Gushing over celeb crushes: The holy trinity of dystopian movie men

Many of my friends will quickly agree that I have horrible taste in men at school. Though they may be right in a couple of cases, NO ONE will ever be able to challenge my taste in celebrities. My favorite celebrity crushes, who all happen to star in dystopian movies, are considerate, funny, bold and humble both as fictional characters and in real life. 

1. Theo James (ignore that he’s 40 now, it doesn’t matter)

I didn’t know what a crush was until I was 12 — that was when I watched “Divergent” for the first time and saw the beauty that is Four, a protagonist played by Theo James. There was just something about his brooding, mysterious aura that captured my attention so strongly. He gets bonus points for helping tear down a tyrannical government, too.

Four is such a likable character simply because when he’s first introduced, he already gives off a mysterious vibe. Every girl wants a guy who has a soft spot for them, especially someone who is closed-off to everyone else. Under an oppressive government targeting “divergents” — those who don’t conform to society based on an aptitude test — Four and Tris needed each other more than anything, making their relationship even more special. I have watched the first movie AT LEAST 10 times, and every time I watch it, I fall more in love with Theo James. My hours spent scraping through the 2014 YouTube press interviews of him may never be won back, but they were totally worth it.

Theo James also keeps his personal life very private and doesn’t have common social media platforms like Instagram, Tiktok or Snapchat. For me, this removes so many potential red flags because it gives the impression that he isn’t one to overshare or get caught up in fame. And not that I need to mention it because it’s obvious, but HE IS JACKED. It’s ironic because Theo James was playing a character named “Four” and Four is 18. I am 18 and I was born on the fourth. Fate??

2. Tom Blyth

When I first saw the young Coriolanus Snow edits on my TikTok For You Page even before watching the “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” (the prequel to the “Hunger Games”), I thought Tom Blyth was attractive. I know that Snow turns out to be responsible for the murder of thousands of innocent children, but before he became the villain  (and honestly, even after), he was SO FINE. It showed me that maybe I am indeed incapable of liking a man without thousands of red flags. Though it’s been months since I watched the movie, I still scour the internet for YouTube clips of Blyth interacting with Rachel Zegler and the rest of the cast of “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.”

There is one particular video from the movie press tour that I’m sure many other Tom Blyth-obsessed fanatics have seen: a clip of Blyth putting a rose in Zegler’s hair as a reinterpretation of one of the scenes in the movie. In the clip, he asks her “Do you mind?” before gently placing the flower behind her ear. THE GENTLENESS. THE WHOLESOMENESS. THE RESPECT. I didn’t even think men like this actually exist. It genuinely blows my mind that Tom Blyth is real. 

3. Ki Hong Lee

I am ashamed to say I watched “Maze Runner” far after the birth of the dystopian era of movies. But even if I was late to the game, it’s never too late to appreciate Ki Hong Lee for his amazing job at bringing Minho to life in the “Maze Runner” trilogy.

In the first movie “The Maze Runner,” he played a “runner,” responsible for charting the maze which changes paths several times a week. I’m not quite sure what it is about him, but his rustic, vintage, “I have dirt all over me and I risk my life everyday” look is extremely attractive. Especially since Asian Americans are a minority in Hollywood and the TV industry in general, it was refreshing to see an Asian character not represented as the nerd, but a respected athlete.