won our hearts when she was ginger and that is how we will always love her best.
2. Susan Sarandon
She is one of the grande dames of cinema. Her illustrious career is filled with successes and marvels, such as the classic Thelma & Louise, masterpiece Dead Man Walking or even her underrated performance in the otherwise fairly lackluster Elizabethtown.
Susan Sarandon stands the test of time and at 63 she is still way hotter than some of the young blondes a la Kate Hudson could ever hope to be.
3. Isla Fisher
She appears in movies that are pretty terrible, but every now and then she makes one of those terrible movies better by being there (see Absolutely, Maybe or The Wedding Crashers). I can’t begin to fathom the dynamics of a relationship with Sacha Baron Cohen, but luckily it isn’t relevant for Isla’s inclusion on this list. Some compare her to Amy Adams, but Isla’s charm is different. While Amy exudes mystery, Isla exudes girlish charm. What gives her an extra edge though are her brown eyes, which go against the ginger stereotype, even though Isla really is a natural redhead. In any case, she is gorgeous to look at.
4. Alyson Hannigan
Alyson is not a natural redhead, her hair color is more of an auburn, but when she entered our consciousness as Willow in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, her hair was on fire and that is probably how most people will always remember her. She pulled it off exceedingly well and judging from the relatively long period of time she kept her red locks even after BtVS had ended, she seemed to like the look as well.
Recently, she has gone to dark brown hair, which suits her just fine as well. Alyson simply is a hottie, not matter what hair color, but I will always love her best looking like pictured.
5. Christina Hendricks
Wa-wa-woom! Need I say more? Again, Christina is actually a natural blonde, but not even she herself seems to like that fact. She has been dying her hair red since she was ten years old, so it is more than right to include her on this list.
She is a “real woman”, whose talent goes unnoticed too often. I rejoice at the sight of Joan in Mad Men every single time, but I have been a fan of Christina’s for much longer. She appeared in my darling series Firefly, Angel and Life. My favorite TV would not be the same without the fierce and intense presence of Christina Hendricks.
Honorable mentions: Debra Messing, Alicia Witt, Laura Prepon, Nicole Kidman, Molly Ringwald, Kate Winslet (she pulled it off well in Titanic).
Alright, ladies, now buckle your seatbelts for the male contenders.
1. Kevin McKidd
Granted, many may remember him as blonde from HBO’s awesome show Rome, and Kevin himself has stated he likes himself best when he is his natural blonde, but by putting him at the top of this list I want to send a clear message to him: Kevin, you look hottest when you’re ginger!
The instant liking viewers took to his character Owen Hunt on Grey’s Anatomy not only speaks to Kevin’s great acting talent (he is Scottish and yet you would never guess it), but also to the raw and manly attraction he inspires in women. His face isn’t smooth and boring, it has character and the red hair gives him that extra edge.
Of course it doesn’t hurt that the man keeps in shape either. A testament to his hotness is the appropriate hotness of his (non-famous and yet looking like a model) wife of many years. Hot AND not a comitto-phobe? Where do I sign up?
2. Damian Lewis
A big “hooray” for yet another man from the British Isles. Damian Lewis came to fame in America through Band of Brothers, an excellent miniseries. Before shooting BoB, the entire cast went to boot camp together and no one would have even guessed that Damian was English. He felt the other actors may not have thought he could pull his substantial role off if they had known, so he kept up his American accent for a long time before he ever let anyone know it was “just an act”.
He proved himself again in the sadly short-lived NBC series Life, where he also showed that he has comedic talents on top of everything else. And yet it is his intensity and absolute commitment to the craft that makes him a wonder to look at in such great work as Keane, Nyfes or The Forsyte Saga. Beauty seldom came in a rarer form than Damian Lewis.
3. Seth Green
Seth Green changes his hair color a lot, or at least he used to do that. So to pin him down to being a ginger may not please him too much. I don’t care though, that’s how I love him best and that is what he was born as. His humor isn’t always something that makes me laugh, and as studies have shown humor is a big factor for a woman to feel attracted to a man, but I cannot resists Seth’s portrayal as Oz in BtVS for a single minute.
Even when he stars in such utter crap as The Attic Expeditions, he still manages to keep my attention solely focused on him, no matter what else is going on in the scene. If he doesn’t overdo it by growing excessive facial hair, which also happens to be red, then he is a definite hottie any day of the week.
4. David Wenham
He comes from a land down under and again he is not what some would call “a classic beauty”. As Faramir he was the more relatable of the two sons of Gondor, IMHO, in 300 he was underused as a wimpy storyteller instead of a bare breasted warrior, in Van Helsing he was merely comic relief and yet there is one movie that puts him on my permanent Hot List, called Better Than Sex. It is a tale about a One-Night-Stand that turns into a Four-Night-Stand and eventually into a relationship. In it David Wenham is naked a lot and he looks damn fine during it, because he has what all women crave: he is completely unselfconscious. Such a turn on. The Australian accent also helps.
5. Rupert Grint
He still has a way to go to grow into a confident young man, but I believe in Rupert and I already find him adorable and borderline irresistible. Ron is far more likable than Harry in the Harry Potter series (much like Samwise Gamgee was always more likable than Frodo), but Rupert has shown promise beyond the gentle wizard friend afraid of spiders. For any haters, I recommend a screening of Driving Lessons. Then get back to me.
I for one prefer Rupert’s natural boyish charm to Robert Pattinson’s greasy pout-face any day.
Honorable Mentions: Tamoh Penikett (have you seen his freckles?), Robert Redford, Scott Grimes, Zack Ward.
And there you have it. Ten drop-dead gorgeous gingers all in their own right, plus some bonus picks to cater to your tastes.
I couldn’t end this article better than Cartman could, so I will let him have the last word.