TV Bad Boys We Love

Bad Boys. We love them. Even when we try to deny it, we know that a part of us gets starry-eyed at the leather, the attitude and the checkered pasts. It’s long been a cultural stereotype that girls love the bad boys, but in reality gay and bi men are just as susceptible to their charms. Ever since James Dean rumbled onto the big screen, people have been hooked.

Look into those eyes and try to resist...

But what is a Bad Boy, exactly? It used to be enough to simply be from "the wrong side of the tracks." But the concept has evolved over the years and today the Bad Boy is something more complicated and full of shades of gray. And sometimes a Bad Boy is really a bad boy, although that is a relatively new development when it comes to TV Bad Boys.

A criminal past is helpful to earn Bad Boy cred. That's a surefire way of telling everyone that you think you are above society's rules.

A cocky attitude is a must. Even if secretly you are convinced that no one can ever like you for who you are, you must exude confidence.

Sex appeal is huge. A guy who is bad but isn't sexy is just a punk.

Happy Days' Arthur Fonzarelli was was once the epitome of a Bad Boy, but the truth is that he was about as dangerous as a kitten on catnip.

Henry Winker as The Fonz

A recent Bad Boy who shows how Bad Boys have evolved and who really turned out to be bad was Glee's Dave Karofsky who took viewers into uncharted waters of Bad Boydom. Here is a guy who is actually dangerous. You never know if he’s going to threaten to kill you or plant one on you. As the major antagonist to the much beloved Kurt Hummel, this is a Bad Boy who might be too bad even for all but the most die-hard Bad Boy fans.

But Glee's writers understand that almost any amount of bad boy behavior can be washed away a genuine show of regret. Dave breaking down crying and begging for Kurt’s forgiveness may well have been just the thing needed to cement his place in the pantheon of Bad Boys we actually love.

Here are ten more Bad Boys we've loved over the years. Each is rated from one to five Leather Jackets for their Bad Boy cred.