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)

Midweek Mancandy: Chris Evans

In honor of the new "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" poster (which you can see here) and upcoming teaser trailer (due online TOMORROW!), we just had to feature the superhero himself ... Chris Evans!

Let's make sure we have a view of his best side:

Oh ... sorry, you wanted to see his face?

(Photo credit)

Well, that ain't bad either.

Midweek Mancandy: Zac Efron

This morning, Internet-land woke up to some headlines about a red-band trailer featuring a certain former "High School Musical" star and his bare butt.

And while the movie, "That Awkward Moment," looks pretty terrible, there is a shot or two in the trailer that perfectly features just why our Midweek Mancandy for this week is ...

(Photo Credit)

Zac Efron!

Midweek Mancandy: George Clooney

Another Wednesday means it's time for a steaming plate of delicious, nutritious Mancandy! And today, we're featuring a super-sexy man who is in a film, opening Friday, that is getting some fantastic buzz.

(Photo Credit)

Star of "Gravity" George Clooney!

Midweek Mancandy: Chris Hemsworth ... and a bonus!

Ah, it's Wednesday, which means it's time for another edition of Midweek Mancandy.

Like last week, we are going to feature yet another gorgeous Australian hunk well-known for starring in movies based on comic books.

That's right, this week's Mancandy selection is ...

(Photo Credit)

Chris Hemsworth!

Midweek Man Candy: Hugh Jackman

There is something exceptionally wonderful about a man who can be simultaneously well-known for playing a huge comic-book action star and be a sexy musical theater nerd and do a smattering of "normal" movie roles exceptionally well, too. And that is why there is no other choice for this week's Midweek Mancandy other than the great ...

(Photo Credit)

Hugh Jackman!

Jackman is currently the star of "Prisoners," a thriller that opens later this week (a review will be posted this weekend on the blog!), but his work in the past year or so shows Jackman's true range as an actor - not to mention his delicious mancandy side. 

Earlier this summer, Jackman starred in "The Wolverine." Wolverine is a recurring role for him - he'll be back on the big screen as Logan in "X-Men: Days of Futures Past" next year - and he is wonderful at it. Not only does he look fantastic as the muscly mutant, but he also puts a lot of soul into the character.

Last winter, Jackman played Jean Valjean in "Les Miserables," showing off his musical cred, too. In fact, Jackman is a Tony award-winning actor, having won for "The Boy From Oz," but he made his mark in the musical theater world as Curly in the Royal National Theatre's production of "Oklahoma" in 1998.

And, of course, Jackman has done a smattering of other films in a variety of genres, including action ("Real Steel"), romance ("Australia," "Kate and Leopold") and drama ("The Prestige").

Jackman is clearly extremely talented, and he's also, let's face it, downright gorgeous. What's not to love?

Midweek Mancandy: John Barrowman

This weekend, "Torchwood: Miracle Day," which aired on Starz two years ago, airs on BBC America, so that seems like a totally appropriate time to feature a Pop Tarts favorite on Midweek Mancandy: "Torchwood" star John Barrowman!

(Photo source)

Barrowman is best known to fangirls and fanboys around the globe as Captain Jack Harkness, a rogue time-traveling agent on "Doctor Who" and its spinoff series, "Torchwood." He also appeared as Malcolm Merlyn on The CW's "Arrow," and he's done a variety of screen and stage roles, written books (with the help of his sister, Carole), delighted fans at conventions, campaigned for gay rights and just generally been completely and utterly awesome in pretty much every way.

It doesn't hurt that's he's also incredibly good-looking. *swoon*

Here at the Pop Tarts, we've been big fans of Barrowman since his first appearance on "Doctor Who," and we've followed his career with delight (and a lot of fangirl squealing). He's a great actor and has given a lot of depth to Captain Jack Harkness, who is a very complicated character, and was a delight as the evil Malcolm Merlyn, but we also love his offscreen persona. He's very accessible to fans and clearly delighted by his fame and his fans. 

If you want to get a feel for Barrowman's acting skills right now, check out BBC America's site - in anticipation of the "Miracle Day" premiere, they're streaming full episodes of the epic "Torchwood" miniseries "Children of Earth." Not only is is a fantastic story, but it also features a great performance by Peter Capaldi, who is taking over as the Twelfth Doctor on "Doctor Who."

Midweek Mancandy: Idris Elba

"Luther" started its season three miniseries run on BBC America last night, so who else could we possibly feature as our Midweek Mancandy than the incredibly gorgeous and massively talented ...

(Photo credit: Tom & Lorenzo)

Idris Elba!

Elba plays DCI John Luther, a volatile, dedicated and obsessive police detective on the BBC show "Luther." He is just downright intense in the role, and nobody else could play him like Elba can.

Elba was also in this summer's "Pacific Rim," playing Stacker Pentecost, the man in charge of the Jaeger program as the human race made its last attempt to defeat the kaiju invasion. He was your basic tough military man on the surface, but underneath there was a huge range of emotions, including a tender side. He was nothing short of fantastic in that movie.

Elba is also well-known for his roles on "The Wire" and in "Prometheus" and "Thor." Oh, and he's also known for being incredibly good-looking in addition to being an excellent actor. He's the perfect mix: He's incredibly talented, bringing depth to a variety of different interesting roles, and he's hot, too.

Idris Elba, we salute you!

Midweek Mancandy: Matt Damon

This week, we would like to salute the delectable star of the upcoming movie "Elysium":

(Photo from Facebook.com/Elysium)

That's right. Our Mancandy this week is Matt Damon!

Here's the thing about Matt Damon - he's an awesome, diverse actor, and he's almost chameleonlike. He is pretty famous for being Jason Bourne, and he was great in the Bourne movies. But he's done a smattering of everything. He does well in comedy and drama as well as action. He's currently nominated for an Emmy for his role in "Behind the Candelabra," and it's a well-deserved nomination - he was great as Liberace's naive young lover, Scott Thorson. The thing is, it's sometimes hard to remember what movies he's been in because his roles are all so different from each other. On the screen, he doesn't read as "Matt Damon" - he becomes the character.

The other thing about Matt Damon is that he can be quite cute and quite hot, sometimes at the same time, and sometimes one or the other. We love the "Elysium" look, with muscles and the shaved head. He looks tougher and buffer than he has in a while. Trust me, we approve of this current Matt Damon look! (I mean, look at him!) But he's pretty good-looking no matter what. 

Just take another look at that photo from "Elysium" ... you don't have to wonder why he's this week's Midweek Mancandy!