- Photo:
- Fox
- Netflix
12 Nostalgic Heartthrobs That Kept Our Hearts Racing In 2024
Vote up the hunks from decades past that still get your heartbeat going.
It hasn't been all (or mostly) good news in 2024, but one thing we can all appreciate is the ‘90s/Y2K Heartthrob Renaissance. Stars whose magazine clippings we collaged on our wall as teens, like Josh Hartnett and Adam Brody, came back bigger than ever, while career heartthrobs like Rob Lowe, Shemar Moore, and Jake Gyllenhaal kept us googly-eyed for another year.
They may be rocking a few more grays than the last time we saw them, or even had major pivots in the roles they're taking, but these nostalgic hunks have aged like fine wine. More importantly, they still bring that je ne sais quoi that makes us fall in love with them a little bit more with each adorable promo interview, Instagram thirst trap, and dreamy romantic monologue. Vote up the crushes of decades past you still stand by in 2024.
- Photo:
- CBS
- CBS
First Won Our Hearts: Who can resist a suave yet sensitive bad-guy catcher with a heart of gold, a la Derek Morgan in Criminal Minds? If they look like Moore, the answer is no one.
Kept Them Throbbing: Graduated to show lead on S.W.A.T., where he continued to be especially swoon-worthy to anyone with a damsel-in-distress complex.
- Age: 54
- Birthplace: Oakland, California, USA
A timeless heartthrob?- Photo:
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- Warner Bros.
- Fox
First Won Our Hearts: Take your pick - as a quintessential brat packer, or perhaps as a member of the best looking male cast of all time, The Outsiders.
Kept Them Throbbing: In a heartthrob's bread and butter role, a firefighter/procedural drama lead on 9-1-1 Lone Star. Also of note, his Netflix series co-starring his son, Unstable.
- Age: 60
- Birthplace: Charlottesville, Virginia, USA
A timeless heartthrob?- Photo:
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- New Line Cinema
- Amazon FreeVee
First Won Our Hearts: As the tragically spurned "other guy” in The Notebook; no easy feat when the competition is Ryan Gosling's Noah.
Kept Them Throbbing: Marsden starred in 2024's Unfrosted (better known as “The Pop-Tart Movie”), but really won us with his self-deprecating comedic role in 2023's hidden camera show, Jury Duty.
- Age: 51
- Birthplace: Stillwater, Oklahoma, USA
A timeless heartthrob?- Photo:
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- The WB/Warner Bros.
- ABC
First Won Our Hearts: As fan favorite and rightful love triangle winner Pacey Witter on Dawson's Creek.
Kept Them Throbbing: As a silver-fox doc on Ryan Murphy's latest, Doctor Odyssey.
- Age: 46
- Birthplace: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
A timeless heartthrob?- Photo:
- Photo:
- The WB/Warner Bros.
- HBO
First Won Our Hearts: Guest starring on late ‘90s/early ’00s staples like Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Touched by an Angel.
Kept Them Throbbing: Pascal has been the man of the hour in 2023 and 2024, sending the internet into a “daddy” meme frenzy. Also almost certain to make us feel things in the much-anticipated Gladiator II.
- Age: 49
- Birthplace: Santiago, Chile
A timeless heartthrob?- Photo:
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- Buena Vista Pictures Distribution
- FX
First Won Our Hearts: War has never looked so good as it did on Hartnett in 2001's Pearl Harbor and Black Hawk Down.
Kept Them Throbbing: Continuing his comeback in 2024 with a guest appearance on The Bear and a villainous turn in Trap.
- Age: 46
- Birthplace: St. Paul, Minnesota, USA
A timeless heartthrob?- Photo:
