By Kayleigh Donaldson | Celebrity | October 23, 2018 |
By Kayleigh Donaldson | Celebrity | October 23, 2018 |
What’s up, jerks?!
If you watch any American comedy show, listen to any comedy podcast or have even the vaguest familiarity with the comedic ecosystem, then the chances are that you’ve encountered Jason Mantzoukas. The actor, comedian and writer is an ever present force in the Los Angeles comedy scene, often seen with his How Did This Get Made podcast co-host Paul Scheer. Typically, he is cast in roles best categorized as ‘scumbags’. If Nick Kroll is best known for playing douchebags, Mantzoukas is the guy you turn to when you need a character who is equal parts hilarious and reprehensible. We’re not talking about old-school pricks here: He’s your guy for dudes who are a step away from being war criminals. But he’s so damn good at it, be it his turn as Rafi in The League or his scene stealing work in The Dictator and Community, or even his voice work in Big Mouth, where he plays a pillow fucking adolescent degenerate you still kind of root for. Maximum Derek.
He’s also, and I think we’re all ready to admit this together as a community, kind of hot?
Jason Mantzoukas’s hotness is something we’ve all had to realize after many years. Few people see him and immediately peg him as gorgeous. How can you when he’s best known for playing characters who are undoubtedly riddled with STDs and have rap-sheets longer than your body? This is an actor whose most expected characters are men with three dreadlocks just hanging casually from the back of their skulls. Mantzoukas is so good at capturing the feral repulsion of these roles. All he has to do is bulge his eyes and make a comment about chlamydia and the job is done. So, getting over that instinctive reaction of ‘Ew’ can take a while, but eventually your appreciation for his work turns into fondness for the man himself then all of a sudden you’re watching this gif.
Mantzoukas has a number of hotness aces up his sleeve but his voice may be the biggest one. It’s somewhere between sexy and screeching, like a sultry honk that manages to be aggressively funny yet radiates warmth at the same time. His voice is instantly recognizable too, capable of making seemingly anything sound hilarious. He’s probably the only man who can make repeatedly screaming ‘GEOSTORM!’ basically the funniest thing in the world to me.
His interests also make him very attractive. Mantzoukas loves Harry Potter, he’s a die-hard Gilmore Girls geek, and he’s happy to admit that The Royal Tenenbaums made him cry. His possibly ironic but probably not stanning of Gerard Butler on How Did This Get Made is endlessly adorable to me (please Earwolf, give this man an entire podcast where he just watches Gerard Butler movies week after week).
It’s that contrast that remains key. Jason Mantzoukas is the antithesis of the characters he plays and that seeming opposition proves hugely fascinating to many. He plays scumbags but he’s really a charming guy who likes Wes Anderson movies and will make you laugh right after he’s finished playing the most disgusting human beings who have ever lived! This is a common thing in comedy. How many times have you watched a show where there’s a super skeezy character that’s immediately off-putting but then you see that actor in a bunch of interviews being sweet and smart and forward thinking and then oh god it’s happening again? Ask me about my recent mental and emotional journey regarding Nick Kroll some time. Jason Mantzoukas is arguably just the strongest exemplification of this. Maybe it’s the beard.
Speaking of that, have you seen him without that beard? Hello, cheekbones! No wonder Connie Britton was interested. Oh yeah, Mantzoukas was in a relationship with Connie Britton. Clear eyes, full hearts, can’t lose, Jason!
Dayum, Jason Mantzoukas cleaned up nicely when he dated Connie Britton. pic.twitter.com/enzwUmiGYW
— Kayleigh Donaldson (@Ceilidhann) September 4, 2015
Perhaps you’re reading this post and wondering what the hell is going on. Maybe this is one issue you are decidedly on the No side of. That’s fair, but perhaps your own Zouks interest is bubbling away inside and is not yet ready to be unleashed. It’s simply waiting for the right moment. We’ll be waiting. Oh yes.
Don’t worry, he’s not on Twitter so he probably won’t see this.