While We're On The Subject...

[glennagirl.livejournal.com]

We had a poll yesterday (HERE), and it's still open for a few hours more.
On that topic, sort of, I'm wondering about why we're attracted to one or the other of the two lead actors.  Is it about the actors or the characters themselves?
As one who was in the throes of Beatlemania when MFU appeared on our TV screens, I'll admit that the appeal of another long haired, tutrtleneck wearing fellow who happened to have a delicious sounding accent just played into the mood of the day.  Having said that however, I'd still be an Illya girl if it all started again right now, with those actors.  And to be honest, I have the same reaction to the movie (in spite of the strange quirks they've given to the Russian).  I prefer Army over Henry in this new age of UNCLE.
So, any thoughts or comments on the subject?
I'm still asking:
Who Do You Love?

Comments

napoleon vs illya

[lilidelafield.livejournal.com]

I feel the same way as you..
In my case I like the creation of a character that is less wisecracking and more exotic, and illya fits that description to a tee....i think for me it is more the character... But the fact that David mcCallum is/was so gorgeous did not hurt one bit.
I went for the new illya too...I'd never heard of the guy who played him... Not bad though... I'd like to see more of him...

[reapermum.livejournal.com]

In almost every series I've watched it's been "2nd hero" that I've prefered. The main character tends to be stereotyped, NS as the suave playboy, for example. But the powers that be seem to allow the second character to have a few quirks that give us something to latch onto.

[vmccooley.livejournal.com]

I've never had a preference for one over the other. Because of the great chemistry between the actors, I think of them as a team.

Re: napoleon vs illya

[glennagirl.livejournal.com]

Illya made us want to know more, which seems to be how DMc wanted it to be in fleshing out the character. Mr. McCallum does have a particular appeal to those of us who like cool blonds with a brain. Normally I go for dark hair and eyes but this fellow was the exception for me. He still is.

[glennagirl.livejournal.com]

Quirky goes a long way when it comes packaged like Kuryakin ;)

[glennagirl.livejournal.com]

They are a good team, and in life friends create chemistry just as these two did on screen. I can't help liking one just a wee bit more than the other however. Even real life is like that.

[laurose8.livejournal.com]

I think I'd trust Napoleon's good will more.

Though I very much doubt I'm his kind of girl.

[pfrye.livejournal.com]

It was the character more than the actor - and I'm for Illya all the way. He was an outsider, intelligent, sarcastic and mysterious. I've always had a thing for the outsider as I was (and still am) one myself....I could identify with that. I've come to appreciate NS more but when I was young he seemed too much like a slick used car salesman to me (same as Roger Moore as 007).

[iwerewolf.livejournal.com]

For me I always saw the guys (and actors) as father figures. I guess because I had a lousy abusive dad, so men old enough to be my dad aren't men I look to in a romantic sense.

[glennagirl.livejournal.com]

I do think Napoleon is an empathetic type of person, he has some fine moments where he really seems to want to understand the 'innocent' involved. Of course Illya has a soft spot for old people, that's pretty endearing.

[glennagirl.livejournal.com]

I have a theory about little girls and their crushes on older men. The more the fellow looks like a kid, or has kiddish (even feminine) facial characteristics, the less threatening. I think that's why Paul was such a favorite in the Beatles and perhaps why Illya/David appeared more approachable.
Or I could be way off.

[glennagirl.livejournal.com]

Certainly we have reasons for who we admire or how we express that admiration. Hopefully having those two made your life feel safer, at least for the time you had them in front of you.

[pfrye.livejournal.com]

That could be - I however found Patrick McGoohan very appealing and he had much more masculine features. I think for me it was more being attracted to someone my parents wouldn't approve of....bit of a rebel.

[insaneladybug.livejournal.com]

I've honestly struggled with the fact that I seem to be, without much say in the matter, more of a Napoleon girl. Illya is more the character type I usually go for: the aloof, mysterious, quiet one. And yet for some reason that puzzles me, Napoleon seriously appeals to me. I think a lot of it is his compassion and empathy and his desire to generally even leave the bad guys alive. He can almost always make me laugh. And, well, unlike 99.9% of the fanbase, I have always thought of him as being a more moral person than James Bond in matters of women as well as killing. He certainly loves a pretty face, and serial dating, but I have honestly never seen him as bedding all the women. Maybe that's just because TV had to be more discreet than movies at the time, or simply because my mind just doesn't run along those lines, but it gave me that lasting impression. And it's definitely all about the character; I don't think I even knew much about the actor before I started watching U.N.C.L.E. Of course, now that I've been watching U.N.C.L.E., I delight whenever I see either Robert or David pop up in stuff. :)

[glennagirl.livejournal.com]

Napoleon Solo is not someone you easily reject, unless he's up against a certain Blond Russian. For some of us it was a visceral reaction, I think. He just looked so much like what we wanted to see in the era of Beatles and New. Napoleon is a reminder of the elegance of another era that was supplanted by less structure and more expressiveness. There are no wrong decisions here, just appeal.