An Ode to the Hot Movie Dads of 2018

It’s no secret that Cosmopolitan loves a hot, fictional dad, which is why I’m pleased to tell you that 2018 was another stellar year for this breed. For some actors, it was the first time they had ever been called “dad” on screen. For others, it wasn’t until this year that something clicked (just the right amount of wrinkles? The perfect storyline? Hair gel?) and their membership card for the Hot Movie Dads club finally arrived.

Below, in no particular order, the movie dads who made 2018 extremely nice to look at:

1. John Krasinski, A Quiet Place

Paramount Pictures

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It might be the beard, or the fact that John’s a real-life father-of two. In A Quiet Place, the actor totally owned this role of a man who’s simply trying to protect his family from scary blind monsters all while staying quiet because of the monsters’ insane sense of hearing. Honestly, who wouldn’t want to run through an empty town, often in the dark, with someone who looks like this?

2. John Cho, Searching

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If anyone can hold a movie that plays entire on computer screens, it’s the guy who once played Harold in those Harold & Kumar films; he’s since blossomed into the quintessential movie dad who just wants to find his missing daughter while dealing with the intricacies of internet culture mixed with shady teens.

3. Jake Gyllenhaal, Wildlife

Wildlife is depressing yet gorgeous. Quiet yet stimulating. And while Carey Mulligan is the true star of the film, Jake’s (limited) scenes as a father are heartbreaking to watch. To call him hot would be wrong, given the heaviness of this movie (about the disintegration of a marriage with a forest fire in 1960s Montana as a backdrop). But Jake’s role is a nice addition to his dad narrative as of late: in 2017, he told PEOPLE of his strong desire to have “a family of my own,” which made the internet lose its damn mind; that same year, he starred as a loving dad who reads poetry to his daughter in an ad for the Calvin Klein fragrance Eternity. We get it, Jake. You’re going to make a great dad. In real life. Someday.

 

4. Josh Duhamel, Love, Simon

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As the father of a teenager who comes out in Love, Simon, Josh is the quintessential cool dad who tries his best to keep up with the youngs. Based on this above clip alone, Josh should have a medal for making people cry (for telling his son he wouldn’t change a thing about him) and laugh in the same clip (the Grindr joke feels dated but still, so sweet).

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5. John Corbett, To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before

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By now, you must be thinking, Jeez, there were a lot of actors with names starting with the letter J who played dads in 2018… Well, yes, and John Corbett was one of them. The man who once played Aidan on Sex and the City is now much older, wiser, and a gynecologist with three daughters in To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before. If that’s not impressive, he’s also the type of dad who’s supportive of one daughter going abroad for school while handing out condoms like candy to the other. He’s also a fan of giving advice while casually eavesdropping on the stairs with a glass of chardonnay.

 

6. Henry Golding, A Simple Favor

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Henry didn’t have a lot of “dad” moments in this thriller (since the film was more about the showdown between Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively’s characters), but his efforts are appreciated nonetheless. And let’s not forget about the time he revealed his wife basically cancelled his Facebook existence after he posted a family photo. He can’t even be a dad publicly. That’s kinda… hot.

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7. Ryan Gosling, First Man

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This Neil Armstrong biopic proves that RyGos is a real-life chameleon who can make anything look hot. Anything, including vomiting after being spun around in a giant training machine. Anything, including being 99 percent covered up by a space suit after landing on the moon. Traditional hot ‘Gos aside, the actor was best when he shared scenes with his onscreen children. Did anyone else get the sweats while watching a stoic Ryan tell the kids there was no guarantee he was going to return from space alive?

8. Sterling K. Brown, Black Panther

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Even though he did a Very Bad Thing in Black Panther (going behind the king’s back to steal vibranium for the bad guys) and only had about five minutes on screen, Sterling was a beautiful sight. BRB getting a little emotional thinking about his performance and thinking about Randall Pearson from This Is Us because Randall would never betray family like this.

9. The dads in Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again

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Yes, the storyline was cheesy and the dance sequences were basically hot brie from the oven, but Colin Firth, Pierce Brosnan, and Stellan Skarsgard gave the long-awaited Mamma Mia! sequel life, even though Meryl Streep stole the show in the final act.

10. Chris Pine, A Wrinkle in Time and Outlaw King

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Chris had DDD – Double Daddy Duty – in 2018, playing a dad in Ava DuVernay’s adaptation of A Wrinkle in Time and Netflix’s period drama Outlaw King. One movie starred Oprah. The other starred Chris Pine’s penis. Both were fine reminders that Chris should make more movies where he gets to play a dad—and occasionally, take his pants off.

11. Michael B. Jordan, Creed II

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While the plot of the Creed sequel starring Michael B. Jordan is ridiculously flawed, there are some things you can still appreciate: 1) Adonis’ abs and 2) his scenes as someone who’s about to become a dad and the subsequent scenes of him as a dad. The only problem is the film doesn’t contain enough of the latter, and trust me, there are a lot of shirtless scenes in this movie.

Bonus: Bradley Cooper, A Star Is Born

Warner Bros.

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If Bradley wins a major award for his performance as Jackson Maine, he better thank his fluffy co-star and real-life doggo Charlie the goldendoodle, whose role in the film made it possible for Jackson to be a dad figure. Seriously, if you had dry eyes when Jackson fed Charlie a juicy steak before the saddest scene of A Star Is Born, you have no heart.