Cosmosexuals

"Mark Gallagher argues that contemporary male actors are deeply invested in "acting sexy" and in the personal and collaborative labor of creating sex appeal as a path to success in globalized cinema, both at the level of individual performances and in their star personas. Gallagher begins by theorizing sex appeal, how it is performed, and how it becomes legible to viewers outside of a film's culture of origin. He also sketches a history of actors' globalization, namely Americans' performances in international coproductions and foreign actors' paths into US film. Focusing on actors from non-US films who have found international success through Hollywood productions, he examines how actors of different national and ethnic backgrounds have used "sexiness" in their varied careers. He begins with examinations of white actors from Europe and the British Commonwealth, most especially Ryan Gosling, Tom Hardy, and Eric Bana, before moving into Latino actors such as Pedro Pascal, Edgar Ramírez, and Wagner Moura and Asian actors Tony Leung and Simu Liu. Gallagher returns to the "exotic" whiteness of Nordic Mads Mikkelsen and ends with British actor Idris Elba, who despite his star status is still hemmed in by the unique obstacles that face Black performers"-- Provided by publisher.