12. David Beckham 
Rank last year: 39
Few straight men – much less straight athletes – have gone further in
embracing their status as a gay icon than has this 33-year-old English soccer
star. Husband of Spice Girls’ Victoria “Posh
Spice” Adams, he forever became known as the
poster boy of “metrosexuality” back in 2002 when a Salon.com writer “outed” the
soccer star as a metrosexual. Becks, as he is frequently referred to, also
posed for the cover of U.K.
gay magazine Attitude and has said on more than on one occasion that he loves
being a gay icon and is even “honored” by it. How can us gay boys fail to
appreciate that?
Of course, it doesn’t hurt that Beckham is frequently seen sans shirt as he
races around the soccer pitch. But of late he’s been seen even wearing less
than that in his new campaign for Giorgio Armani underwear; a campaign, we hasten
to add, that leaves very little to the imagination. It’s no wonder Becks moved
from #39 last year all the way up to #12. Who knows what he might do in order
to make the top ten next year?
11. Gareth David-Lloyd
Rank last year: N/A
When we interviewed Welshman David-Lloyd earlier this year, we found the 27-year-old Torchwood actor to be funny, charming and
self-effacing. He came across as completely at home in his own skin and
completely comfortable playing Ianto Jones, the romantic love interest to
Captain Jack (John Barrowman). No doubt
that accounts for much of his appeal to our readers who have devotedly followed
every twist of the Janto (as fans refer to the couple) romantic storyline over
the course of two seasons.
How does David-Lloyd feel about being one half of television’s most visible same-sex
couples? In our interview with him he explained, “I’m one of
these people of that age where it’s just not an issue, and it never has been.” Now that's sexy.
David-Lloyd isn’t just an actor who knows how to deliver a one-liner; he’s
also an accomplished musician fronting the blues band Blue Gillespie and hopes
to release an EP by the end of the summer. He also told us that he's looking forward to meeting his fans this summer at Comic-Con in San Diego, at Dragon Con in Atlanta and Polaris in Toronto.
As for making our list, David-Lloyd’s response was very Barrowman-esque (his
co-star is very well known for his ribald sense of humor). Said the cheeky
Welshman, "I'm delighted to be bringing so many people pleasure in
whatever way I can. I understand I'm underneath John Barrowman, which seems to
happen quite a lot. Maybe, next year, Ianto can be on top."
We find it hard to argue with that. Or his coming in at #11.
10. Ryan Reynolds 
Rank last year: 6
Ah, mister Reynolds. What is it about you? Is it your twinkling eyes? Your
self-effacing sense of humor? Or is it your chest ... yes, it may be the chest,
but we'll take the whole package. Reynolds transformed himself from a wiry
wisecracker to a certified himbo when he beefed up for movies like Blade:
Trinity and The Amityville Horror, and we've been enjoying his mountainous bod
... er, impressive body of work ever since.
Last year Reynolds played against type by playing three different characters
(one of them gay) in John August's deliciously clever The Nines, then followed
that up with a charming performance as a single dad in Definitely, Maybe. He's
got several high-profile projects in the works opposite leading ladies including
Julia Roberts and Sandra Bullock, so it doesn't look like this 31-year-old Vancouver native will be
slowing down any time soon. Oh, did we mention he's engaged to marry Scarlett
Johansson? Well, we didn’t because we're jealous.
