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Hollywood Nerd: Difference between revisions
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* ''[[Real Genius]]'' shows a wide variety of nerds. Most of the physics students are Type 1, including an [[Asian and Nerdy]] student, a [[Basement Dweller]] (sort of), and a [[Teen Genius]]. Chris Knight (Val Kilmer), however, is handsome, witty, and outgoing.
* ''[[Max Knight: Ultra Spy|Max Knight Ultra Spy]]'' has this in droves. The villain ([[Seth Green]]) is an uber hacker who, along with his girl posse and various followers, looks and acts like contenders for "the popular kids of the popular kids at high school", and the story takes place at one point at a party that seems to mix hip-hop, R'n'B and rave, people drink out of test tubes, and you have to prove your superior intelligence to get in. You meet one awkward, sweaty nerd (who gets shot down by the female lead) near the start, and the female lead's [[Mcguffin Girl]] sister is a borderline case (until the villain takes off her glasses and lets down her hair).
* You may not know his name, but you almost certainly know his face: [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0214430/ Eddie Deezen] has made a career out of playing Type 1 Nerds in film and TV.
== Live Action TV ==
* ''[[The Big Bang Theory]]''. Needless to say, they have a lot of fun playing with this trope. Just as you're expecting the [[Truth in Television|lone female physicist]] to be a Type 2 (which might have been good enough, given the supermodel casting of the girl next door), the camera pans to a poofy-haired, flannel-wearing nerd, with a voice in a reasonable register, who's using high energy physics lab equipment to heat up her ramen.
** Averted with microbiologist Bernadette, who is a Type 2.
** Played straight with Amy Farrah Fowler.
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* Malcolm from the ''[[Doctor Who]]'' special "Planet of the Dead." Very much a Doctor fanboy, too.
* ''[[iCarly]]'' has Freddie himself as a straight example. Especially in season 1 when the actor's voice hadn't changed and he was shorter than the actresses playing Carly and Sam (to the point of needing a [[Scully Box]] pair of shoes). In the episode 1 of season 2, when Freddie enters, Sam asks "What happened to your voice?" and Freddie replies "I dunno, puberty?" Season 4 he's become a full blown [[Hot Scientist]] as the actor is now nearly 18, spent time in the off-season break working out and is all muscled up.
* All the geeks of [[Freaks and Geeks]].
* Stuart Minkus on ''[[Boy Meets World]]''.
* "Doc" Soto in ''Series/Alcatraz'' who when he's not helping catch time traveling criminals runs a comics shop.
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== Western Animation ==
* ''[[Hey Arnold!]]!'' has all Type 1 nerds. Unfortunately there was an episode where Rhonda is forced to wear glasses and is immediately classified as a type 2 nerd despite looking perfectly normal. And this episode was made AFTER ''[[Harry Potter]]'' came out in America.
* ''[[Total Drama Island]]'' has the three geeky guys (Cody, Harold, Noah) who are thin/not in great shape and clearly act geeky, as well as Beth, one of few girls who doesn't look like a supermodel.
* ''[[Fetch! with Ruff Ruffman]]'''s Glen, or as he likes to be known as, "Glendalf"
* Gretchen and the Pale Kids in ''[[Recess]]''
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*** That and test audiences not liking what serious heart defect can cause.
** She also comes off as incredibly awkward and nervous, with idiosyncratic behavior and a geeky sense of romanticism, as well as an odd (but highly enthusiastic) way of describing her work. In particular when Simon is pretending to be a poet to seduce her, she's so nervous that she makes [[Freudian Slip|FreudianSlips]] ("Take off your pants...(embarrassed) I mean your sweater!") and keeps gushing over [[I Can't Believe a Guy Like You Would Notice Me|how he would notice someone like her and privately (and excitedly) stating that she can't believe that it's happening]]. [[Geeky Turn On|Its pretty]] [[Nerds Are Sexy|adorable]].
* In the original [[Stephen King]] novel ''[[The Stand]]'', the character of Harold started out as a fat pathetic nerd. When they made it into a TV miniseries, he was played by Corin Nemec. It would have been averted, considering that by the time the group reached Boulder Harold was described as having become rather attractive because his skin cleared up and he lost weight, if they would have done more to hide Nemec's looks.
* The humans in ''[[Tron]]''.
* Gabriella, Taylor, and, to a lesser extent, Martha and Kelsi in ''[[High School Musical]]''.
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* Needy in ''[[Jennifer's Body]]'' may have giant nerd glasses and unflattering clothes but she is still played by the beautiful [[Amanda Seyfried]]. In fairness the film does note that Needy is plenty attractive but dresses down to not upstage her [[Alpha Bitch|best]] [[Megan Fox|friend]] and she has little trouble with boys, having a steady boyfriend and another male character with an obvious crush on her.
* [[Steve Carell]] as ''[[The 40-Year-Old Virgin]]'', enough said. Granted the film does make a better justification and never pretends that he's not a good-looking guy.
* In ''[[Rising Sun]]'', Tia Carrere plays a video footage analyst who helps Sean Connery and Wesley Snipe's cop characters analyse doctored surveillance footage. They just have a pair of glasses slapped onto her, her hair done up and some techno-babble dialogue to help make her seem nerdy.
* Both the protagonist and villains, plus numerous background characters are type 2 in ''[[Max Knight: Ultra Spy]]'' - the movie depicts the nerd culture crossing over with rave on many occasions, the protagonist takes the [[Fish Out of Water]] love interest to a dance club that requires you to show off your Geek Cred to get in (say something smart and scientific) and Seth Green plays the [[Big Bad]]. On the other hand, the start features a very classic type 1 who invites the love interest out for lunch (and she just gives him a patronising "you can't be serious" look, like it's so natural she'd reject him) while her genius sister straddles the line and gets a glasses-removal makeover by the [[Big Bad]].
* Subverted by Charles Xavier in [[X-Men (film)|X-Men: First Class]], who is stunningly attractive... and aware of it. In fact, in his first scene as a grown man, he is seen using nerd-talk to pick up coeds in a bar. Played straight with Hank, however.
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** ''[[CSI New York]]'' has Anna Belknap's Lindsay Monroe. Who herself was a [[Suspiciously Similar Substitute]] for Vanessa Ferlito as Aiden Burn.
* ''[[24]]'' tends to have a 50/50 split between realistic nerds (fat Edgar Styles, frumpy Chloe O'Brian) and conventionally attractive ones, such as Morris O'Brian, a brilliant hacker and womanizing, alcoholic ladies' shoe salesman. As Chloe has become more popular with fans, her character has received far more makeup and hairstyling, which (atypically) brings with it an increased amount of attention from the opposite sex.
** Perhaps pulled off successfully with Chloe, as while she's rather frumpy on the show, her actress, Mary Lynn Rajskub, is very attractive after being dolled up.
** Chloe still got noticeably more attractive as the show went on. Compare her hair, outfits, etc. in a season 3 episode with her appearance in a season 8 episode and it's pretty obvious.
* Connor, the irritating [[Plucky Comic Relief]] in British scientists-vs-dinosaurs show ''[[Primeval]]'', often makes cack-handed 'geek' references and is shown to be clueless around women. However, he looks like a cross between Johnny Depp and a young Rob Newman. His two best friends are more conventionally unattractive nerds.
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** In the same verse, Jennifer Keller (played by Jewel Staite) from ''[[Stargate Atlantis]]''. Plus Carson Beckett, Radek Zelenka, Elizabeth Weir... Rodney McKay is somewhat less attractive, but he has his fans too.
* ''[[Sanctuary]]'''s Will Zimmerman is supposed to be a somewhat reclusive nerdy scientist. Robin Dunne, who plays him, is ridiculously attractive. There was a [[Shirtless Scene|certain scene]] the first season finale that, while incredibly hot, strained the bounds of credulity: Will strips to his boxers to make the Invisible Girl, who has to get naked for her power to be effective, less self-conscious. Cue biceps and abs that VERY few real-life scientists have.
** Henry's not half bad either, and the nipple/belly button piercings aren't exactly conventionally nerdy in any case.
* Cute, goofy computer geek and budding hacker Mac of ''[[Veronica Mars]]'' is a [[Hollywood Nerd]] in the grand tradition, and particularly owes much to ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'s Willow. Mac is not a stick figure and has the shape of someone healthy but who could perhaps benefit from more exercise and less sitting in front of the computer.
** Ironically, played by the same actress as one of the nerds from ''[[Napoleon Dynamite]]'', which is listed as an aversion above. Also, Mac is far from even chubby, never mind overweight - she's just standing next to the 5'1" stick-thin Kristen Bell most of the time. In the Josie & The Pussycats movie, Rosario Dawson looked like an elephant next to Rachael Leigh Cook and Tara Reid - just look at her in Sin City to see how not true that is.
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* It could be argued that ''[[30 Rock|Thirty Rock]]'''s Liz Lemon is an example. However, this is somewhat excusable given that the character is essentially a fictionalized version of [[Tina Fey]], who also plays her. Fey says that "[[Self-Deprecation|I'm really not that attractive]]. Until I met my husband, I could not get a date. I promise you it's true." This is lampshaded during the first season. When Liz leaves New York to visit Cleveland, suddenly people can't stop complimenting her looks.
{{quote|'''Jenna''': "We're all models west of the Allegheny."}}
* Seth from ''[[The OC]]''. He is supposed to be an unattractive nerd due to his social awkwardness and huge interest in comic books and science fiction. This doesn't really work since he's also sweet, funny, and played by the attractive Adam Brody.
* The title character from ''[[Chuck]]'' qualifies as one of the cutest of the [[Bland-Name Product|Nerd Herd at Buy More]].
** Aside from Chuck, Anna Wu, and arguably Morgan, the rest of the Nerd Herders generally live up to their name (''especially'' Jeff).
*** [[Bollywood Nerd|Lester.]]
** This is [[Truth in Television]], Chuck and Morgan are played by actual nerds.
* Fox Mulder on ''[[The X-Files]]'' is a prime example. Look at the catastrophe that is his private life, his vast collection of porn videos, the fact that he sleeps on the sofa since his bedroom is filled ceiling-high with old junk in cardboard boxes, the scenes in which he is shown throwing pencils at the ceiling in his office to see if they stick, the fact that he happily spends his free time hunting for space aliens, or his habit of expounding at length his wild theories about aliens or monsters from folklore in front of total strangers until they think he's crazy. Scully is routinely getting exasperated with him. (Scully, on the other hand, while very attractive and smart, is a scientist, NOT a nerd.) And yet Mulder is tall, fit and attractive, to the extent that in the episode ''Humbug'' one of the circus [[Geek|"geeks"]] (the scrawny one who hammered nails up his nose and ate glass) sarcastically remarked how one day all the freaks like him and the tattooed Enigma would be done away with by science and society and everyone would be "perfect" and boring like Mulder.
** Being an active FBI agent he would presumably be required to occasionally pass some physical fitness tests. And anyway Mulder was less a nerd and more just plain a weirdo. Indeed, Mulder is one of the few TV characters shown practicing the kind of physical training which might lead to a physique like the actor's; he is seen swimming laps in a pool and playing basketball in the gym.
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** Also, given the sheer amount of pop culture references Crichton drops, he is most definitely a nerd
* ''[[Bones]]'' at least has the good grace to lampshade Brennan's looks.
** Sweets? Yes please.
* The Keeper on ''[[The Invisible Man (TV series)|The Invisible Man]]''.
* With ''[[Supernatural]]'' filled with [[The Beautiful Elite|beautiful people]], the two Ghost Facer nerds are two attractive men. But seeing as how they're both [[Jerkass|jerkasses]], you can see why very few people like them.
** And Sammy. Ruby even tells him that he's "pretty buff for a nerd."
** ''Castiel''. He never smiles, his hair is never combed, his face always has that 5 o'clock shadow, and thanks to his angel powers, he will never need to change out of his ratty trenchcoat, wrinkled suit, and loose tie. Dean calls him "nerd angel", but that doesn't stop people in canon and fanon from drooling over him.
* Quinn in ''[[Zoey 101]]''.
* Quinn Mallory in ''[[Sliders]]''.
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* The titular character in ''[[Jake 2.0]]'', played by Christopher Gorham, is yet another TV geek who is 18 varieties of hot by any real-world standard. One can argue that the [[Nanomachines]] in his bloodstream are what give him a [[Shirtless Scene|physique that could cut glass]], but still ...
* Eric Forman on ''[[That 70s Show]]'', though he's not a total nerd (it's referenced several times he's [[Ridiculously Average Guy|an average joe with rather pitiful grades]]), but he does have quite the obsession over ''[[Star Wars]]'' and is a square compared to his friends.
* Justin in ''[[Wizards of Waverly Place]]'' is a nerdy sci-fi geek who is absolutely attractive. During the big crossover he's dressed solely in trunks at one point showing that he has got absurdly well defined pecs and abs.
** It would be interesting to point out that despite his nerdiness Justin has no problems with finding a girlfriend. Even the main character's best friend has a huge crush on him.
{{quote|'''Justin''': "Why does everyone think I don't date? Remember the centaur, the werewolf and the [[Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking|goth girl]]?"}}
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** For extra [[Progressively Prettier|Fail Polish]], the super-hot cheerleader she can't compete against? Her. [[Acting for Two|Taylor Swift]] in a brown wig, ''with exactly the same eye shadow''.
* [[John Lennon]]
* Andy "Fletch" Fletcher from [[Depeche Mode]]
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* ''[[Metal Gear Solid]]'''s Otacon was initially intended to be a skinny, perpetually nervous-looking geek. As time went on, though, he became more and more attractive, and as of the fourth installment he looks positively beautiful and easily the best-looking male in the cast (ironic as originally he had grey hair and was about the same age as Snake. With each installment Snake gets older and uglier, and Otacon gets younger and more attractive). But knowing the series, knowing its [[Deconstructor Fleet|love of deconstruction]], and knowing Otacon's [[Character Development]], it's possible this is entirely deliberate. For the uninitiated, that means gallons of Hot Defly-Maycember [[Ho Yay|Homoeroticism]](TM).
** Note: [[Word of God]] says that Otacon was originally designed to be fat and constantly eating a chocolate bar.
** Otacon's sister E.E. in ''[[Metal Gear Solid]]'' 2. Portrayed as somewhat socially crippled due to her dysfunctional family and as a ridiculously brilliant hacker and scientist, and very cute too.
** Paramedic is actually really cute too, and she's DEFINITELY a nerd (specifically, she's a movie geek).
** Lampshaded in the original ''[[Metal Gear Solid]]'': Snake points out that he didn't expect Mei Ling, designer of his communications Codec and the Soliton Radar, to be cute.
** Also, Naomi Hunter and Nastasha Romenenko certainly didn't look too bad either.
* Ema Skye from the first and fourth ''[[Ace Attorney]]'' games as well as the Gaiden Game, Investigations. During the 10-year gap between her main series appearances she never loses her passion for forensic science. In her first appearance she was cute as a button, and as an adult in ''Apollo Justice'' she's still attractive.
* ''[[Half-Life]]'': Gordon Freeman. MIT grad? Check. Doctoral thesis with a hideously-long title about a topic that would bore [[Muggle|Muggles]] to tears? Check. Theoretical physicist? Check. [[Nerd Glasses]]? Check. [[Heroic Mime|No apparent social skills?]] Check. [http://images.wikia.com/halflifemachinima/images/8/82/Freeman.jpg Hot?] Check.
** Additionally, it is mentioned in passing that Black Mesa has a fitness program, apparently expecting its faculty to be in reasonably good shape, not just the security personnel. After Black Mesa gets cratered, the good Dr. Freeman is battling for the fate of all humanity alongside other refugees. Survival situations = fit scientists.
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** Ironically Clara is the least nerdiest of the main cast.
* In the [[Whateley Universe]], this is written as a partially [[Justified Trope]]: a relatively common [[Empathic Shapeshifter|superpower]] makes people really attractive, however the geeks without this power tend to look like believable geeks, and those who have it don't always have fashion sense.
** So there are some Type 2's (Bugs, Widget, Delta Spike, who are all abnormally attractive) and some realistic ones (Mega-Death, Knick-Knack, Kew, etc.) but ''mostly'' they're Type 1's (Make, Overclock, ...). Or worse.
** There's also Spark, who started out "The Big Idea" as a Type 1 or someone normal, and ended the story a full-blown Type 2 due to some [[Applied Phlebotinum]] she built.
* [http://www.youtube.com/user/GothamScarecrow This guy.] Wait until he takes off the mask - he's pretty scrawny but his face is to die for. And yes, he plays the sinister nerd perfectly - especially watch his "lecture" and "analysis" videos.
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== [[Real Life]] ==
* There's no reason why attractive people can't be nerdy. Sometimes the only difference is a lack of time spent primping. And some of the physical problems could be caused by the nerdiness, not a prerequisite (sticklike figure due to no time spent working out, pasty skin because of life lived indoors).
** Unfortunately for nerds everywhere, we get stereotyped as Type 1, and when we're Type 2, people think we're too "good" to nerds - just look at the comments about "too good for their role" in the Type 2 section.
* Similarly, plenty of scientific professions require considerable time spent outdoors (like botany or geology) or strong people skills (like medicine and anthropology).
* There are quite a few nerds serving in the armed forces, particularly in career fields that require higher academic performance, such as engineers or linguists. These folks are still required to pass the same fitness test as anyone else in their branch of service.
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[[Category:Personal Appearance Tropes]]
[[Category:Hollywood Nerd]]
[[Category:Introversion Tropes]]
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