8 From the 80s: Hunks

Each installment Mike will look back to the decade of decadence and provide a list of eight things – from movies to music to memorable moments and everything in-between.  Keep in mind, this isn’t a TOP 8 list and any numerical notations are included to merely designate one item from another. Because, frankly, how can rate one thing over another when it came from a decade as totally tubular as the 80s?

80s Hunks

A few weeks ago I did a list of eight of the hottest babes from the 80s, so it's only fair that I do up a list of hunks. Like the gals, there were a lot of guys who could have been included on this list and probably would make it if I made this list a year ago or a year from now.  Anyway... let's hop to it!

8. Andrew McCarthy

He had sex with a Mannequin, spent a Weekend at Bernie’s and looked Pretty in Pink (well, okay, Molly Ringwald looked pretty in that last one, but you get the drift).  McCarthy, who had an innocent look with a wry smile, had a career that includes television as well as the stage and, while he peaked in the 80s, he’s still active as both an actor and director.

7. Michael Schoeffling

Mike was Jake Ryan in Sixteen Candles.  His career didn’t last too long, however, ending seven years after his most memorable role and included films like Vision Quest and Mermaids (which was a 90s movie and so we shouldn’t really count it here).  I suspect Molly Ringwald’s Samantha wasn’t the only writing "I ♥ Jake Ryan" on her notebook.

6. Rick Springfield

An accomplished musician, singer and actor, Springfield is best known for his Grammy winning hit 'Jessie’s Girl' and as Dr. Noah Drake on the soap opera General Hospital. And while he pined for his best friend’s girl in song, I’m sure he had no shortage of women in Port Charles or in person at his concerts.

5. Mel Gibson

Before he was “Mad Mel”, he was Hollywood Heartthrob #1 in the 80s. Named People magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive in 1985, Gibson won hearts as Max Rockatansky in Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior and Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome as well as Martin Riggs in Lethal Weapon 1 and 2.

4. Rob Lowe

Starring in 1981’s The Outsiders, Lowe was quickly anointed a star (along with the rest of the cast).  His wry smile and good looks helped gain more fans, young and old(er) as he turned in performances in hits like Oxford Blues, St. Elmo’s Fire and About Last Night.

3. Matt Dillon

Dillon started the 80s as villain Melvin Moody in My Bodyguard but that didn’t stop him from becoming a teen idol.  Follow ups The Flamingo Kid, Rumble Fish, and The Outsiders solidified his position as an 80s hunk. Dillon closed the 80s out with Drugstore Cowboy in which he played a drug addict.  Seems like someone wanted to shake their image up a little.

2. Kurt Russell

Before he was an 80s Hunk, Russell was already a star. Most notable were his outings as Dexter Riley in three live action Disney films in the 70s. It was 1981’s Escape From New York that catapulted him into super stardom and turns in The Thing, Silkwood, Big Trouble in Little China, Tequila Sunrise, and Tango & Cash that showed his range as an actor in addition to cementing his spot as an 80s hunk.

1. Tom Cruise

While Taps and The Outsiders (that movie AGAIN!) preceded it, it was Risky Business that truly put Cruise on the map.  From the performance in his underwear to the steamy sex scenes, Cruise smiled his way into hearts around the world.  His star only grew brighter and hotter with films like All the Right Moves, Top Gun and the Color of Money.