Every good show has a broodingly handsome, misunderstood bad boy. They’re the types of men that are considered forbidden to women because they will break your heart into a million fragile pieces. Often selfish, bad boys live to serve their interests and their interests only in order to feed their egos and get ahead. You’re drawn to them because of their charming, magnetic personality and ability to rock the leather jacket, scruffy appearance. But dig really deep into that bad boy heart and find there is often one factor – often love – that crumbles the tough exterior and reveals a vulnerable side. But it’s a vicious circle – seeing that sensitive side makes us swoon that much more!
Here’s our list of the top ten TV bad boys that we can’t get enough of.
10. Dylan Massett, Bates Motel
This edgy bad boy returns to live with his mother and brother, Norma and Norman Bates after he goes broke. He finds a job working on a marijuana plantation to which he becomes involved in sketchy business. He’s a lost soul and a free spirit, who deeply cares for his troubled brother Norman.
9. Tate Langdon, American Horror Story
The psychologically disturbed ghost and murderer was actually just a boy neglected by his parents who falls for the innocent human Violet. He was a troubled boy in high school, taking the lives of 15 students in a mass shooting, and was killed in Murder House where he became a ghost. His fascination for Violet unleashes his sweet side as the two develop what has been described as a Romeo and Juliet romance.
8. Ryan Atwood, The O.C.
When Ryan is taken into the home of his public defender, he brings the punches and the attitude to Newport Beach. A man of very few words, all he has to do is walk around in his wife-beater and give what Seth refers to as “the look” to get his point across. He will go out of his way to defend his adoptive brother Seth and rich girl Marissa Cooper and has been known to throw a few punches for people that get in their way.
7. Damon Salvatore, Vampire Diaries
What says bad boy more than a leather jacket, dark hair, piercing blue eyes, and a mesmerizing smile? This charming vamp has lived for centuries and has thus perfected his personable skills in order to get what he wants and feed off what he wants. He’s tortured from his past of rejection and the competition between him and his brother and often drinks to forget it. He is known for being selfish and often admits it – and has no plan on ever changing that aspect.
6. Spike, Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Spike was introduced to the series as a villainous vampire, who took pleasure in killing humans, and especially slayers. He has quite the past as a former London punk-rocker where he often drank and killed people. When he is outsmarted numerous times by Buffy he grows annoyed. But when his annoyance for Buffy grows into passion, his vulnerable side comes out and he humorously tries to live up to his bad boy image.
5. Jordan Catalano, My So-Called Life
The slick bad-boy was infamous for cutting class and not giving a care about school or his future (though he used this rebellious act to cover up his learning disability and illiteracy) The love interest of Angela redeemed his humanity through his songwriting capabilities, which allowed us to see a new layer to his bad boy image – swoon!
4. James “Sawyer” Ford, Lost
We first met Sawyer as the snarky ass and flirt who constantly teased Kate – usually without his shirt on. But as the seasons progress, he takes on a more heroic role, sacrificing his chance to escape for the sake of his friends. This bad boy proved to be a sweetheart deep down and we fell hard for him.
3. Jess Mariano, Gilmore Girls
The mysterious outsider who moved to the small town of Stars Hollow, Connecticut became the talk of the town. He fell for bookworm Rory Gilmore and the two dated for most of the third season. When he couldn’t get tickets to take Rory to the prom because he wasn’t graduating, he skipped town without a word. He later comes back in the show’s sixth season, still bearing the leather jacket, yet is eons more mature. He convinces Rory to get her life back on track since she had then dropped out of school and wasn’t speaking to her mother, which served as her wakeup call and future road to success.
2. Chuck Bass, Gossip Girl
All New Yorkers (or all of the world for that matter) know what it means when the infamous Chuck Bass smoothly utters, “I’m Chuck Bass.” He’s driven by sex and money and loves being involved in a good scheme. Though Blair Waldorf brings out a softer side, he is incredibly selfish, incredibly manipulative, and incredibly wealthy. Oh, and we looks dashing in a suit and colorful bowtie.
1. Don Draper, Mad Men
He lies, he cheats, he has the darkest of pasts and holds an abundance of secrets, yet he is suave, and slick and charming…and oh so handsome. He is incredibly alluring to women and uses his womanizing abilities to feed his ego, though he doesn’t get attached. He’s the quintessential bad boy because he’s charming and deceitful all in one which feeds into his magnetic personality.