Men on the Verge: 12 Hot Actors Who Deserve Hotter Careers

Hollywood loves its hot young-ish stars, from the Ryans (Gosling and Reynolds), to Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert Pattinson, Johnny Depp, even Zac Efron -- and my future second husband, James Franco. Together, these fine fellows have returned billions in box office earnings, not to mention an Oscar nomination or two.

But what about the boys who labor on screen, but whose popularity is more than a smidge less than their superstar brethren? After all, for every super-hot Bradley Cooper, there’s an equally hot but underused Justin Bartha. And for every magnificent specimen like Chris Evans, there’s, well, Chris Evans.

Here are 12 Hollywood actors whose presence on big and little screens is a great mixture of talent, brains and a beautiful expanse of brawn. Their careers may not curently have the luster they deserve, but with luck, timing, and the right part, they could be on the verge of superstardom.

Tom Welling

A teenage model who maneuvered his boyishly handsome looks into TV roles, Welling spent a hugely lucrative decade playing young Clark Kent in the popular Smallville. Though he’s appeared in only three films so far – in big screen remakes of The Fog and Cheaper by the Dozen and a sequel – the intensely private Welling has time (and good looks) on his side as he searches for what hopefully will be a big screen breakthrough.

Colin Farrell

Look up “faltering career” in the dictionary and there you’ll find Colin Farrell’s beautiful face. After a few spectacular seasons on British TV, Farrell exploded on American movie screens like a thousands points of McConaughey, only to see his film career turn to dust faster than you can say, “Christian Slater.” A decade of woeful screenplay choices later, Farrell has cleaned up his act and signed up for several servings of lighter, comedic fare. Nothing yet can top that sex tape, though.

Matt Lanter

This beautiful boy played President Geena Davis’s son for a TV season, then took his dreamy eyes and ripped physique to the relaunch of 90201, where he was featured in an amazing stripping scene. In between, he’s appeared in some truly terrible films. (Did anyone see Vampires Suck?) For the sake of seeing much more of young Mr. Lanter on the big screen, we can only hope he has the kind of talent that has been glimpsed from time to time. Let’s hope he finds a script worthy of those gorgeous eyes.