The 11 hottest rom-com actors of the century

They’ve broken our hearts, made us laugh, and consistently been our crushes since the early ’90s. These rom-com actors have more than defined our ideas of movie romance and are far too good-looking for our personal level of self-confidence (it’s fine, we’ll survive). These are the hottest rom-com actors of the century.

The OG romantic comedy zaddy, get your Gere fix via rom-com classics Pretty Woman (1990), Runaway Bride (1999) (hi @ Julia Roberts), and Shall We Dance? ( 2004).

Before his now famous role as Ken in the critically acclaimed Barbie movie, there was the ultimate romantic movie,  The Notebook, and the classic rom-com Crazy, Stupid, Love. Known for his laidback classic style,  Ryan is a leading man on and and off the screen.

In company with Heath’s Oscar-winning role in The Dark Knight and his nomination for his heartbreaking role in Brokeback Mountain, fans of the Australian actor remember him as Patrick Verona, the bad boy teenager we all had a crush on in 10 Things I Hate About You.

A recent and welcome addition to the rom-com world, Henry Golding is the Hollywood heartthrob du jour starring in the wildly successful Crazy Rich Asians, A Simple Favor, and Last Christmas alongside Games of Thrones actress Emilia Clarke.

Starring in one of the best romantic comedies of all time (fight us), Josh Lucas was the heartthrob of all heartthrobs in the early 2000s. His role as Jake Perry in Sweet Home Alabama nearly made us buy a pair of cowboy boots in search of our own southern gentleman, and to this day, “why do you want to marry me anyhow?” “So I can kiss you any time I want” is what we hope to hear when we get engaged.

We may have been reminded of our Taye Diggs love from Netflix’s rom-com Set It Up but don’t get it twisted, we’ve been crushing on Diggs since he sang his way into our hearts in Rent in 2005 (yes, he was a villain, we got over it and so should you). Remind yourself of your own Taye Diggs crush with The Best Man, How Stella Got Her Groove Back, and Baggage Claim.

Rivalling Richard Gere as the king of romantic comedies, Matthew McConaughey has played his fair share of charming heartthrobs. The all-American actor first stole our hearts in The Wedding Planner alongside Jennifer Lopez, but it was his chemistry with Kate Hudson in How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days that cemented our McConaughey obsession.

Honestly, to this day, we wouldn’t trust anyone who doesn’t like Paul Rudd. We’re not saying you have to have a crush on him (although we certainly do) but come on, Paul Rudd has to be one of the most likable men in Hollywood, don’t you think? And if you should (for some reason) think differently, get back to us after watching Paul Rudd rom-com classics like Clueless, How Do You Know, and This Is 40.

We would like to nominate Mark Ruffalo to whatever list exists of actors you can’t possibly dislike. Thanks For Sharing, The Kids Are All Rights, 13 Going On 30…the man can’t do any wrong.

We beg you to find anyone who didn’t have at least the slightest crush on Hugh Grant in the ’90s and the beginning of the 2000s. The rom-com heavyweight has starred in some of the most iconic films of all time. Bridget Jones’s Diary, Love Actually, Notting Hill, Four Weddings and a Funeral, we could go on.

Bridget Jones’s other leading man, Hollywood’s forever gentleman Colin Firth can be found swooning our favourite actresses in Mamma Mia!, The Importance of Being Earnest, and Hope Springs.