Call me old fashioned, but it feels like I can’t count on a man to be in multiple movies spanning across genres. I don’t expect much from men, but I at least hoped they would’ve understood the sanctity of being a multi-faceted actor. I am referring to the lack of notable male actors as leading men in romantic roles.
While it is a good thing that undiscovered actors are being presented in new shows and movies, there is a lack of variety in faces seen on the big screen. Before botox and streaming services, it was likely to catch two big Hollywood stars paired in a rom-com. Sometimes, they’d appear together in more than one. It was also common to have some sort of crossover in genres or an actor in more than one rom-com within a few years.
In the early 2000s, one of the faces that dominated the market was Chad Michael Murray. His earliest notable film is Freaky Friday (2003), where he starred alongside Lindsay Lohan. The following year, he was in A Cinderella Story with Hillary Duff. To top it off, he was in one of the biggest CW shows at the time, One Tree Hill (2003).Â
Another notable actor was heartthrob Zac Efron. After getting his breakout role as Troy Bolton in High School Musical, he went on to star in various films. His romance films include 17 Again (2009), Charlie St. Cloud (2010), The Lucky One (2012), and That Awkward Moment (2014), to name a few. Zac Efron was everywhere, and even if someone wasn’t watching what he was in, they were sure to hear about it.
The last standout man was Ryan Gosling. He was put on the map after The Notebook (2004), which included Rachel McAdams and James Marsden. In 2011, he appeared in Crazy, Stupid, Love. While his romance roles have been limited since then, he has been in other genres. The same goes for Chad Michael Murray and Zac Efron.Â
Murray played a role in House of Wax (2005), a slasher film and went back to the CW to guest star in Riverdale. He reunited with his Freaky Friday cast in Freakier Friday, and worked on a Christmas romance movie in 2024.Â
As for Efron, he has dipped his toes in musicals outside of Disney Channel, in the films Hairspray (2007) and The Greatest Showman (2017). In 2023, he stole the scene as professional wrestler Kevin Von Erich in The Iron Claw.Â
Gosling is no stranger to musicals as per his work in La La Land (2016) and of course played Ken in Barbie (2023). His most recent film Project Hail Mary generated lots of buzz earlier this year.
So where are the actors today that we can see across the board? Fortunately, they are not gone, but they are very few far in between.Â
There are two great leading men that have appeared in a range of films and television at the start of their careers until now. Those men are Austin Abrams and Nicholas Galitzine.
Austin Abrams’s first big film was Paper Towns in 2015. Though his most recent romantic works were in 2020 (Dash & Lily, Chemical Hearts), he has dabbled in a coming of age film (Dude), as well as a teen dark comedy (Do Revenge). His recent works, Weapons and Resident Evil, dive into the horror genre of films, which have generated positive reactions from critics. Of course, he is greatly noted as Ethan in Euphoria. In the realm of crossovers with actors we know, he starred alongside Lili Reinhart in Chemical Hearts, Camila Mendes in Do Revenge, and Zendaya in Euphoria.Â
Nicholas Galitzine is on a similar run. Just before breaking out, he starred in the Prime Video musical Cinderella with singer Camila Cabello. His break came from the controversial political romance film Purple Hearts with Disney darling Sofia Carson. Nicholas starred in the satirical comedy Bottoms (2023), romantic comedy Red, White, & Royal Blue, and even The Sheep Detectives (2026). He also tried his hand at being a superhero in Masters of the Universe this year.
These two actors have range on their resume, and yet, they are not considered in the same high regards as limited-genre actors such as Tom Holland and Timothée Chalamet (in recent years). At the same time, actors like Chalamet and Holland seem to be comfortable and settled with their lane, and don’t seem intent on breaking out of it anytime soon.
Overall, it would be great if actors could see and choose the value of being multi-faceted in general, but especially in the market of romance. I no longer wish to see the same actor doing work that’s the same thing, just in a different font. Wonders would be worked if they took a shot at the romance genre, and the genre would rebuild and heal. The excitement of seeing two beloved actors from different sides of the industry come together in a spark of passion is deeply missed, and brought a sense of community in the viewing experience.Â