IT Heartthrob

Image credit: Josh Lucas Photograph by Tony Duran

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Josh Lucas

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Why Him? With the bluest eyes since Paul Newman and charisma to match, the Arkansas native has managed to steal his scenes in ''A Beautiful Mind'' and ''Sweet Home Alabama'' away from his more famous costars. It's no wonder A-list directors (Ron Howard, Ang Lee, Lasse Hallström) are lining up to work with the guy.

Why He Likes His Dark Side ''I can be a somewhat prickly person,'' says Lucas, who plays the heavy in ''The Hulk'' and an ex-con in ''Undertow,'' directed by heralded young auteur David Gordon Green (''All the Real Girls''). ''I think I work a lot of that stuff out in my characters so I don't have to have it as strongly in my life.''

Formative Experience His antinuke-activist parents traveled from town to town, setting up organizations and protests. Consequently, young Josh evolved into a chameleon. ''I'd lie in bed the night before starting a new school and literally choose who I wanted to be -- jock, nerd, whatever. I'm not terribly comfortable about that, looking back on it,'' says Lucas. Getting into acting gave him an outlet for his self-diagnosed ''schizophrenia.''

Hobbies Soccer, sailing, and a weekly card game with some Southern friends. ''But I feel hobby-weak,'' he laughs.

Next After criminal turns in ''Undertow'' and ''Wonderland,'' Lucas will play a romantic leading man opposite J. Lo in Hallström's ''An Unfinished Life,'' due next year.