Category Archives: Dazzler of the Day

It wouldn’t be right to name Sam Heughan as Dazzler of the Day without bestowing equal glory upon his ‘Outlander’ and ‘Men in Kilts’ co-star and pal Graham McTavish, and so it is that McTavish gets his official crowning as Dazzler today. In addition to his renowned work on ‘Outlander’, McTavish is perhaps best recognized for his work on ‘The Hobbit’ trilogy, where his unmistakable voice cut through all the make-up and fantasy footage. For me, it’s the very real, and often hilarious, friendship depicted in ‘Men in Kilts’ that makes him such a fascinating study. 

Known perhaps best for his work on ‘Outlander’, Sam Heughan came into my life thanks to his real-life travel series ‘Men In Kilts: A Road Trip with Sam and Graham’ which features him and his co-star and friend Graham McTavish. The genuine friendship and camaraderie between them, and the palpable chemistry and bonhomie makes for constantly entertaining moments, even when they’re just driving along in their van. They wrote a best-selling book together as well, entitled ‘Clanlands: Whisky, Warfare, and a Scottish Adventure Like No Other.’ For those reasons, Heughan is crowned as Dazzler of the Day. Check out this season of ‘Men In Kilts’ as they explore New Zealand. 

{On a completely unrelated note, I’m wearing a kilt for all my holiday dinners this year.}

Along with his co-star Taylor Zakhar Perez in ‘Red, White and Blue’, Nicholas Galitzine forms an integral part of the combustible chemistry and acting prowess that makes a typical rom-com (with a gay spin) into something so much more. As Prince Henry, Galitzine’s stoically-tortured and ultimately transformative role grounds the film with the necessary pathos to make us invest in these characters and care about how they will navigate their lives. His charisma was in evidence in previous occasionally-princely roles in ‘Cinderella’, ‘Bottoms’ and ‘Purple Hearts’. A star clearly on the rise, he will next show up in ‘The Idea of You’. This marks his first and likely not last appearance as Dazzler of the Day. 

The first rom-com I’ve watched in the last twenty years or so was ‘Bros’ because certain people said it was worth the watch, and was reportedly the groundbreaking gay rom-com we’d all been waiting for. First of all, I’ve never been waiting for a romantic-comedy – not one of that genre of film has made it onto my top fifty movies. Second, I thought ‘Bros’ kind of sucked. My focus shifted from the lap-top to anything else in the room repeatedly, and I don’t even remember the ending. Did the boy get the boy? Was there a happily ever-after? Did it even matter?

When ‘Red, White and Royal Blue’ was announced as a film, I raised a weary eye-brow and waited for the reception. I’d read the book last summer and enjoyed it on its escapist level, but I didn’t have faith in the rom-com-on-film formula. Perhaps it was the need for something light and fluffy, or the earnest, idealistic tone the film genuinely adopts, or the engaging portrayals of its two handsome leads – and probably because of all of those items I enjoyed it immensely. In fact, it’s led to the start of a dazzling pairing of Dazzlers of the Day, beginning with Taylor Zakhar Perez, who plays the American President’s son. Perez has been wowing audiences for years, in such work as ‘The Kissing Booth’ trilogy and ‘Minx’. Primed for a turn as the next-big-thing, he earns his first Dazzler of the Day crowning here. 

Ignoring social media has largely been a lovely act of self-preservation and self-improvement, but even with my increased absence on Instagram, Threads, Twitter and FaceBook, some things manage to rise through it all, such as the wardrobe malfunction in a recent soccer game, thus resulting in the first crowning of Dazzler of the Day in a while, bestowed upon Deven Robertson. Putting the Brisbane Lions on the world stage of thirst, Roberston had his shirt ripped from his body, and no one bothered to complain.