This topic came about because of a discussion on the Pyramid boards. The question being: for the guys / for the women, which _Lord of the Rings movie characters get your pulse racing, and why? Credit for the original idea goes to Steve S. and Josh M., however they want to hash out who brought it up first.

I decided it’d be fun to compile the results and conduct an informal little survey just to see how it all stacked up. Of course, the results are somewhat unbalanced along gender lines, since there were only half a dozen or so female characters to choose from in the entire trilogy.

Here is the survey as it was presented to voters:

Do you swoon over pretty elf-boys? Are you a hobbit fancier? Go for the gruff and scruffy look of Aragorn? Think that he was right, or wrong, to choose Arwen over Eowyn? Favor a character others don't? We want to hear from you!

Sabledrake Magazine is conducting an informal survey of the Hotties of Middle Earth. All LOTR fans are invited to participate.

What we want:
1. Your name or nickname.
2. Your age.
3. Your geographic location.
4. Your personal top five male or top three female LOTR hotties, listed in order of preference.
5. OPTIONAL – a short essay of explanation (100 words or less).
6. OPTIONAL – your top 5 non-LOTR fictional hotties, listed in order of preference.

Results:

The Ladies –

Eowyn, the shieldmaiden of Rohan, is the runaway victor. Though many comments disparaged her cooking ability, overall the voters seemed to feel that her fighting spirit and beauty more than made up for a dearth of domestic skill.

Galadriel, Lady of the Golden Wood, comes in second. Her ethereal loveliness and power are quite literally enchanting, though the issue of age difference did come up more than once.

Rosie Cotton of Hobbiton takes third place, with many favorable remarks about her down-home charm and buxomness. And, as one fellow pointed out, Rosie had the very desirable quality of not saying a single word once, ever, in all three movies.

Arwen, the even-star of her people, is fourth, and the voters had little to say about her except to quibble over her expanded role from book to movie.

Shelob the Spider Queen got no votes, but was mentioned in the course of the survey.

Men who participated also reported having fondnesses for Buffy and Seven of Nine.

The Gents –

Enough votes were cast for a wide variety of gents in order to break down the scores thusly:

Aragorn, son of Arathorn – our winner with 52.

Legolas Greenleef – a close second at 51

Elrond Half-Elven – 22

Boromir of Gondor – 20

Eomer of Rohan and Faramir of Gondor – tied at 14

Samwise Gamgee – 11

Frodo Baggins – 8

Merry Brandybuck – 4

Gandalf “the Grey” and Pippin Took – tied at 3

Gandalf “the White,” Gimli son of Gloin, and Haldir of Lothlorien – tied at 2

Saruman – 1

The close race between Aragorn and Legolas seemed to fall mainly (though by no means entirely) along divisions of age. The younger ladies swoon for the pretty elf boys, while the rugged maturity of a Ranger was appealing to the older ladies. Elrond, perhaps a surprising third, seemed to garner many votes for his stern father-figure persona.

Participants also chimed in with a lengthy and varied list of their other fictional and real-life heartthrobs.

Characters and actors from CSI (Grissom / Peterson, Warrick / Dourdan, Greg / Smezana), Neil Gaiman’s Sandman (Lord Morpheus, Daniel), Gargoyles (Goliath, Brooklyn, Macbeth), X-Men (Wolverine, Nightcrawler), The Lion King’s Simba, Dragonheart’s Draco, Spike from Buffy, Spike from Cowboy Bebop, Darth Maul, Captain Jack Sparrow, Indiana Jones, Professor Snape and Lucius Malfoy (Harry Potter), Mr. Darcy from Pride and Prejudice, Russell Crowe, and the host of Monster House (Steve Watson) all made the list.

The Essay Test:

Some of the essays and explanations in response to the survey.

1. I love heroes, the brave, strong kind with broad shoulders and ruggedly masculine features. And if they’re the tragic suffering kind, willing to do anything to make things right, I am totally head over heels. As for the LotR guys in particular, I’ve always had a soft spot for knights in shining armor, with swords and on horses. Elrond’s the wildcard, I guess, but he has such a bearing of dignity and greatness, not to mention a lovely voice, that he makes he go against type! – Dragonwolf, 16

2. I pride myself on being able to appreciate hotties great and small, of many different kinds of features, and the Rings movies have got 'em across the board. Faramir is the raw concept of hottie given human form. Aragorn is the sort of manly hero you dream about being swept away by. Frodo's is the sweetest face and eyes that are just luminous. Elrond's got this mesmerizing screen presence, and such a sexy voice. Legolas is almost so pretty as to be feminine, but damn, is he fine! Plus, bizarro that I am, I'm a SUCKER for non-humans. – S. Firestone, 22

3. Well, I think the only one who needs explaining is Gandalf, since he IS an old man, after all. I suppose it's because, under the old-man guise he's really one of the immortal Maiar, and that means that he isn't REALLY an old man, but an ageless one. Besides, he kicks ass with both his magic and his fighting abilities. – Jen, 24

4. Well, I had to start off with the Elves, because you just can't help but love the elves (both the pretty boy and the mature leader). Next, the oft overlooked (but hot) nice guys...Eomer and Faramir. Two of the best guys in LOTR. Good brothers, good sons, good fighters. Aragorn gets a default spot on the list, because he IS the Returning King...kinda hard not to love him a little. – Stef, 20

5. Orlando Bloom didn't make my top 5. He's beautiful, but...I guess I just prefer guys who look more masculine than I do! Yes, I realize that Billy Boyd's inclusion on the list directly contradicts that philosophy. Live with it. – The Log Lady

6. The Aragorn/Legolas tie is entirely dependent upon my mood. Aragorn of my mind is a bit more attractive than Viggo, but there's something of him in Viggo; the voice especially. Somehow, that was just right. I really don't think I need to explain anything about my attachment to the Elf-boy. What's the line? Something about 'fair of face beyond the measure of men'? Who knew there was someone capable of looking that Elfin. If only they hadn't cut his personality so much. Boromir was always a lot more *darkly* handsome in my mind, but as I am something of a Sean Bean-aholic... Eomer showing up on the list is all movie. Pip. Dear Pip. The attachment goes way back, and
then...Billy Boyd was adorable, and THEN. he sang. *sigh* -- Wendy, 23

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