There’s no better feeling than being able to walk out of a theater still thinking about the characters you just spent a couple hours with. From vampire slayers who fought to reunite with family, superheroes who would give their all to humanity, and the men who never asked to be heroes but risk their lives alongside family and friends. These men made the movies we watched this year ones to remember. Here’s our favorite male characters in movies of 2025!
Smoke, Sinners
Smoke is the type of man to keep his promises in Sinners, no matter how difficult they are to fulfill. He’s deeply loyal, caring, and tough when he needs to be. At his core however, he’s a lover and protector for his family and friends. Not once did he let prejudice or those believing they were superior above him tell him who he was. Smoke, along with his brother Stack, dictated their own lives and actions. Such persistence and courage to go against societal norms that were made to punish them was striking.
Reed Richards, Fantastic Four
Some people may think that Reed is apathetic and emotionless as not only a superhero, but the smartest man alive. But we are not those people and think he deserves to be on our list of favorite characters this year. He’s a loving husband and father who would do anything for his family. As a matter of fact, his love for his family is what drove him to make hard decisions in Fantastic Four: First Steps.
Reed is calculated, considerate, and logical. Despite his sharp intelligence, he will do anything to protect his family because they’re who he loves most.
MORE: When it comes to The Fantastic Four: First Steps, this is what hope feels like. Read our review!
Clark Kent, Superman
Clark Kent, both as a superhero and civilian, has one of the biggest hearts of the men on this list. He’ll save a squirrel and ask mid-fight if everyone else was alright in a room he crashes into while in battle.
As Lois Lane says in Superman, Clark sees the beauty in everything and everyone around him. Including the good, bad, terrible, and ugly. It may be a flaw to some, but it’s his greatest strength. He saved every life he could, did anything to protect his cousin’s dog Krypto, and represents the type of hero we’d want in our real world.
Larry, Eternity
A24‘s Eternity was a beautiful story about how love changes over time and what it means to love someone enough to let them go. It was one of our favorite releases of the year and we’re stuck thinking about these characters and the love triangle on the daily. Not because of the drama, but because this story tugged on our hearts.
In the end, Larry was selfless with Joan’s happiness at the forefront of his priorities. So, yes, we did cheer when Joan came back to Larry after realizing he was who she completely loved.
MORE: Want more Miles Teller? Watch The Gorge and then read our review HERE!
Sam Wilson, Captain America: Brave New World
Sam Wilson is Captain America, and he further proved why he’s perfectly suited for the mantle in Captain America: Brave New World. We loved that Sam’s first solo film showed how he’s Captain America is a hero of the people — American or not. He’s multilingual and would speak to civilians in their respective languages, highlighting his empathetic approach to heroism. The former counselor also leads with his heart.
Seeing Sam embrace the Captain America mantle as a regular, non-powered person is inspiring and, as Bucky Barnes put it, something to aspire to. But, even without powers, Sam’s physical prowess isn’t something to question. His dedication has made him into a Cap with a cool, innovative fighting style that’s fun to watch.
Fiyero, Wicked: For Good
Fiyero in Wicked: For Good is driven by his love for Elphaba to change into a man aware and unafraid of consequences that come with doing what’s right in a corrupt world filled with lies. There were risks of banishment and exile, but he took them in stride. While also ruining his relationship with Glinda. Fiyero didn’t regret a single choice he made in choosing Elphaba above everything else because she had seen who he was from the moment they met.
They were the first people to see who the other truly was as a person and not something to be judged or idolized. And it was special. So, Fiyero is worthy of being on this list because we love how much he loved Elphaba. She deserved to have someone love her loudly and truly.
Eric Reyes, Freakier Friday
Manny Jacinto’s Eric of Freakier Friday was charming, wholesome, and so easy to fall in love with. To add on, he’s a great father who only wanted to do what was best for not only his own daughter but Anna’s family as well.
We think his love story with Anna and how they navigated bringing two families together was the sequel’s beating heart. So, he’s earned a spot on this list for simply being a man unafraid to show his emotions and express his love for those who matter most to him. If we’re honest, we adored how soft he was. It’s not something we see often enough and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with men being expressive. We need more Eric’s in the world.
MORE: Thunderbolts* feels undeniably true to life. Read our review.
Bob ‘Sentry’ Reynolds, Thunderbolts*
We didn’t expect to go into Thunderbolts* and get emotionally attached to Bob Reynolds but it happened. Bob has powerful superhero abilities that could be both dangerous and a struggle to control. And we know he’ll be important in the next Avengers films as a result. But he’s also just a man hurting with childhood trauma and fear of abandonment. And that’s who we connected with.
His journey of healing alongside newfound friends such as Yelena Belova has given him strength to embrace his past and move forward in life. And he’s someone who we want to see be happy and thriving, so Bob deserves a space on this list.
Peter McVries, The Long Walk
Similar to The Hunger Games franchise, The Long Walk was intense, disturbing, and made us think about how we’d survive in these characters’ shoes. In this dystopian society where teenagers participate in physical challenges to advance in a bleak world, Pete was someone who stood out to us. And in movies like these make us value the life we’re in and inspire us to never let the world get to this point of chaos and despair.
Pete was considerate, kind, and everyone around him knew it. And having such a good heart capable of fighting for change was what helped him begin dismantling the system. In the end, we think he’s worth a spot on this list for being a character we rooted for in such a dark thriller.
Mickey, Mickey 17
In our opinion, Mickey 17 was a sci-fi film where we believed Robert Pattinson got to shine on screen. We saw him in a new light as an actor and admired his dedication to being multiple characters with different personalities. Specifically, Mickeys 17 and 18 were stand-outs in the movie as characters who stood up for what was right in this futuristic world, despite one of them being a little bit more unhinged. In the end, Mickey helped usher in a new era of peace for his colony.
MORE: Love Robert Pattinson? Read our review for Mickey 17 here!
Benoit Blanc, Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery
Daniel Craig’s Benoit Blanc has remained the star for the Knives Out trilogy of murder mystery movies for good reason. He’s compassionate, empathetic toward anyone he meets including possible suspects, and intelligent. Blanc is the best at what he does because he rarely uses violence to get his answers. Overall, he’s able to get under the skin of those he interrogates overtime because of how open and willing he is to listen to them.
In short, he takes time to get to know and understand the families and communities he encounters, and that’s important to him. Not only is it a tactic he uses to solve cases but it’s representative of how much he cares about doing his job. Which is to put killers away and bring peace back to people that have been hurt or misguided. And that’s why he deserves to be on our list.
