Beautiful men, sexy specs.
(L-R) Justice Smith; Andrew Garfield; Jonathan Bailey.Amazon Studios; Matt Winkelmeyer/WireImage; Universal PicturesBetween red-carpet fashion, hot fictional characters, and geeky thirst trappers on social media, it's a great era for eyewear! There were points in pop culture history when taking off one's glasses would instantly make them look hotter — famously satirized in 2001's Not Another Teen Movie — within Hollywood narratives.
But times have changed. Glasses are back, and we're living for it!
Andrew Garfield at the 2025 Golden Globes.
As soon as Andrew Garfield appeared on our screens to present a Golden Globe Award and casually put on those glasses to read the teleprompter in front of him, gay men around had their jaws dropped to the floor. How dare he?
Alfonso Herrera on 'Sense8.'

Netflix
Sense8 fans are intense and eternal. Before the throuple trends of Challengers, fans had Lito, Hernando, and Daniela to root for — all breakout roles for those actors in Hollywood, including Rebelde alum Alfonso Herrera wearing the cutest glasses ever.
William Jackson Harper on 'The Good Place.'

NBC
The Good Place was a great show with witty writing, hilarious performances, universal themes, and geeky guys like Chidi Anagonye (played by William Jackson Harper) who looked like that without a shirt on.
Jonathan Bailey on 'Fellow Travelers.'
ShowtimeThe origin story for geeky Jonathan Bailey happened on Fellow Travelers with his portrayal of the kinky and studious Timothy Laughlin. Since then, he's also stolen our hearts on Bridgerton and in the Wicked movies.
Jonathan Bailey in 'Jurassic World Rebirth.'

Universal Pictures
Jonathan Bailey starring as a paleontologist in Jurassic World Rebirth had the gays saying (via @DavidOpie on X/Twitter):
"Like the dinosaurs, I too wish to devour Jonathan Bailey in his cute little glasses."
Bowen Yang in 'Wicked' (and beyond!)

Universal Pictures
Bowen Yang wears glasses on a regular basis. However, those stylish Ozian glasses absolutely deserve a shout-out.
Russell Tovey in 'Plainclothes.'

Lorton Entertainment
Most people still haven't seen Russell Tovey's performance as the irresistible Andrew in Plainclothes, but the gays will definitely lose their minds and be thirstier than ever for the actor. To be clear, Tovey also delivers a fantastic performance in the movie, but we're sticking to a very specific lens here.
Justice Smith in 'The Voyeurs.'

Amazon Studios
Between The Voyeurs, Generation, and many other projects, Justice Smith has been giving us a clear vision of just how cute he looks wearing glasses.
Manny Jacinto in 'Cora Bora.'

Brainstorm Media
Manny Jacinto has been a certified heartthrob for years starring on TV shows like The Good Place and more recent films such as Cora Bora. And yet, the force awakened — if you know what we mean — among fans after seeing him in the role of Qimir (a.k.a. The Stranger) on The Acolyte.
Dan Levy as our King Supreme of Eyewear.

Netflix
Dan Levy is the blueprint, the legend, and the reference for all guys wearing glasses in Hollywood, full stop.
Sterling K. Brown on 'This Is Us.'

NBC
One thing about Sterling K. Brown: the man has range. Best known for playing the many nuances of Randall Pearson on This Is Us, Brown also pulled off performances like the buttoned-up Christopher Darden on The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story (for which he won an Emmy Award) to the newly-out gay family member Cliff Ellison in American Fiction (which earned him an Academy Award nomination).
Drew Starkey in 'Queer.'

A24
The way Drew Starkey wore his Queer glasses — to play Eugene Allerton — had fans fawning themselves for the Outer Banks alum. To be fair, Daniel Craig (as Lee) also wore glasses in many scenes of this film, but his character looked like a mess at all times.
Conrad Ricamora on 'How to Get Away With Murder.'

ABC
If you didn't see the vision for Conrad Ricamora as the IT geek turned hacker Oliver Hampton on How to Get Away With Murder who eventually played Joel Kim Booster's love interest in Fire Island… well, you probably needed glasses, that's for sure!
David Corenswet in 'Superman' (2025).

Warner Bros. Pictures
DC Comics is introducing a brand-new Clark Kent on the big screen, David Corenswet, who's been cast as the titular character in the James Gunn-directed Superman film.
Donald Glover on 'Hot Ones.'

YouTube (@FirstWeFeast)
Donald Glover has officially abandoned his Childish Gambino persona in music, but the actor, rapper, writer, producer, and overall superstar has served several cute looks wearing glasses.
Daniel Radcliffe in 'Harry Potter.'

Warner Bros. Pictures
No one is holding any space for the Harry Potter authors… but Daniel Radcliffe's track record of allyship, empathy, and work ethic is remarkable. With that in mind, we couldn't possibly leave Harry Potter himself out of this list.
Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson… anywhere!

Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic
Don't be fooled by those Golden Globes: Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson would look this good wearing glasses pretty much anywhere, at any moment.
Jake Borelli on 'Grey's Anatomy.'

ABC
It's still hard to believe that fan-fave Levi Schmitt (played by Jake Borelli) is gone from Grey's Anatomy, but his eyewear game shall never be left out of this conversation.
Lenny Kravitz in the 'TK421' music video.

Roxie Records
Remember when Lenny Kravitz, then 59, suddenly dropped a music video for "TK421" in which he wore nothing but a pair of sunglasses? We do!
Taron Egerton in 'Kingsman: The Golden Circle.'

20th Century Fox
Between his role in the Kingsman franchise of films and portraying Elton John in the musician's biopic Rocketman, Taron Egerton can pull off a pair of glasses like nobody else.
Everyone in 'Top Gun: Maverick.'

Paramount Pictures
From Hollywood heartthrob Tom Cruise to Top Gun: Maverick newbies like Miles Teller and Glen Powell, there's just something about those Ray-Bans! The sequel also had a beach scene that knew exactly what it was doing, and the full-throttle banger "Hold My Hand" by Lady Gaga as its theme song. We were so back, indeed.
Winston Duke in 'Us.'

Universal Pictures
Jordan Peele's eerie Us had Winston Duke playing the father of a family that, while going on vacation, would soon actually meet their "Tethered" selves. Duke brought some big daddy energy to the character, glasses and all.













