mindlessmunkey's spunk o'the munth

Yes, lovers and dreamers, it's that time again when munkey abandons his high-falutin' rants about art and anthropology, in order to delve into the world of CUTE BOYS! So here is October's spunk o'the munth, and indeed one of my all-time favourites: Nick Stahl.

Nick was born in 1979 and has made a not-particularly-well-known but quite respected name for himself as a young actor with an impressive list of credits under his belt. First coming to attention as a child in Mel Gibson's light-hearted romp The Man Without A Face, he has popped up in all kinds of strange projects, from the inevitable low-brow teen fare (e.g. Disturbing Behaviour) to some of the most respected ensemble films of all time (e.g. The Thin Red Line). One of his most contraversial and disturbing roles was in Larry Clark's Bully, of which I'm including pictures - I will openly admit - purely because you can almost see his rude bits:

Yet for my money, this strapping stripling really came into his own in the hotness stakes when he grew up, grubbied up and took on the shoes of Ben Hawkins, the lead character in HBO's wonderful series, Carnivàle:

Ahhh yes. Many a fine evening Snazzles, Maria and I spent discussing, dissecting and drooling as we watched this tantalisingly strange show. And then, as if purely to please Ms Snaz further, he went and grew a nice shaggy beard:

At any rate, what makes Nick a munkey-worthy spunk is not just the eyes, the smile and the body. Although, of course, none of that hurts. It's also that he brings an understated charisma to every role he intriguingly (and recently, very selectively) chooses to grace. Whether he's the heroin-addled Dodge in modern-day Oliver Twist tale Twist, or the hideous Yellow Bastard raping and murdering young women in Sin City, it's impossible to take your eyes off him. And frankly, who would want to?

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