The Second-Look Guy

I think we can all agree on the First-Look Guy. He's the one we know, with a mere glance, is handsome. He attracts us. He is visually perfect, or pretty darn close. He makes our hearts beat. He makes us think thoughts we should never mention to our significant others. His name is Johnny, or Brad or George or Orlando, Joaquin, Antonio, Matthew.

But I want to talk about my favorite kind of guy, the Second-Look Guy. He's the one we have a tendency to walk right by on the street. We don't give him a thought. Initial glance doesn't pull at our heartstrings or nudge us to wonder if we're wearing our sexy lingerie or the holey cotton undies. (We pray it's the sexy stuff should he be a First Look.) No, the Second-Look guy is the one we pass. But then...

...we do a fast look over our shoulders. Or we see him again down aisle three and this time are drawn to a distinctive feature on his face. Perhaps a crooked smile. He is worthy of a second look, and we go there. Sometimes, we even go for a third look. No matter if it takes a 2nd or 3rd, something about him attracts us. We often can't even put a finger to what it is that we find attractive about him, be we know it deep inside.

I've been a fan of Second-Lookers since I started dating at 17. I think I dated two First-Looks; the rest were all Seconders. Now, I'm using celebrity photos as examples, but we all know our own Second-Lookers who may be friends, lovers or hubbies. And I'm being shallow and talking purely physical looks here. We don't have time to look beneath the surface to the mental and emotional man. Second-Looks are for letting your eyes learn new seductions and interesting enchantments.

I submit to you, Jean-Hughes Anglade. He's a French actor. He of the Gallic nose and small chin and a scatter of messy hair. He is plain, and yet, there is something about those eyes. He will not look past you. Ever. He likes to look into you.
How about this fellow to the right? Jason Statham. If you had not seen him on the big screen, you'd likely walk past this almost-bald, scruffy guy on the street. But a second-look discovers an intensity to him and an interesting angled nose. And what about that short hair? Wouldn't you like to buff your palm over the top of it?

Even older, John Malkovich has an interesting allure. He made me take a second-look as the Vicomte de Valmont in Dangerous Liaisons, wearing a long black wig and seducing a woman he both loved and reviled. I know we're only looking at the surface, but that brow just screams intelligence, and don't you want to have a conversation with him?

All angles and bones and surprises of bright blue eyes and almost girlish lips on Guy Pearce. He treads First-Look territory for me, but he is an actor who enjoys looking grungy. And even beneath the stringy hair I want to know why his tendency to androgeny appeals to me.

He's wearing a silly black wig, but Michael Wincott has another of those faces that is all angles and overpowering features. A bold, masterful nose, and a chin to go along with it. But what is that? Those, eyes, they appear so soulful. You can't tell from looking at him, but he sports a two-pack-a-day rumbling voice that sounds like Lucifer has come up for oxygen. So sexy. I don't have to look at this one, all I want to do is listen. :-)

Another Frenchman for you, because I can't resist the awkward allure of the classic Frenchman's bold and defiant face. Vincent Cassel. Look at that nose! Mischief twinkles in this Second-Looker's eyes, and not the nice kind. He's thinking naughty thoughts, and I want to know what they are.

So what about you? Do you agree with some of my Second-Look choices? What are some of your favorite Second-Looks? One girl's First Look could be another's chick's Second, so don't be upset if I've listed one of your Firsts as my Second. :-)

Here's to men, no matter their looks, and especially for their looks. They are a wondrous and delicious bunch, and I, for one, intend to never stop looking again, and again, and again.

Michele