Who is this generations Philip Seymour Hoffman: Prioritising beauty standards over charm

Philip Seymour Hoffman is the epitome of charm, he has a following that makes perfect sense if you've seen any of his films. But he's not conventionally handsome. As I was watching Twister, the question came to mind, “who is the new generation's Philip Seymour Hoffman?” This question spurred a deep dive.

The answer had to fit a certain criteria, he had to be truly charming, he had to be a relatively famous person (no one whose only in fringe films), he had to be unconventional looking, he had to be fat. Unfortunately the last criteria has to be there, as long as weight plays such a massive role in how we perceive beauty. With that criteria in place I began to search. The first major stumbling block I faced is that almost no one in Hollywood is fat, especially in the younger generation of actors.

So I had to discard that criteria, leaving us charming, famous, and unconventional looking. Again I struggled, Hollywood seems to be leaving charm and imperfect faces in the past. Scrolling through lists of men deemed ugly, and seeing nothing but tall, thin or athletic men with symmetrical faces (no one thinks Zac Efron is ugly). The closest I found to this phenomenon is Pete Davidson, who has charm but isn't made of it the way Philip Seymour Hoffman is.

In a last ditch effort I found myself googling “Ugly actors”. One trip to IMDb confirmed all suspensions, unconventionally attractive actors are a dying breed. No one on the list was younger than 40, no one on this list wasn't a well established actor decades ago, and no one on this list was all that hideous. They were just regular looking guys. What they did all have was a skillset beyond what many have, and a charm that would land them squarely back in the handsome category.

Reigniting people's passion for cinema might take a reintroduction of these “ugly” actors that brought films to life in a way that so few can.