Midweek Mancandy Rewind: Martin Freeman & Benedict Cumberbatch

This Midweek Mancandy post was originally posted on July 20, 2011, (you can see the original here) but with "The Hobbit: The Search for More Money The Desolation of Smaug" coming out this weekend and the new season of "Sherlock" premiering in the U.S. in just over a month, it seemed appropriate to trot out this old favorite, written shortly after the Pop Tarts discovered "Sherlock." 

And so, we give you ... Midweek Mancandy: Martin Freeman & Benedict Cumberbatch.

(Photo from Entertainment Weekly)

In the last couple weeks, both of us Tarts discovered "Sherlock," a contemporary update of the Sherlock Holmes stories. It aired on the BBC and PBS (as Masterpiece Mystery), and is instant streaming on Netflix.

Incidentally, we also discovered a couple more tasty, if rather quirky, mancandies: Martin Freeman and Benedict Cumberbatch.

(Martin Freeman - Photo from Wikipedia)

Martin Freeman plays Dr. John Watson on "Sherlock," and might know him from "Love, Actually," where you get to see him in all his glory; the original version of "The Office" and "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy." He is also going to play Bilbo Baggins in "The Hobbit" which, let's face it, is awesome.

Freeman is not movie-star hot, but he is attractive and a good actor. He is not particularly tall, coming in at 5'7". He also just kind of looks like a normal dude. As Kel says, he really looks like the kind of guy you would know from work and think is pretty cute. He isn't movie star hot, but he is real life hot.

(Benedict Cumberbatch - Photo from Wikipedia)

Benedict Cumberbatch, who plays Sherlock Holmes, is his own brand of hot. (He also has one of the best names in the history of names.) Cumberbatch has had small parts in lots of movies including "Atonement" and "The Other Boleyn Girl," but really, "Sherlock" has been his breakthrough. He's also going to join his costar in "The Hobbit," albeit in a couple of smaller roles, as the voices of Smaug the dragon and a necromancer.

Cumberbatch is hot because he has such a unique look. He has what Kel describes, correctly, as an other-worldly look. And he has the most amazing cheekbones. He looks exotic and unique and is just enticing. His look and energy in "Sherlock" make him extra attractive - he is great in the role of Sherlock Holmes and there's something mysterious and wonderful about him.