An actor whose star is in the ascendant recently lamented the horrifying experience of being labelled one of the world’s sexiest men. (It’s not easy!) “I have a problem with being referred to as incredibly sexy, or a hunk or anything, because it’s incredibly demeaning,” he said. (So true!)
“It’s demeaning for both women and men. It’s demeaning for anyone to be categorised by their appearance, no matter how that might sound, when some people might say it’s what gets me work. Well, I disagree with that.” (As if!).
In his view he really gets work because of his acting. “I would hope it would be something that I bring to screen that it’s not just f***ing how I appear.” (And f**k the begrudgers!)
To be honest, I could live with being so demeaned. It seems a small price to pay for being described as “incredibly sexy, or a hunk or anything”.
Then, I’m incredibly shallow.
Kit Harington
The comments were made by thirtysomething English actor Kit Harington (never heard of him either) who, you can be sure, with such incredible if not inflated self-awareness is not related to our outstanding but modest golden Olympian Kellie Harrington.
He was a lead actor in the Game of Thrones series. (No, never saw it either. I was under a rock in those years.) He ended up being paid over €2 million per episode for his acting ability and not at all for appearing “incredibly sexy, or a hunk or anything”.
That’s the stingy fee for agreeing to suffer the “incredibly demeaning” these days, it seems.
Frighten the horses
Fine, Love Island aside (all that botox!), I can’t see anything wrong with beautiful people or people being beautiful. Surely one of the great aesthetic pleasures in life is beholding the body beautiful.
It has probably got a bad name where the uptight are concerned as it may stray into the erotic, which is “terrifying”. That may even be its purpose but, fear not, it isn’t inevitable. And, so what, as long as you don’t frighten the horses.
Only a younger person would lament their own beauty. Adults should advise them otherwise: to enjoy it, to make the most of it, for verily it will pass. The brain, on the other hand, will always be with us. Beauty will not.
Beauty, from Latin bellus, for "pretty, handsome".
inaword@irishtimes.com
