A writer pal I knew (who had two oscars), told his screenwriting class at Loyola "the male lead must be a menacing, tough, smart guy in his prime reproductive years. Forget about anything else if you want a hit movie. It's Newman It's Redford or else."
Now dream on that some male super star gets cast in your flick but when I'm even writing the male lead part in a spec script I have to HONE IN mentally on a male star. Today a pal told me 'use Matthew Broderick for your lead as the scientist in a Crichton type action script." I think, gee, Broderick is great looking. Charming too. You never get bored watching him play a character. BUT MANLY MENACE? The guy who saves the world? Is this script I'm writing "NERD SAVES PLANET?" I thought it was an action adventure movie. The casting would throw it off center.
So I ponder other actors whose work I really admire. KEVIN SPACEY. Well a slight nerd thing and some other unusual quirks or lacks show up in Kevin whom I rate tops in watchability. Could watch him all day. But try it, say " KEVIN SPACEY and then put the words "SAVES THE WORLD after his name and picture it.....?? HUH??
Now, as I watch a lot of TV, my personal favorite hunk of steaming male testosterone is chunky and interesting, weird VINCE D'ONOFRIO from LAW AND ORDER original formula. (Did you know he once was married to Greta Scacchi? I KNEW he was hot! For most women, who don't have my X-ray eyes, Vince is a blob. He'd be an acquired taste, one only older women might have. I'll admit it but hey, I aquired it. The way he dances around and pokes his face in close to the suspect and meditates and knows just who and what? LOVE IT!
But writing a script, you're envisioning your male lead, day in day out while you type. A flick needs a hero, an UBER MENSCH. None of the above galumpas are A GOD ON EARTH with WITS and MENACE like BOGART in MALTESE FALCON. Like Eastwood, like Redford, Newman.
If you just want a hunk of beauty. HAYDEN CHRISTENSEN is your man. Or
boy But he's so pretty he could be a girl. 
When we're looking for young and tough, like SEAN CONNERY when he was
BOND, or a CLINT EASTWOOD, Only GEORGE CLOONEY and DANIEL CRAIG come close.
Though there are character actors like that Latino....Javier Bardim and there is another latino, Benicio del Toro, manly always unshaven. Not yet male leads in American films though. Anyway JAVIER is MENACE-on steroids, OVERKILL.
See how hard it is to be a writer? Sigh. Guess I'll just have to go on dreaming of all these guys. Imagining them there before me.....like a chorus line, like an immense imaginary casting call.......Daniel step forward. Tell me about yourself. Vince? Step forward. You've got the part.
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