Us ladies (and maybe some gents, we don’t judge) got to swoon over some fellow nerds in our A Little Somethin’ for the Ladies. Turnabout is fair play and now it’s time for the fellas. I was happy to encounter an abundance of lady nerdom, so there will be a part two.
Just because an actor gets to star in a comic book based movie or play a superhero, it doesn’t mean they are “one of us” (*cough cough*, Jessica Alba), but sometimes they can surprise you. Without further ado, here are some lovely ladies worthy of respect, some conversation and a bit of ogling. And, shockingly for me, it’s a Milla J free list.
In no particular order:
Felicia Day
The She’s Your Best Friend You Never Noticed Until She Shakes Her Hair Loose Nerd- Our first nerdy girl is the obvious choice, but is so cool she deserves the props anyway. Fan of the genre, creator, violinist, brainy beauty and all about cool girl Felicia Day. From her stint as a potential slayer in season 7 Buffy to her tribute to gamers and geeks everywhere, The Guild, Felicia is just a fanboy and fangirl favorite.
Ms. Jones
The Girl Next Door Nerd- Next up is the daughter of Quincy Jones and Twin Peaks/Mod Squad’s Peggy Lipton who has cool in her genes and apparently a bit of geek too- Rashida Jones. Harvard graduate, Parks and Recreation star and frequent costar of Paul Rudd and Jason Segel. Jones has co-written the comic Frenemy of the State for Oni-Press with Christina Weir and Nunzio DeFilippis.
Emma Caulfield
The Just One Of the Guys Nerd- It’s nice to see a celebrity Tweet about The Game of Thrones and The Walking Dead as much as we do. Plus she’s a Trekky,an X Files and Community fan. Like Proffitt and me but even cooler. The Whedonverse’s own Emma Caulfield is someone we definitely want to have coffee with. Caulfield, a “lover of animals, sci-fi and sometimes people,” is refreshingly brash, outspoken, witty and hilarious. Her wonderful Hollywood mockery web series Bandwagon unfortunately was too short lived. She isn’t afraid to tell it like it is and piss people off along the way. She also starred in a little known film Timer that I love and co-created the web comic Who is Ripper . She often shares her opinions in wonderfully executed essays on her Tumblr site. She is also responsible for the most tear inducing moment in the Buffy-verse in The Body. She may have not written the speech, but no one could have delivered it like she. I hope we see more of her in Once Upon a Time and much more of her own creations. It’s more than enough to forgive her for 90210 and the disappointing Darkness Falls.
Tori Amos
The Odd Girl That Talked to Fairies in the Back of Class Nerd- One of my most favorite musicians of all time is Tori Amos. She has been name checking Neil Gaiman and Sandman from the early 90’s and eventually became close friends with him. A supporter of the comic book community, she opened her songs up to artistic interpretation and released the book Comic Book Tattoo. She also named her daughter Natasha Lorien (as in Lothlorien). A self-professed lover of nerds, we love her back.
Rosario Dawson
Kicking Ass and Taking Names Later Nerd- Rosario Dawson. She’s held her own in Clerks 2, made quite an impression in Sin City, and delivered the final, memorable, drop kicking blow to Kurt Russell in Quentin Tarantino’s Death Proof. Dawson stars in the sci-fi web series Gemini Division. She was the co-writer/creator of the mini-series comic book The Occult Crimes Taskforce and working with Gale Anne Hurd to bring it to TV. And if that doesn’t tingle your Spidey senses, she speaks Klingon.
Adrianne Palicki
The Truly Geekiest of All But Insecure Nerds Will Think She’s Faking It Nerd Girl- Adrianne Palicki. She didn’t just obligingly read GI Joe and Wonder Woman for her roles. She was eight when her brother Eric took her to a comic book store and she has been mesmerized ever since. Her brother, Eric Palicki, is a comic book writer and she is collaborating with him on a project called No Angel and has supported his successful Kickstarter project. She can knowledgeably discuss Vertigo, DC and Marvel as well as the indies. She has a Supergirl tattoo, saying “But I always felt she got the shit end of the stick when it came to story lines.” She also has a mega super collection of pogs. She brings her comics (bags and boards) and graphic novels with her where she goes and loves to talk about what she is currently reading. She’s also playing my favorite Lady Jaye in the delayed GI Joe: Retaliation so I am even more excited after finding this out.
I could go on but I think we’re probably all so dizzy from such hotness. There will definitely be a part two where I will pay my respects to Aisha Tyler, Claire Grant and Kristin Bell.
Who else are we missing?
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Who are you missing?? Why Proffit and Bex of course!
Oh, you.
Awe, awe you. Thanks Courtney.
On behalf of male nerds everywhere, thank you!
We do what we can.
Emma Caulfield really nailed the naive innocent role on Buffy. It’s hard not to like her.
I honestly missed Felicia Day in Buffy for a long time until a re-watch recognized her. I always remember her from those USPS commercials!
Rosario Dawson might be my favorite though… and not for the reasons even that most guys probably do… She just always comes across as genuine, that’s rare from hollywood types. She can do glamour and goofy, that’s also rare.
I’m pretty sure one of the Gaijin Studios guys (assuming he is still in the group) is a cousin or something of hers.. I used to talk to those guys a lot as I was a fan of pretty much all of them (Stelfreeze, Hughes, Hamner, the Kesels, etc.). She was at Heroes Con one year and I really regret that I didn’t go that year. Ms Dawson seems like she would be a fun person to meet and talk to.
Yes, well stated about Rosario. Probably all these women, upon further thought. I think that may be par the course for being a “nerd!” While being driven, they are not so serious about themselves.