From Michael J. to Justin Biebs: a brief history of Canadian teen heartthrobs
From Michael J. to Justin Biebs: a brief history of Canadian teen heartthrobs
Homegrown teen heartthrob Cory Monteith (better known as Finn from Glee) is hosting this year’s Gemini Awards (November 13), we assume in the hopes of giving the ceremony a ratings boost among 11- to 16-year-old girls. But adorable as Monteith is, he’s not the first Canadian lad to make girls the world over swoon. Here’s a little retrospective of all the boys we’ve loved before, from Michael J. to Justin Biebs.
Read More
- 45549
- (Image: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/watchwithkristin/">Kirstin Dos Santos</a>)
- <strong>Cory Monteith</strong><br /> The 28-year-old Calgary native has had a huge couple of years. Two seasons as the sensitive football star Finn Hudson on <em>Glee</em> have made him a bona fide star, and a controversial <em>GQ</em> cover shoot with co-stars Dianna Agron and Lea Michele have only increased the intensity of the spotlight.
- https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/cory.jpg
- https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/cory.jpg
- https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/cory.jpg
- 320
- 293
- https://torontolife.com/city/from-michael-j-to-justin-biebs-a-brief-history-of-canadian-teen-heartthrobs/slide/cory/
- cory
- 0
- 0
- 45540
- (Image: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/53344659@N05/">Sheilapic76</a>)
- <strong>Justin Bieber</strong><br /> It’s like he’s a genetically engineered teen dreamboat. Those girlish eyes, that silken voice, that perfectly coiffed swoosh—<a href="http://www.torontolife.com/daily/hype/prime-time/2010/10/20/watch-gordon-pinsent-read-justin-biebers-memoir/">as Gordon Pinsent so aptly put it</a>, I wish I was you.
- https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/justin-bieber.jpg
- https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/justin-bieber.jpg
- https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/justin-bieber.jpg
- 320
- 298
- https://torontolife.com/city/from-michael-j-to-justin-biebs-a-brief-history-of-canadian-teen-heartthrobs/slide/justin-bieber-2/
- justin-bieber-2
- 0
- 0
- 45541
- (Image: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/lunchboxstudios/">Lunchbox LP</a>)
- <strong>Drake</strong><br /> One second he's Jimmy Brooks on <em>Degrassi: The Next Generation</em>, the next he's debuting his first studio album at number one on the Billboard 200. What's not to like?
- https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/drake.jpg
- https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/drake.jpg
- https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/drake.jpg
- 320
- 213
- https://torontolife.com/city/from-michael-j-to-justin-biebs-a-brief-history-of-canadian-teen-heartthrobs/slide/drake-4/
- drake-4
- 0
- 0
- 45542
- (Image: From <em>Star Wars</em>)
- <strong>Hayden Christiansen</strong><br /> Raised in Thornhill, Christiansen got his break when George Lucas cast him over such big names as Leonardo DiCaprio and Ryan Phillippe as a young Anakin Skywalker in the <em>Star Wars</em> prequel series (2002, 2005). Christiansen suffers from the sort of modelesque bone structure and piercing blue eyes that might relegate a lesser performer to the small screen, but he's more than a handsome Lucas muse. As disgraced journalist Stephen Glass in 2003's <em>Shattered Glass</em>, Christiansen won the critical acclaim that eluded him as Anakin.
- https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/HaydenChristensen.jpg
- https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/HaydenChristensen.jpg
- https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/HaydenChristensen.jpg
- 320
- 290
- https://torontolife.com/city/from-michael-j-to-justin-biebs-a-brief-history-of-canadian-teen-heartthrobs/slide/haydenchristensen/
- haydenchristensen
- 0
- 0
- 45545
- (Image: From <em>The Notebook</em>)
- <strong>Ryan Gosling</strong><br /> Though he started out as a romantic lead in flicks like 2004's <em>The Notebook</em>, Gosling quickly proved himself to be what Bieber-loving teens disdainfully refer to as a “real actor” by playing a neo-Nazi <em>(The Believer)</em> and a drug-addicted high-school teacher <em>(Half Nelson).</em>
- https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/ryan-gosling.jpg
- https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/ryan-gosling.jpg
- https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/ryan-gosling.jpg
- 320
- 248
- https://torontolife.com/city/from-michael-j-to-justin-biebs-a-brief-history-of-canadian-teen-heartthrobs/slide/ryan-gosling-2/
- ryan-gosling-2
- 0
- 0
- 45544
- (Image: From <em>X-Men Origins: Wolverine</em>)
- <strong>Ryan Reynolds</strong><br /> While his abs have become a bit ridiculous in recent years, the B.C. boy's portrayal of a college kid gone wild in 2002's <em>National Lampoon's Van Wilder</em> set the tone for a comedy-action-adventure career. His classic schoolboy good looks have landed him legions of adoring fans, but also the attention and eventual hand in marriage of one of the hottest babes in Hollywood—that's right, we're talking about Scarlett Johansson. Seriously, though, Ryan; tone it down with the abs—there's washboard, and then there's freaky.
- https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/ryan-reynolds.jpg
- https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/ryan-reynolds.jpg
- https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/ryan-reynolds.jpg
- 320
- 263
- https://torontolife.com/city/from-michael-j-to-justin-biebs-a-brief-history-of-canadian-teen-heartthrobs/slide/ryan-reynolds/
- ryan-reynolds
- 0
- 0
- 45543
- (Image: From <em>Felicity</em>)
- <strong>Scott Speedman</strong><br /> Another Toronto-born babe, <strong>Scott Speedman</strong><strong> </strong>got his first break on <em>Speaker's Corner</em>; the cheeky teen made an on-air request to be cast as Robin in the new <em>Batman</em> movie. The part went to Chris O'Donnell, but the stunt worked—Speedman got some bit parts before landing the role that would cement his dreamboat status. As brooding college freshman Ben in the TV drama <em>Felicity </em>(1998–2002), Speedman tortured Keri Russell's poor teenage heart. Not content to be cast as just a sexy smile and killer set of cheekbones, Speedman went on to make a name for himself on the CanCon scene, appearing in the critically acclaimed <em>My Life Without Me </em>and this year’s <em>Barney's Version</em>.
- https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/scott-speedman.jpg
- https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/scott-speedman.jpg
- https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/scott-speedman.jpg
- 320
- 270
- https://torontolife.com/city/from-michael-j-to-justin-biebs-a-brief-history-of-canadian-teen-heartthrobs/slide/scott-speedman-2/
- scott-speedman-2
- 0
- 0
- 45546
- (Image: From <em>Dawson's Creek</em>)
- <strong>Joshua Jackson</strong><br /> Vancouver boy Jackson first became a big screen hit as Charlie in 1992's <em>The Mighty Ducks,</em> but it was as troublemaking, teacher-shtupping teen Pacey on <em>Dawson's Creek</em> that he infiltrated our living rooms and bedrooms.
- https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/joshua-jackson.jpg
- https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/joshua-jackson.jpg
- https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/joshua-jackson.jpg
- 320
- 409
- https://torontolife.com/city/from-michael-j-to-justin-biebs-a-brief-history-of-canadian-teen-heartthrobs/slide/joshua-jackson/
- joshua-jackson
- 0
- 0
- 45558
- (Image: From <em>Speed</em>)
- <strong>Keanu Reeves </strong><br /> His turn as Ted in 1989's <em>Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure</em> may not have set teen hearts aflutter, but put this Torontonian in a flak vest on a speeding bus and call him Officer Jack Tavern and you can almost hear the hearts breaking.
- https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/Keanu-Reeves.jpg
- https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/Keanu-Reeves.jpg
- https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/Keanu-Reeves.jpg
- 300
- 440
- https://torontolife.com/city/from-michael-j-to-justin-biebs-a-brief-history-of-canadian-teen-heartthrobs/slide/keanu-reeves/
- keanu-reeves
- 0
- 0
- 45547
- (Image: From <em>The Lost Boys</em>)
- <strong>Corey Haim </strong><br /> This '80s teen idol and Torontonian was troubled by his early fame, but <a href="http://www.torontolife.com/daily/hype/rip/2010/03/10/corey-haim-1972%E2%80%932010-death-of-%E2%80%9980s-icon/">we'll always remember him </a>in his role alongside that other Corey in the 1987 vampire flick <em>The Lost Boys</em>. Haim had a <em>Tiger Beat</em> cover boy softness—rosy cheeked, with a child-like mop of blond hair when stardom hit—but with an edge. He possessed a self-assuredness better suited to someone twice his age and embraced his heartthrob status while others of his generation shied away from it, confronting fans and critics alike with a direct gaze and trademark lopsided smile.
- https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/Corey-Haim.jpg
- https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/Corey-Haim.jpg
- https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/Corey-Haim.jpg
- 300
- 400
- https://torontolife.com/city/from-michael-j-to-justin-biebs-a-brief-history-of-canadian-teen-heartthrobs/slide/corey-haim/
- corey-haim
- 0
- 0
- 45548
- (Image: from <em>Back to the Future</em>)
- <strong>Michael J. Fox</strong><br /> No one will ever replace the shorty-pants who played lovable conservative Alex Keaton on <em>Family Ties</em> and charming troublemaker Marty McFly in <em>Back to the Future</em>. With his cheeky confidence and effortlessly suave way with the ladies, all packed into a pair of tapered Levi's, women of the '80s couldn't get enough of this boy from Burnaby (even as a hairy beast in <em>Teenwolf</em>).
- https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/michael-j-fox.jpg
- https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/michael-j-fox.jpg
- https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/michael-j-fox.jpg
- 320
- 292
- https://torontolife.com/city/from-michael-j-to-justin-biebs-a-brief-history-of-canadian-teen-heartthrobs/slide/michael-j-fox/
- michael-j-fox
- 0
- 0
![](http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https://torontolife.com/city/from-michael-j-to-justin-biebs-a-brief-history-of-canadian-teen-heartthrobs/&title=From Michael J. to Justin Biebs: a brief history of Canadian teen heartthrobs&picture=https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/cory.jpg&description=[caption id="attachment_45549" align="alignleft" width="320" caption="Glee star Cory Monteith will host the Geminis"][/caption]
Homegrown teen heartthrob Cory Monteith (better known as Finn from Glee) is hosting this year's Gemini Awards (November 13), we assume in the hopes of giving the ceremony a ratings boost among 11- to 16-year-old girls. But adorable as Monteith is, he's not the first Canadian lad to make girls the world over swoon. Here's a little retrospective of all the boys we've loved before, from Michael J. to Justin Biebs.
Begin the slide show >>
[gallery order="DESC" columns="7"]){kind=link}