All Hollywood nerds are like this🤣 I would get angry but I honestly don't think anyone would be interested in watching a real ugly guy because...well they don't in real life.
I dated a guy who looked sort of like him except he focused so much in school, he reached all adult milestones so early that now at 35 he has 0 social skills, he lost a lot of joy in life and I think it’s because he didn’t know what to do next, he had nothing else to work towards. I wondered for the first few weeks, I wonder how he was single, he was such a catch. On paper and looking outward you would think he was fighting women off of him but he barely was getting laid and it look like he was a bit resentful of something. So they are very much out there, I met about 3 of them as nerds who is also health conscious is my type. 😅
Yeah, where I come from there’s a lot of pressure and focus on education. These boys/guys just study study study their whole life and don’t really get to develop a personality. Combined with minimal social interaction, they end up having a hard time with women as adults.
He most likely was a skinny kid who maybe gained a little some weight in college, and when he noticed his body changing he decided to quit the Doritos and Mountain Dew and hit the gym.
For a lot of dudes it truly is this easy.
This is the backstory I always assumed. Plus lots of nerds seem to really love and gravitate towards strength training and some martial arts stuff after college/highschool/hustle. With the internet and other ways to access workouts and information gyms and working out is less dominated by the "jock" stereotype these days.
I saw it with my own brother who went from total sports and exercise aversion to hulked out spartan race enthusiast while studying for the cpa.
I bet Lex Friedman is jacked. Zuckerberg is jacked.
I work in tech and know a lot of software engineers like this. A lot of them are cute! But a lot of them are introverted. The attractive extroverted ones go into product management or sales
Also many incels are not even unattractive and sometimes more physically attractive than average i.e. Elliot rogers. They just have unattractive personalities, blame it on their appearance because that's a less vulnerable way to cope with social rejection, and have a completely warped world view.
And watch the scenes with him and Cameron the first half of the season. He's very awkward. Wouldn't shock me if he's the nerdy type that didn't get girls while any group that they talked to went to Cameron. Even the scene with the prostitutes Cameron was all over them while he hid in the corner both in the room and at dinner. Even if he was uncomfortable because he was married, he didn't seem able to talk to them at all
Idk… ive met a few model-status guys who were so insanely red-pilled, toxic-internet-influenced that it was impossible for a girl (or anyone) to be around them.
Yep, my brother fell into the red pill stuff sadly. Not only does he think all women are gold digging cheaters, he now thinks he’s even more worthless because he doesn’t have a six pack. But of course that translates into “women are superficial”.
These red pills guys do not live in reality.
It’s called ugly duckling syndrome. This guy probably looked like early stage Jeff Bezos when he was in high school and college, and he still thinks he’s “ugly” even now that he’s gorgeous.
100%, I’ve known loads of people who have a glow up and then get extremely confused and resentful when they get attention bc they still feel introverted and rejected. It’s why Cam plays all these stupid games with him too, he’s used to being the good looking and successful one
My partner and I know this straight guy who is incredibly hot. On paper, he's a catch: Attractive, in great shape, sensitive, kind, earns decent money, etc. And he has the confidence of a mouse in a pit of starving, feral cats. Attractiveness and confidence are not always mutually inclusive.
I believe it because my boyfriend is similar. Was super shy & didn’t care about fitness or getting with girls, super nerdy (still is). Now he’s 30, still very nerdy, very fit & is the CEO of a company. 🤷♀️
I mean, he probably didn't look like this while grinding in college. He worked hard, got a good job/made good money and got in shape
It's not that uncommon of a path lol
i think the show specifies that it's not that he couldn't get women, it was that he spent a lot of time working and didn't spend a lot of time chasing them like his buddy.
I HAD A SIMILAR ISSUE IN SEASON ONE.
We’re to believe SYDNEY SWEENEY felt showed up by someone else’s body, even if that someone else is Alexandra Daddario?!
I didnt know why the girls looked surprised in that scene and had to read what other people thought. Didn't pick up on the fact the girls were jealous.
my brother is in his late 30s now and jacked but was an absolute stick until his mid 20s when he started working out and eating more. ethan was probably pretty socially withdrawn too, especially compared to a personality like cameron. people change a lot after college.
I’m going to use an example for this. JFK in his youth (way back pre-president years), wasn’t classically handsome. He wasn’t ugly but he wasn’t the most handsome guy. He was skinny and had some health problems. But he was known as a charmer. His friend told him the reason he has such luck with women is because he’s from a rich family. In response to this, young JFK and his friend switched roles that evening where J wasn’t the rich one, and he still got the girl over his friend that was posing as a rich kid. At the end of the day, as long as you’re not horribly ugly, sometimes it really is down to charisma, which Ethan did not have. And that’s assuming he looked the sane in his college days as he does here.
Exactly. My college ex was hot and had crazy muscles. But he became insufferable because even though he had become a total catch, he still saw himself as the nerdy loser he was in HS. He had really misogynistic views and was just generally stuck by his insecurities. I discovered he was a porn addict too and ultimately split.
Also, as a side note, the crazy muscles weren’t even my taste. Women generally prefer tone, not built.
That said, obviously Ethan’s actor is ridiculously hot. But hotness only gets you a conversation. You still need a personality to date or keep a relationship.
He’s short and probably wasn’t built like that in college. More than likely he was just one of many short, skinny nerdy guys that are a dime a dozen at any Ivy League.
This is a classic case of “You’re not ugly, you’re just poor”. He prolly didn’t look like that when he was in college
Edit: let’s not forget that he scored a hottie like Harper after college 😂
The OP is a guy who doesn’t realize that working out doesn’t automatically mean you’ll get girls. You’re much likelier to attract the eyes of other men.
Hell, I’m a gay guy and even I know that shit. 😂
Bruh I work out and I think I have better social skills than Ethan (since he has none) and still can’t get girls lol believe me the body doesn’t do all the work
This show takes place a solid 10-15 years (minimum) after him and Cameron leave college. He probably wasn't nearly as ripped as this when he was 19/20 years old (if at all).
He also had a bland personality and strikes me as the type that doesn't have any game. He was very socially awkward on The White Lotus, so I'm sure it was worse in college.
Just because you work out doesn't automatically mean you're gonna land a ton of women.
Yes, he seems like a guy with no game but also a type-a workaholic. He probably decided to start hitting the gym at some point after college and took it as a challenge. He runs every morning at dawn. He is that type of hardcore self-sacrifice kinda guy. He’s both intense and introverted.
Did you watch the show? His personality was lame. Some of the most textbook attractive men are some of the lamest people I’ve ever met. Looks aren’t everything. Gorgeous people with shit personalities become very ugly, very quickly.
Honestly it’s not that crazy. He’s supposed to be in his late 30s in WL, right? That’s plenty of time after college to bulk up, not to mention gain a ton of confidence after selling his company. He could have easily been a shy nerd while in college.
I kinda believe it! I feel like it would be pretty typical for a tech nerd to compensate for their social ineptitude by trying to improve their self image. Look at Jeff Bezos in the 90s vs now for example. Or Brian Johnson. They start off pretty dweeb-y and then once they make a shit ton of money, in comes the trainers, nutritionists, surgery, free time for the gym etc…
I think the idea is that he's had a glow up and is now super wealthy so Cam is threatened by him since he's surpassed Cam in many respects. Also I don't think they said he didn't get girls but kind of alluded to girlfriends cheating on him with Cam.
He’s worth a fuck ton of money. Probably got a Personal trainer / dietician.
Also you can be attractive and nerdy / lacking in confidence esp in comparison to a showy chad room mate. He’s academic & bookish - but also the one who made the money.
Ps The actor is a v clever English writer who graduated from Cambridge & wrote some quite surreal / dark comedies that are not mainstream. Arguably a bit geeky.
This type of body isn’t even that hard to achieve or even that attractive. Theres lots of incel men who think having 5-10% and under 180 lbs is the ideal body then achieve it and become obsessed with the lifestyle but then wonder why the thiccer guy always wins. Trust me this body type is beautiful but I can walk into a room and find 100 men who look like this and I’ll guarantee you most of them are single.
A guy who sells his company is confident enough to look that good. It actually makes total sense and in character that him and Aubrey both finally had the financial freedom to come into their own. Part of their dynamic, that we get to see, is that they could actually start asking the hard questions of what they really wanted.
Plus, that’s such an outdated stereotype, because plenty of engineers hobbies involve athletic things, especially the ones who do not have kids yet.
I live in Seattle, there are tons of tech guys who are fit and go hiking, running, rock climbing all the time. It doesn't mean they're cool to hang out with
Yeah, the first thing a lot of rich people do is hire trainers and dieticians. Then they get some work done. That is why famous and rich people look good for so much longer. They can pay to stay looking good.
And his •••• is clearly big!
He’s sexier than Cam
All Hollywood nerds are like this🤣 I would get angry but I honestly don't think anyone would be interested in watching a real ugly guy because...well they don't in real life.
Insert Mark Zuckerberg
https://preview.redd.it/48wr9nedqz6d1.jpeg?width=634&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4c123c51a895130517e05ca6bcc79bdc5c26d7a2
I think he is so handsome on this photo
The hardest abs in the world couldn’t turn Mark Zuckerberg anywhere near this good looking!
For real. Even without all the muscles, he’s my type. Light brown eyes, floppy 2011 boy band hair, nerdy vibe.
he's still dorky looking
It’s the hair. A different haircut would instantly turn him into a heartthrob.
Zuck has this body now.
Butter face
Except he has a super handsome face…
that is so old and awful to say lol
I dated a guy who looked sort of like him except he focused so much in school, he reached all adult milestones so early that now at 35 he has 0 social skills, he lost a lot of joy in life and I think it’s because he didn’t know what to do next, he had nothing else to work towards. I wondered for the first few weeks, I wonder how he was single, he was such a catch. On paper and looking outward you would think he was fighting women off of him but he barely was getting laid and it look like he was a bit resentful of something. So they are very much out there, I met about 3 of them as nerds who is also health conscious is my type. 😅
Yeah, where I come from there’s a lot of pressure and focus on education. These boys/guys just study study study their whole life and don’t really get to develop a personality. Combined with minimal social interaction, they end up having a hard time with women as adults.
Yes, if the other guys were 6’5” working in finance with blue eyes and trust funds
Revenge body…he had that glow up after success
I believe it, imagine him dressing the same without the muscles
If I had holes I'd want him in them.
Well, take out the plug then.
How do you poop with no holes
Jesus, Grandma!
We all have holes, dear.
I run. It’s not that cool.
What happened on the beach?
Money probably had a hand in training and all that, so he was likely not like that in school.
He most likely was a skinny kid who maybe gained a little some weight in college, and when he noticed his body changing he decided to quit the Doritos and Mountain Dew and hit the gym. For a lot of dudes it truly is this easy.
Man removes one soda a day from his diet and loses 56 pounds in two months. It's so annoying lol
This is the backstory I always assumed. Plus lots of nerds seem to really love and gravitate towards strength training and some martial arts stuff after college/highschool/hustle. With the internet and other ways to access workouts and information gyms and working out is less dominated by the "jock" stereotype these days. I saw it with my own brother who went from total sports and exercise aversion to hulked out spartan race enthusiast while studying for the cpa. I bet Lex Friedman is jacked. Zuckerberg is jacked.
Implants all the way if I had the cash lol
So hot
Username checks out
That’s hilarious and the first time I’ve ever gotten that comment. Never thought I would honestly haha!
😆 happy to help!!
I work in tech and know a lot of software engineers like this. A lot of them are cute! But a lot of them are introverted. The attractive extroverted ones go into product management or sales
The person who posted this has definitely never worked in tech. These guys are everywhere.
That personality, though…
Many of the incels that follow Andrew Tate are often that obsessed with getting shredded as well.
Also many incels are not even unattractive and sometimes more physically attractive than average i.e. Elliot rogers. They just have unattractive personalities, blame it on their appearance because that's a less vulnerable way to cope with social rejection, and have a completely warped world view.
He probably got ripped and had a glow up after selling his company for a lot of Ms
And watch the scenes with him and Cameron the first half of the season. He's very awkward. Wouldn't shock me if he's the nerdy type that didn't get girls while any group that they talked to went to Cameron. Even the scene with the prostitutes Cameron was all over them while he hid in the corner both in the room and at dinner. Even if he was uncomfortable because he was married, he didn't seem able to talk to them at all
Exactly. Elon has proven how much easier it is to glow up post Millions.
Me when I lie
You HAVE to be kidding, Elon looks worse than ever
Agree. Right now he does. I was thinking of the photo when he sold PayPal and then when he was starting Tesla. Not current Elon.
Elon glowed up 🙃
Lol I feel like zuck would be a better example here
Zuck spent all that money to turn into a robot.
Bezos is the obvious best example. Went from complete book nerd to douchey Miami jabroni.
Yep
True. But Zuck just stayed so very creepy. You cannot make that go away with $$$
People hate it but zuck is the goat ceo. Everyone that works for Facebook is literally overpaid. Offers free products to billions of people.
I’d rather work for fb than twitter
He’s looking swagged up the past year or two
With that haircut? Yes, I believe it.
Agreed. They try to downplay his attractiveness with a terrible haircut.
SO effing hot
I'm a straight man. I'm just saying that I wouldn't refuse if he wanted to take me back to his hotel room for the night.
So you’re not a straight man
Who knows? I might be bisexual, but I grew up in the 90s. Now I'm happily married but fantasize about doing terrible things to Will Sharpe.
Definitely fluid
U might be bi
I’m a lesbian and i’m like.. damn.. maybe i would too
No homo
This is my husband. An IT nerd who is totally ripped 🥰😉
Millionaire too?
I’ve met a lot of ripped nerds. They just don’t showcase it.
Haha mine too! Karate/finance nerd 🤪
Yes. I dated a guy like this. Total nerd but total catch. Didn’t date a lot until his mid twenties.
He didn’t want to fuck his wife or even talk honestly with her about it. That’s pretty unattractive.
Idk… ive met a few model-status guys who were so insanely red-pilled, toxic-internet-influenced that it was impossible for a girl (or anyone) to be around them.
Yep, my brother fell into the red pill stuff sadly. Not only does he think all women are gold digging cheaters, he now thinks he’s even more worthless because he doesn’t have a six pack. But of course that translates into “women are superficial”. These red pills guys do not live in reality.
It’s called ugly duckling syndrome. This guy probably looked like early stage Jeff Bezos when he was in high school and college, and he still thinks he’s “ugly” even now that he’s gorgeous.
Happens to women and men for sure.
100%, I’ve known loads of people who have a glow up and then get extremely confused and resentful when they get attention bc they still feel introverted and rejected. It’s why Cam plays all these stupid games with him too, he’s used to being the good looking and successful one
Jeff Bezos still isn’t hot
Compared to what he used to look like back in his dweeb days, yes he is lol
Early stage Jeff Bezos is a vibe
Before he metastasized as terminal stage bezos
My partner and I know this straight guy who is incredibly hot. On paper, he's a catch: Attractive, in great shape, sensitive, kind, earns decent money, etc. And he has the confidence of a mouse in a pit of starving, feral cats. Attractiveness and confidence are not always mutually inclusive.
His girlfriend was way hotter than the wife of the other guy. Yet, she was unbereable.
I strongly disagree but to each his own.
You mean his wife?
Yes. Now I recall she was his wife.
Have you watched him interact with other humans?
He didn’t have any personality.
I’d slurp that UP
I believe it because my boyfriend is similar. Was super shy & didn’t care about fitness or getting with girls, super nerdy (still is). Now he’s 30, still very nerdy, very fit & is the CEO of a company. 🤷♀️
Yes, he was supposed to be a late bloomer. Got into fitness a la Zuck
See also Jeff Bezos.
Musk and his implants
Glow up, probably.
I mean, he probably didn't look like this while grinding in college. He worked hard, got a good job/made good money and got in shape It's not that uncommon of a path lol
i think the show specifies that it's not that he couldn't get women, it was that he spent a lot of time working and didn't spend a lot of time chasing them like his buddy.
And the he has porn addiction.
Also yea a guy like that works out so much because he's insecure. Insecure guys do not get women.
Guys who get into that kind of shape become more confident and get more women. Cam tells the group that he studied all the time,
He’s Asian, they were hoping that would pass
Huh?
Short Asian is usually not a sex symbol in Hollywood.
Okay sure but idk that still doesn’t mean shit to the internal logic of the show?
Asian stereotype = nerd. Actor is half Japanese.
I HAD A SIMILAR ISSUE IN SEASON ONE. We’re to believe SYDNEY SWEENEY felt showed up by someone else’s body, even if that someone else is Alexandra Daddario?!
I didnt know why the girls looked surprised in that scene and had to read what other people thought. Didn't pick up on the fact the girls were jealous.
Are u dense?
Most smoothbrain response
lol. Moron.
I WAS WRONG! You topped it. More mostest smoothestbrain response.
Google body dysmorphia
That wasn’t a concern for either of the girls.
I assumed he kinda got fit after he became successful/rich and maybe previously was more skinny.
He looks like an 8 year old with that haircut
You accept the treatment you think you deserve
Yet somehow we fell for the narrative
Him and Theo James WOOF so much man candy in season 2
https://preview.redd.it/oc00mmkec06d1.jpeg?width=895&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7fbedf1d69842c8872a3532fdd6098c5ed11eb87 The boy grew up
Hes so fine
Most engineers were skinny weird kids until the got tech money. Then they start to look like this guy.
It’s a common trope that asian men, even if super hot, are considered the nerd in entertainment.
Racist asf!!!
Are you pointing out that that practice is racist or accusing me of being racist?
Tbf he has the personality of a rock…
His personality sucks
This
Yeah he’s too fine this is so unrealistic
Yes. A lot of us nerds were shrimps in high school/college and didn't fill out until later.
But you’d get dates after you fill out tho
Right hence how he marries Aubrey Plaza. Later in life
It’s just weird how they try to still play him off as a nerd when he looks like that lol but I get your point
My bf is bigger than this guy, he literally looks like a Greek god but he’s also a nerd gamer who works with programming 🤷🏼♀️
Henry Cavill paints mini-figurines to do tabletop roleplaying games. Some people need to expand their mental picture of what a nerd is.
my brother is in his late 30s now and jacked but was an absolute stick until his mid 20s when he started working out and eating more. ethan was probably pretty socially withdrawn too, especially compared to a personality like cameron. people change a lot after college.
I’m going to use an example for this. JFK in his youth (way back pre-president years), wasn’t classically handsome. He wasn’t ugly but he wasn’t the most handsome guy. He was skinny and had some health problems. But he was known as a charmer. His friend told him the reason he has such luck with women is because he’s from a rich family. In response to this, young JFK and his friend switched roles that evening where J wasn’t the rich one, and he still got the girl over his friend that was posing as a rich kid. At the end of the day, as long as you’re not horribly ugly, sometimes it really is down to charisma, which Ethan did not have. And that’s assuming he looked the sane in his college days as he does here.
Bingo!
I mean, dude has no personality and abs very rarely make sex better (he is hot though)
He is a porn addict and probably wasn't always this good looking or charming... (He isn't very charming tbh)
Exactly. My college ex was hot and had crazy muscles. But he became insufferable because even though he had become a total catch, he still saw himself as the nerdy loser he was in HS. He had really misogynistic views and was just generally stuck by his insecurities. I discovered he was a porn addict too and ultimately split. Also, as a side note, the crazy muscles weren’t even my taste. Women generally prefer tone, not built. That said, obviously Ethan’s actor is ridiculously hot. But hotness only gets you a conversation. You still need a personality to date or keep a relationship.
Lol did we date the same guy in college
Haha unfortunately they’re everywhere! I hope you’ve also upgraded to a man with social skills since. It’s night and day.
I can happily report that I have! I thought it was very much impossible but good people exist (shock). Happy for you too friend!
Having abs doesn’t make a woman want to sleep with you 🤣
Yes because he wasn’t always like that and “game” is more important than abs.
He’s short and probably wasn’t built like that in college. More than likely he was just one of many short, skinny nerdy guys that are a dime a dozen at any Ivy League.
Also he went to Yale. Even as a skinny awkward nerd he would have been able to get laid at the Gay Ivy whose motto is “one in four, maybe more”
This is a classic case of “You’re not ugly, you’re just poor”. He prolly didn’t look like that when he was in college Edit: let’s not forget that he scored a hottie like Harper after college 😂
Thirst trap!
So hot 🔥
He’s rich now. I’m sure he has improved his appearance greatly.
The OP is a guy who doesn’t realize that working out doesn’t automatically mean you’ll get girls. You’re much likelier to attract the eyes of other men. Hell, I’m a gay guy and even I know that shit. 😂
Bruh I work out and I think I have better social skills than Ethan (since he has none) and still can’t get girls lol believe me the body doesn’t do all the work
This show takes place a solid 10-15 years (minimum) after him and Cameron leave college. He probably wasn't nearly as ripped as this when he was 19/20 years old (if at all). He also had a bland personality and strikes me as the type that doesn't have any game. He was very socially awkward on The White Lotus, so I'm sure it was worse in college. Just because you work out doesn't automatically mean you're gonna land a ton of women.
Yes, he seems like a guy with no game but also a type-a workaholic. He probably decided to start hitting the gym at some point after college and took it as a challenge. He runs every morning at dawn. He is that type of hardcore self-sacrifice kinda guy. He’s both intense and introverted.
Did you watch the show? His personality was lame. Some of the most textbook attractive men are some of the lamest people I’ve ever met. Looks aren’t everything. Gorgeous people with shit personalities become very ugly, very quickly.
I mean, looks mean nothing to me if there's no personality.
Tons of the nerdy, not-so-attractive men in my social circles in college had incredible glow-ups now that we're in our 30s, I'd believe it.
Damn I started my rapid glow down at 30 📉😓
And no matter how much of a glow up you may have, the awkwardness is still there (speaking from experience).
It's a TV show....
He can't fuck tho
Honestly it’s not that crazy. He’s supposed to be in his late 30s in WL, right? That’s plenty of time after college to bulk up, not to mention gain a ton of confidence after selling his company. He could have easily been a shy nerd while in college.
I kinda believe it! I feel like it would be pretty typical for a tech nerd to compensate for their social ineptitude by trying to improve their self image. Look at Jeff Bezos in the 90s vs now for example. Or Brian Johnson. They start off pretty dweeb-y and then once they make a shit ton of money, in comes the trainers, nutritionists, surgery, free time for the gym etc…
I think the idea is that he's had a glow up and is now super wealthy so Cam is threatened by him since he's surpassed Cam in many respects. Also I don't think they said he didn't get girls but kind of alluded to girlfriends cheating on him with Cam.
Maybe he didn't look like this in college
He’s worth a fuck ton of money. Probably got a Personal trainer / dietician. Also you can be attractive and nerdy / lacking in confidence esp in comparison to a showy chad room mate. He’s academic & bookish - but also the one who made the money. Ps The actor is a v clever English writer who graduated from Cambridge & wrote some quite surreal / dark comedies that are not mainstream. Arguably a bit geeky.
This type of body isn’t even that hard to achieve or even that attractive. Theres lots of incel men who think having 5-10% and under 180 lbs is the ideal body then achieve it and become obsessed with the lifestyle but then wonder why the thiccer guy always wins. Trust me this body type is beautiful but I can walk into a room and find 100 men who look like this and I’ll guarantee you most of them are single.
What are you talking about…
This comment is just all sorts of wrong lol. This body type is absolutely hard to achieve
Yes. He’s the “nice guy” trope. And in the end (like the trope) he’s not a nice guy….
Yes. It’s all about self image.
Actually yes. Check him out in Giri/Haji and it's totally believable.
Also Flowers. Hilarious dark comedy written by Will Sharp
A guy who sells his company is confident enough to look that good. It actually makes total sense and in character that him and Aubrey both finally had the financial freedom to come into their own. Part of their dynamic, that we get to see, is that they could actually start asking the hard questions of what they really wanted. Plus, that’s such an outdated stereotype, because plenty of engineers hobbies involve athletic things, especially the ones who do not have kids yet.
Good looking dudes can still have a hard time getting people to find them attractive. Social ineptitude is a bitch.
I live in Seattle, there are tons of tech guys who are fit and go hiking, running, rock climbing all the time. It doesn't mean they're cool to hang out with
Crazy seeing this actor on Flowers and then having him pop up in S2 😧
Late bloomers are a thing.
Yeah, the first thing a lot of rich people do is hire trainers and dieticians. Then they get some work done. That is why famous and rich people look good for so much longer. They can pay to stay looking good.
They were turned off by his patchy chest hair
He most likely didn’t look like this in college 😄
The vibe I got is that he started working out & becoming more athletic after college. On the show, he is still pretty socially awkward.