The Sexiest Men Undead: Ten of entertainment's hottest vampires

With the hottie vampires of Twilight hitting the multiplexes this weekend, it's been hard not to think about the various other sexy vampires in the pop culture landscape. And what with various pubs running their annual "Sexiest Men Alive" lists, why not discuss the sexiest undead men?

Vampires are usually depicted as very sexual creatures, what with the constant carnal cravings and intense stares and such. There's quite a number to choose from. Amid the feast, here are ten sexy vampires we can all sink our teeth into.

Frank Langella
in Dracula (1979)

I first saw this take on Dracula in one of my high school writing classes, where we discussed how the movie brought a new vision of the vampire to the cinema. Instead of a cadaverous monstrosity, Langella's Dracula was charming and seductive like a nobleman. By then, the potential sex appeal of the vampire was getting to be well-known, but even then it was clear how Langella helped moved vampires in that direction.

Jonathan Frid and Ben Cross
in Dark Shadows

While Langhella's Dracula brought the sexy vampire to the big screen, it was Barnabas Collins who first got hearts fluttering on the camptastic soap opera Dark Shadows. Barnabas was a lonely soul, separated by the ages from his true love, a quality that resonated with fans. While Ben Cross (who played Barnabas in the 90's revival of the series) is more my type than Jonathan Frid (who created the role) we might not be talking about sexy vampires if Barnabas hadn't gotten us thinking about them as romantic creatures.

Kiefer Sutherland
in The Lost Boys

While I was in ... uhm, the target demographic at the time, I never joined in on the Corey/Corey mania of the 80s. Instead, The Lost Boys was all about the hotness of Kiefer Sutherland's moody bad boy vampire for me. That crush seems apt considering that The Lost Boys was the movie that got me to realize that buying tickets for 'R' rated movies as a kid wasn't as hard as I expected.

David Boreanaz and James Marsters
in Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Buffy the Vampire Slayer gave us plenty of hotties over the years, including Buffy's beaus Angel and Spike. Both guys brought so much hotness to the show that it's almost impossible to choose between the two (okay, I'm more likely to go for someone with Angel's do-gooder instincts) as both guys brought that certain sense of mystery and moodiness that create that air of sexiness.

Adrian Pasdar
in Near Dark

Back before Heroes debuted, I used to go on to people about Adrian Pasdar's sexy schemer on Profit. That bit of swooning that would sometimes (if they weren't slowly backing away from me) prompt the question "If you think he's hot, have you seen Near Dark?" Indeed, as a small down Oklahoma boy who gets turned into a vampire, Pasdar inspires just as many sighs without the goodness of Caleb Colton as he did with Jim Profit's dark edge.

Chris Sarandon
in Fright Night

Who can forget that club scene where vamp-next-door pulls the attention of Amanda Bearse from across the room? With his ability to switch from handsome charmer to fearsome vamp, Sarandon's vampire was someone who was hard to resist.

Geraint Wyn Davies
in Forever Knight

Before David Letterman took over CBS' late night, we had the block of Canadian crime dramas called "Crimetime after Primetime" which had some of my favorite shows of the day, including the vampire cop show Forever Knight. As Nicholas de Brabant, Geraint Wyn Davies wasn't as dark as later TV vampires, but he did have his secrets to bear and that made him pretty sexy in his day.

Stuart Townsend
in Queen of the Damned

Okay, to be perfectly honest I remember almost nothing about Queen of the Damned, since I found my mind being turned into mush by the sight of Stuart Townsend in every seen. Townsend is normally a stunning man to behold but there was something extra stunning about the sight of Townsend decked out to play Lestat.

Stephen Moyer
in True Blood

As someone waiting for a DVD release to check out True Blood, let me tell you how much picture of vamp Stephen Moyer tempts me into plunking down the money for an HBO subscription. With that steamy glare.

Of course, with the way vampires are often depicted this is just the tip of the ... er ... fang. Who are some of your favorite sexy vampires?