12. Tom Hardy
The pansexual "Inception" star haunts our dreams
Those who recall his brooding Heathcliff in 2009's television adaptation of "Wuthering Heights," his appropriately named Handsome Bob in "Rocknrolla," or his pugilistic leading man in "Bronson" know 33-year-old Tom Hardy is an actor of depth and intensity. This year, it was his turn as dream invader Eames in the summer blockbuster "Inception" that made him an international star -- and an icon of fluid sexuality.
When a woman cops to her same-gender dabblings, it's cause for titillation. But when a man does it -- as as he put it, "Of course I have. I'm an actor."
It's easy to see why everybody wants Hardy, with his throaty Londoner growl and a mouth made for sin. But though he says he's "done experimenting" with men, it's the fact that he's refused to treat his past as shameful or acknowledge it as a mistake that makes him a new kind of star. What's sexy now? A man who's honest, who's comfortable in himself, and, OK, who happens to be ridiculously handsome. Tom Hardy, you can haunt our dreams any time.