SPOILER ALERT: This list contains minor spoilers for Haunted Mansion.
It is a truth universally acknowledged that as long as there are priests in pop culture, someone, somewhere will find a way to thirst over them. Whether it’s the inherent connection to religion, the forbidden nature of romance, the position of power, or just the clean, simple lines of the black button-down and clerical collar, there’s no doubt that priests continue to be the object of frequent fantasies and many illicit daydreams. Though the term “hot priest” may bring one very specific character to mind, Andrew Scott’s now-iconic Fleabag character wasn’t the first (and certainly won’t be the last) hot priest in pop culture. It may be a tad blasphemous, but here’s a round-up of 10 of pop culture’s hottest on-screen priests, from least hot (but still would) to most hot (definitely going to Hell).
Unnamed Priest (Paul Bettany) – Priest (2011)
Starting things off with a (very literal) bang is Paul Bettany’s titular vampire-killing hero from the 2011 action-horror flick Priest. Based on a Korean comic of the same name, the film follows Priest (no name, just the title) a grizzled warrior priest who uses his talent for violence to keep creatures of the night at bay and rescue his niece (Lily Collins) from a pack of bloodsuckers. Though the movie itself may not be all that substantial, if you’re looking for hot priest content, this is a goldmine—this no-nonsense leading man (and his bizarre-looking motorcycle) is the epitome of a classically broody, tortured action hero with a heart (or rather, soul) of gold.
Father Brah (Rene Gube) – Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (2015-2019)
Undoubtedly the most laid-back entry in the hot priest canon is Father Brah (Rene Gube), the good-natured religious confidant/high school friend of Josh (Vincent Rodriguez III) on CW’s musical comedy Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. Introduced as a recurring character in season one’s “Josh and I Are Good People!”, Father Brah may be devoutly religious, but he’s also got plenty of distinctly modern sensibilities and is more than happy to give Josh and Rebecca (Rachel Bloom) some judgment-free advice on their disastrously messy lives. If that wasn’t endearing enough, Father Brah is also prone to popping into the show’s many musical numbers every now and then—his solo in “Love’s Not A Game” is a particular highlight. If you’re on the hunt for hot priest content that *won’t* send you spiraling down a dark, introspective path, CXG‘s Father Brah is your man.
Fathers Sebastião, Francisco, and Cristóvão (Andrew Garfield, Adam Driver, and Liam Neeson) – Silence (2016)
Why have just one hot priest when you could get three in the same movie? 2016’s Silence saw two of the internet’s favorite heartthrobs, Adam Driver and Andrew Garfield, co-starring as a pair of 17th-century Portuguese missionaries who embark on a search for their missing superior—yet another hot priest, played by Liam Neeson. Admittedly, the film itself (directed by Martin Scorsese) is a little too dark and gritty to get away with conventional hot priest thirsting. But between the beautiful costume design and the period-appropriate facial hair/hairstyling, there’s plenty of handsome, smoldering priest content to enjoy in between the narrative moments of such a grave story.
Father Patrick McKenna (Ewan McGregor) – Angels & Demons (2009)
Part of the inherent appeal of a hot priest is the contradictory nature of the presumed “holiness” that the collar represents and the physical attractiveness of the man actually wearing it. But sometimes, an evil, mustache-twirling hot priest can be just as (if not more) attractive. Enter stage right, Ewan McGregor’s villainous Father Patrick in Angels & Demons. Even if you’re not entirely sold on the Dan Brown films (this is the same universe as The DaVinci Code), Angels & Demons is certainly worth watching for McGregor’s deliciously devious performance—from the formal regalia to the self-immolation, Father Patrick ticks all the right (or rather wrong) boxes for hot priest aficionados.
Father Tomas (Alfonso Herrera) – The Exorcist TV Series (2016-2018)
Talk about a show that actively leans into the forbidden romance appeal of a hot priest! The Exorcist (a direct sequel to the classic horror film of the same name) featured Alfonso Herrera as Father Tomas Ortega, a series regular who (in between banishing demons and attempting to save the lives of unsuspecting Chicagoans) strikes up a torrid romance with another character on the series, Jessica (Mouzam Makkar). If the “I know I shouldn’t be doing this but it feels so good” appeal of his character wasn’t enough, Tomas also makes for a healthy crush simply on the grounds that he’s not a twisted villain or a sadistic variant on the pop culture priest. He may engage in more carnal desires than he should, but he’s got a good soul at his core, and that’s something worth swooning over.
Vicar Will Ransome (Tom Hiddleston) – The Essex Serpent (2022)
Yes, you can breathe a sigh of relief—Tom Hiddleston in The Essex Serpent did, in fact, make the top ten. As we creep closer to the top of hot priest mountain, the rest of the picks (barring one) may seem obvious or familiar, but that’s just because they’re so damn good—and Tom Hiddleston’s Vicar Will Ransome is no exception. Another priest who’s explicitly placed in a romantic setting to stir up drama, Will Ransome is a sweeping romantic lead in this period drama who just happens to also be a priest (well, a married vicar who pines away for Claire Danes). Well-written and thoroughly fleshed out, The Essex Serpent is the perfect answer for viewers who want substance and genuine romance as part of the hot priest package.
Adrian Clairmont (Brennan Lee Mulligan) – L.A. By Night (2018-2021)
Doing a total 180 from the glossy, high-budget streaming miniseries that is The Essex Serpent, the next hot priest on our list hails from the world of tabletop roleplaying: Brennan Lee Mulligan’s Adrian Clairmont. Though he may not *technically* be a priest anymore (he’s revealed to be an ex-bishop), Adrian still dons the collar, so I’m counting him as fair play. A “humble servant” in a world of terrifying vampires, Adrian makes a brief but memorable impact on the series in his intense philosophical conversations with Erika Ishii’s Annabelle, a vampire whose soul Adrian has decided he’s going to attempt to save. Stalwart in his convictions until the very end, Adrian’s soft-spoken intensity makes him a mesmerizing presence whenever he’s onscreen—no supernatural abilities or glamours needed.
Honorable Mentions: The Not-Priests
This is a hot priest ranking, so I couldn’t in good conscience rank characters *pretending* to be priests alongside actual men of the cloth. But I’d also be remiss if I didn’t mention any of them at all. Jenna Colman’s Johanna Constantine in The Sandman, Owen Wilson’s Father Kent in Haunted Mansion, and Jeff Bridges’ Father Daniel in Bad Times at the El Royale all don the collar and the button-down but are eventually revealed (spoiler alert!) to not be actual priests. It’d be a crime to rank them and take away a spot for an *actual* priest, so this trio of tricksters can settle for a joint honorable mention before we get to the top three.
Pope Pius XIII (Jude Law) – The Young Pope (2016)
Does this entry even need justifying? Outside of one other contender, Jude Law’s turn as a scantily-clad Pope Pius XIII in HBO’s deliciously devious satirical drama series The Young Pope is virtually the dictionary definition of “hot priest”. From its outlandish marketing to some truly memorable costume design, everything about The Young Pope is specifically engineered to create a very visceral response from viewers. The entire premise of the series is hinged on the preconceived notions of piousness and humility we have concerning priests. It almost feels like cheating to add an entry so specifically geared towards making viewers say “Wow, he’s hot”, but to *not* include Pius XIII a.k.a. Lenny Belardo would be just as criminal.
Father Paul (Hamish Linklater) – Midnight Mass (2021)
Who says hot priests can’t also be Tumblr-fied sad boys? Though self-inflicted injury and a healthy dose of religious guilt come part and parcel in the appeal of all hot priests, there’s perhaps no hot priest out there whose story is more tragic than the ill-fated but good-hearted monsignor Paul on Midnight Mass. Though he may have had the best intentions when turning to higher beings to try and cleanse his parish of sin and sorrow, Father Paul ended up inadvertently turning himself into a monster—but there was plenty of brooding, tragic romance, and miracle-working to savor before he met his untimely end. Maybe not a *hot* priest in the strictest sense of the term, but something better—a tragically beautiful one.
The Hot Priest (Andrew Scott) – Fleabag Season 2 (2019)
Was there ever any doubt? The man who inspired the term and started a virtual pop culture revolution was always going to take the top spot—Andrew Scott’s (never properly named) Hot Priest in Fleabag is, of course, the hot priest to end all hot priests. The unlikely object of affection for Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s titular anti-heroine, Scott’s Hot Priest enraptured audiences with his earnest openness that eventually gave way to a dangerously sexy self-awareness. From telling her to kneel and revealing that he knows how turned on calling him “father” makes her, Scott’s Hot Priest is so hot *because* he knows how hot you think he is.
(featured images: Amazon Prime Video/Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures/Netflix)
