The terms "heartthrob" and "movie star" often go hand in hand, as Hollywood was built on stories of young, attractive people. In most live-action projects on both the big and small screens, there is usually an actor meant to be the main eye candy, or at the very least, be pleasant for the audience to look at. Although this approach to casting is without a doubt shallow, as actors should be hired for their skill of the craft, heartthrobs still exist in modern cinema. But, thankfully, many viewers are sensitive enough not to objectify actors.

Hollywood heartthrob culture reached a fever pitch in the 2000s, when most films premiered exclusively in theaters and people still read magazines detailing the lives of their favorite celebrities. While pop culture has largely moved away from declaring which actors receive heartthrob statuses, it is essential to reflect on a time when an actor could...