Rory Scovel Leads a New Generation of “Sneaky Sexy” Leading Men

Rory Scovel’s casting as the romantic lead in the Amy Schumer rom-com, I Feel Pretty, is the confirmation of a new trend: that of the accessible, approachable, and in other words, average leading man.

Now, “average” can sound like a harsh word — just ask the beautiful famous women that have been called it plenty of times on the internet. But here, it’s actually an advancement in the rom-com genre. Gone are the days of hunky Hugh Grant and gorgeous Ryan Gosling. Anyone who has spent 5 minutes swiping on Tinder knows to never trust such good looks: it’s either a total douchebag or a fake account (which is even worse) behind pictures that handsome. Basically, not the types to have the mental capacity or desire to engage with a woman whose head injury leads to an inflated confidence, as Schumer’s character Renee does in the new film.

As Ethan, Scovel is drawing comparisons to Schumer’s previous Trainwreck love interest, Bill Hader, and Bridesmaids‘ Chris O’Dowd. The moment it became clear that O’Dowd’s Officer Rhodes was more than just the guy pulling Kristen Wiig’s Annie over for a broken tail light and might be the cure to her broken heart, audiences were like, wait a sec, who is this guy? He was tall and sweet but it wasn’t immediately apparent that this was the guy Annie and audiences alike would be swooning over within the hour. Now, of course, we can’t even imagine a time we weren’t crushing on Chris.

And while Scovel’s an established stand-up comedian, he’s also appeared in Ground Floor, The House, and Those Who Can’t, but not so much as the dreamy dude of the group. In fact, British actor Rafe Spall was supposed to fill the role of Ethan, but Scovel may have been the more effective actor for the part here. He feels and (tbh) looks like someone you might know in your real life, the kind of guy that you could see in a whole new light after he makes a cheesy joke — which is only appropriate for a movie emphasizing that it’s what’s on the inside that counts.

Because there’s certainly something to be said for “sneaky sexy.” If anyone wants to see “obviously sexy,” the internet and Instagram have plenty of examples for you at your fingertips. But there’s something much more thrilling about sneaky sexy, and that’s what we now look for in romantic comedies. You want it to feel like real, exciting love: a guy that comes out of nowhere and gives you butterflies you weren’t expecting. Household names have done that plenty of times on-screen, but when a new realistic lead pops up in a movie, it feels like discovering a new hot guy at the office or at your local Starbucks. Your interest is piqued.

This is not to discredit eye candy: they will always have a place in our hearts, too. But as dating in real life gets harder and more complicated, despite the apps and technological advances that claim to make it easier, people are even more eager to find someone who is cute and nice and loyal instead of the one with the perfect job and body and head of hair. Of course, we all have our tastes, but recent rom-coms have understood the value of a man who’s a bit more unassuming and not too intimidating and why that might appeal to female viewers much more now than it has in the past. It’s not that we’re settling, it’s that we’re readjusting our priories. This is now successfully being reflected in the films we watch, the ones that understand it’s the love that’s aspirational, not the man.