From Chris Colfer to Zach Galifianakis: 12 Unconventionally Attractive Men You Should be Ogling

As much as I find his whiny, macho-aggressive public persona unappealing – and while he certainly isn't your standard-issue Hollywood hunk – I just can't help but have a thing for Shia LeBeouf. It's hard to describe what it is, exactly – the mischievous glint in his eyes, perhaps? The smart-ass grin? The way his nostrils flare when he's angry? The come-hither bedroom stare he's prone to adopting in photo spreads?

There's just something about him that I can't quite put my finger on – something that makes me swoon, even as I feel guilty doing it.

In any case, given that my shame-based Young Hollywood crush is coming out in a new film this week – you might have heard of it, a little under-the-radar independent effort called Transformers: Dark of the Moon? – I thought it might be fun to look at a few other unconventional Hollywood sex symbols – those unlikely heartthrobs who manage to get our tongues a-wagging despite not fitting the traditional pretty-boy mold.

The thing of it is, the following twelve men have something more important than perfect proportions and four percent body fat – namely, an intangible sex appeal that simply can't be quantified using any of the standard metrics. Bulging pectorals and flawless features are certainly fun to look at, but they're no substitute for the genuine article; I mean sure, Kellan Lutz might look great without a shirt on, but can you imagine trying to maintain a conversation with him?

Simon Amstell

Best known for "making pop stars uncomfortable" (his words) as host of shows like Popworld and Never Mind the Buzzcocks on the BBC, openly-gay UK comedian Simon Amstell's awkward-cute good looks bring to mind American nerd pinups like Michael Cera and Jesse Eisenberg – except that unlike Amstell, neither of those actors can claim making Britney Spears cry as one of their career highlights (true story).

At the end of the day, it's the BAFTA award-winning comedian's unassuming physical appearance – wiry science-nerd build, disheveled mop-top, charming overbite – that makes his darkly funny, off-the-wall persona and gleefully nasty skewering of celebrity culture so subversively effective.

Jay Baruchel

First coming to attention as mentally-challenged wannabe boxer Danger Barch in Clint Eastwood's Million Dollar Baby, over the next several years the adorably boyish-looking Jay Baruchel appeared as a supporting player in a string of successful big-screen comedies (Knocked Up, Tropic Thunder) before getting a shot as the romantic lead in She's Out of My League, in which he plays a geeky 20-something who manages to snag the seemingly-unattainable girl of his dreams.

Although a joke was made in that film of Baruchel's anti-studmuffin physical makeup, his charmingly unaffected demeanor both on-screen and off makes him a top-tier sex symbol for those who require more than a set of chiseled abdominal muscles to win them over.

Chris Colfer

Perhaps the least likely sex symbol on this list, Glee's Chris Colfer goes against the grain of the Hollywood leading man in almost every facet imaginable – effeminate, soft-spoken, lacking the classically handsome features of many of his contemporaries – and yet the 21-year-old actor has won a legion of fans with his performance as Kurt Hummel, an openly-gay, fashion-conscious countertenor in the McKinley High glee club who is forced to grapple with the pitfalls of his "out" status on an almost weekly basis.

While Colfer may not be a conventional dreamboat, his cherubic, rosy-cheeked looks and openness about his sexuality stand as a refreshing alternative in an industry filled with cookie-cutter Adonises.