The Stunning Evolution of the Hollywood DILF
When actor Christopher Plummer passed away in February, cinema lost a legend. Fans reflected on his most memorable roles, from The Sound of Music to Knives Out. Plummer’s portrayal of Captain von Trapp was probably his most beloved performance. It’s easy to see why: he’s a stern and decidedly old-school father figure, with an anger that quickly melted away when he chose to stop fighting the sexual tension and fall in love with Maria (Julie Andrews). Captain von Trapp will go down as one of the most thirsted-after dads in cinematic history. In fact, it’s not outrageous to call him cinema’s original DILF.
Since Plummer made people horny for a strict dad with a sensitive side, cinema has given us DILFs of all varieties. In The Parent Trap (1999), Dennis Quaid played Lindsay Lohan's hot dad, complete with a vineyard, an evil twentysomething girlfriend and a pattern of abandonment that triggered everyone’s daddy issues. There’s Jude Law as Graham (aka ‘Mr Napkinhead’) in The Holiday (2006), the eternally ageless Paul Rudd as beta dad Pete in Knocked Up (2007) and John Krasinski saving his family (including real-life wife Emily Blunt) from killer aliens in A Quiet Place (2018). Other actors who’ve played DILFs over the years are Idris Elba (Obsessed), Jake Gyllenhaal (Wildlife), Colin Farrell (Saving Mr. Banks) and Henry Golding (A Simple Favor). Bizarrely, yet entirely unsurprisingly, gay Twitter even started thirsting en-masse over the “hot dad” from Pixar’s 2015 animated film Inside Out.
Fatherhood and attractiveness seem to be linked, both in the “real world” and on screen. “Dad bod” has become the most lusted-after body type, apparently, with studies confirming that men who are dads—particularly those who are considered “good dads”—are viewed as more attractive than men without children. Studies also show that we’re more likely to like and trust people we find hot.