These are the 35 coolest men under 38 (and a half)
What a difference four years makes. In 2010, when we last ran our Cool List (come on, if anything's allowed to be fashionably late, it's this) our rundown of the men defining style, shaping culture and appropriating the national conversation - and doing so above all others - took in a very different set. Completely different, in fact, and that tells us something about what it means to be one of the coolest people around. Something simultaneously invigorating for those whose stars are rising and dispiriting for those who are already there: it's tied up with time and place. Those at the top represent a particular crowd at a particular moment with all the advantages that youth affords. If that all sounds a touch nebulous, well, that's the nature of it. Cool is less a formula than an instinct. It's not simply about a way with women or unshakeable self-belief or a rebellious streak, though those things are often important. It's not something that can be summed up in an algorithm or a checklist. Yet we all know it when we see it. And these men have it in spades... What a difference four years makes. In 2010, when we last ran our Cool List (come on, if anything's allowed to be fashionably late, it's this) our rundown of the men defining style, shaping culture and appropriating the national conversation - and doing so above all others - took in a very different set. Completely different, in fact, and that tells us something about what it means to be one of the coolest people around. Something simultaneously invigorating for those whose stars are rising and dispiriting for those who are already there: it's tied up with time and place. Those at the top represent a particular crowd at a particular moment with all the advantages that youth affords. If that all sounds a touch nebulous, well, that's the nature of it. Cool is less a formula than an instinct. It's not simply about a way with women or unshakeable self-belief or a rebellious streak, though those things are often important. It's not something that can be summed up in an algorithm or a checklist. Yet we all know it when we see it. And these men have it in spades...
Getty Images1/35**Age: **18 **Nationality: **British **Occupation: **Model Claims to fame: Eldest son of actor Jude Law and Sadie Frost, and godson of Kate Moss. Now known as Raff, he has signed on with the Select modelling agency and made his catwalk debut last June in London for DKNY. When he's not strutting his stuff, he sings and plays guitar in a band called The Dirty Harrys. Hero: Joe Strummer. Good choice. Power couple: Law is dating Ella Dallaglio, daughter of former England rugby union captain Lawrence.
Getty Images2/35**Age: **31 **Nationality: **Greek Occupation: Creative director and owner of achingly cool London fashion store Machine-A Driven: He has worked in luxury retail since he was 18, opening Digitaria, the forerunner of Machine-A in 2009. He still works seven days a week in the store. **Plugged in: **Machine-A is one of the few places you'll find pieces by graduates alongside major labels. If a new talent emerges from fashion school, Karelis knows about it. Polymath: In addition to being a fashion power broker, he has a law degree and a masters in international studies.
tundeokewale.com3/35Age: 30 Nationality: British Occupation: Barrister Legal legend: Among the profession, he is a celebrity. Partly because he is an award-winning human rights lawyer; partly because he is setting up Urban Lawyers to make the law accessible to young people; but mainly because he was named one of the best-looking men in the legal world by infamous industry blog yourbarristerboyfriend.tumblr.com. **Pathfinder: **Many of his peers enjoyed an easy progression from public school to Oxbridge to chambers; Okewale grew up on a council estate in east Hackney.
London Fields Radio4/35**Age: **29 Nationality: British **Occupation: **Clubber **Aka: **The Dancing Misanthrope **Erm, what? **He started attracting attention by going to all the best parties alone, talking to nobody, and dancing hard all the way through until lights up. Now, he has become a cult figure whose presence at a rave confirms it as the place to be. Think of him as: This generation's version of "Jesus", the long-haired, totally anonymous reveller who seemed to attend all the best music festivals in the Seventies.
Rex Features5/35**Age: **34 **Nationality: **British Occupation: Menswear designer **Action man: **His slick take on contemporary sportswear led to him being hailed as one of Britain's most exciting young designers. He went on to create costumes for performers in the London Olympics opening ceremony, and his shows have become one of the highlights of London Collections: Men. **Eclectic taste: **His clothes are inspired by everything from the Burning Man festival to Sinead O'Connor and Seventies job centres. **One of the good guys: **He dedicated his BFC/GQ Designer Menswear Fund award, sponsored by Vertu, which he won last June, to his late teacher at Central Saint Martins.
6/35Age: 34 Nationality: British Occupation: DJ In a line: The cool kids' Pete Tong. Power broker: When he's not on the decks, he runs Clouded Vision Records, where he has reshaped techno. **Badge of honour: **He remained a resident DJ for nearly a decade at one of the most prestigious electronic music club nights, Bugged Out!. **Needle in a haystack: **The only man in Room 2 wearing Oliver Spencer and YMC. Mixologist: He's the creator of the best dance mix-tape of the decade, The Clouded Vision Experiment.
Rex Features7/35Age: 24 Nationality: Italian **Occupation: **Troublemaker/footballer Why always him? Because bad boy Mario is that most fascinating of footballers: a superb talent who occasionally delivers on the pitch, but can be guaranteed to deliver off it. **Likes: **Women (especially ones who direct-message him), cars, women's prisons, ping-pong, fireworks, chicken hats. **Dislikes: **The media for reporting the things he likes. Worth the 16m Liverpool paid for him? For them, probably not. For the rest of us, every penny.
Rex Features8/35**Age: **28 Nationality: British **Occupation: **Actor, model It's all in the genes: He's the son of Emmy and Oscar-winning actor Jeremy Irons, though your girlfriend thinks he's better- looking than his father. You've seen him in: The TV hit The White Queen and The Riot Club. Posh, but not soft: When he saw a man stealing from a local shop, he chased him down to impress a girl.
Rex Features9/35Age: 31 Nationality: American Occupation: Film producer **Young Turk: *Ellison is one of the most influential business people in Hollywood, racking up producer credits on everything from Star Trek: Into Darkness to Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit. Career coup: Getting hold of the Terminator *franchise - he will produce the next film alongside Paramount. It's not all work, work, work: Ellison is licensed to fly planes and helicopters commercially, and has performed aerobatics for the Experimental Aircraft Association in Wisconsin.
Rex Features10/35**Age: **37 **Nationality: **American **Occupation: **Web entrepreneur Setting up Twitter wasn't enough: He now runs Square, a big-money app that allows entrepreneurs to accept payments easily. Trophy ex: Lily Cole. **He doesn't "desk": **He works solely from his iPad. Best glossed over: Dorsey's sacking as Twitter's CEO. Rumour has it he was caught one too many times leaving work early. Renaissance man: He's also a massage therapist, botanical illustrator, fashion student and wants to make a bid to become mayor of New York.
Rex Features11/35Age: 30 **Nationality: **British **Occupation: **Radio 1 presenter **Making waves: **Articulate, loquacious, brimming with bon mots, Grimshaw is unflappable. Whether finding out live on air that he didn't pass his degree, or rushing from the studio to present an award, he's never caught on the back foot. **Straight talker: **His charm has won him a host of famous friends, but he's no toady: he's playfully indiscrete about everyone from Rita Ora to Kate Moss. Role model: Grimshaw's decision to come out publicly was applauded by the LGBT community.
Getty Images12/35**Age: **31 Nationality: British Occupation: Artist **What the papers call him: **The most sought-after artist of the post-internet generation. **What Felicity Jones calls him: **Her ex-boyfriend of ten years. **What we call him: **The guy whose work we wish we'd bought months ago. **Art to excess: **His performance piece at the New Museum in New York involved deli meat served up on naked human bodies, and descended into a pillow fight followed by a "faux orgy". His first solo UK exhibition, at London's Chisenhale Gallery, runs until 9 November.
Rex Features13/35Age: 32 Nationality: British Occupation: Fashion designer **Hot property: **While still at Saint Martins he worked for Giles Deacon and was snapped up by Donatella Versace to design the Atelier Versace line. He started creating menswear in 2010. **Tomorrow the world: **His label was acquired by Gucci and Saint Laurent owner Kering Group to take him global. Makes it look so easy: When pieces from his collection were stolen just days before London Fashion Week in 2007, he recreated the lot in time for the shows. Theft? What theft? Treat 'em mean: He's an elusive figure, refusing to pander to the press or even appear at some of his own presentations.
Camera Press14/35**Age: **25 **Nationality: **British Occupation: Musician, producer Into the light: Having gained a reputation for collaborations (from SBTRKT to Jessie Ware), Sampha struck out with two solo EPs, Sundanza and Dual and now the industry is clamouring for a piece of the action. Friends in high places: His appearance on Drake's Nothing Was The Same led to him appearing with the rapper on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon. Who does that voice remind me of? Probably Michael Jackson. In a good way. Roll on the debut album.
Rex Features15/35**Age: **35 Nationality: Guatemalan-American **Occupation: **Actor Music man: He grabbed everyone's attention in Inside Llewyn Davis. Not only for his killer performance, but also for his abilities with a guitar - the soundtrack, on which he holds his own with Justin Timberlake, was one of the year's standouts. Blowing up: His movie *A Most Violent Year *could snag him an Oscar, and he's starring in David Simon's new HBO mini-series Show Me A Hero. Next stop, hyperspace: After all that, he will join Adam Driver in Star Wars Episode VII.
Rex Features16/35Age: 28 **Nationality: **British **Occupation: **Designer and co-founder of Casely-Hayford **Big in Japan: **After leaving Harrow he went to Saint Martins where he was approached by Japanese fashion title Men's Non-No to do a monthly diary of his personal style. He is still mobbed in the streets of Tokyo. **Styles: **Musicians such as Nas and The xx. Magnetic: With his charm, height and considerable style, Casely-Hayford exerts a gravitational pull whenever he steps into a room.
Getty Images17/35**Age: **29 Nationality: British **Occupation: **CEO of Mashable Mind and body: The arch geek looks "more like a GQ model than a tech blogger", to quote a profile of him. Used to get mad at his school: Cashmore didn't enjoy formal education and refused to go to university. The risk paid off: his site, Mashable, has grown to a userbase of more than five million. Hard to get: He has turned down multi-million-pound buyout offers from AOL and CNN. Homecoming: Last month, he opened Mashable's first London office.
Rex Features18/35**Age: **37 Nationality: American **Occupation: **Rapper **His own beat: **If he wants to claim that he's God's chosen vessel, or invade the stage at a music awards, or call his daughter North, or say that everything he has done has led to "complete awesomeness at all times", he doesn't give it a second's thought. Because, as he puts it, he's Kanye mother**ing West. **The king of maximalism: Check the place settings at his wedding. He hired a stonemason to carve the names into the marble tables. New music: Throughout 2014, there have been whispers about when the next album's due and who he's been working with (Lorde? Paul McCartney?). Then came the news that it's finished and he has played it to his friends. But (at the time of going to press) there's still no release date. He doesn't have to give release dates. Like he said, he's Kanye mothering West.
Rex Features19/35**Age: **30 **Nationality: **American Occupation: Comedy writer **Funny fingers: **The pre-eminent print comedy writer of his generation, in an age that doesn't produce pre-eminent print comedy writers. At just 30, Rich has authored six books and everything he writes for the New Yorker is viral catnip. **The next everyone: **Take your pick from "the next Thurber", "the next Borges", "the next Allen", "the next Waugh". Big (screen) ambitions: He's also scripted a film for Pixar and was the youngest writer ever to join Saturday Night Live. Jealous, us?
Rex Features20/35Age: 35 **Nationality: **American **Occupation: **Actor **From average Joe: **As the schlubby Andy Dwyer in Parks And Recreation. To action hero: As the Han Solo-esque space rogue Star-Lord in Guardians Of The Galaxy. Looking pumped: Following his Guardians role, the former high-school jock has guns of which Ron Burgundy would be proud. Good taste: He knows every word from Dr Dre's album 2001. And he plays too: You know those guitar scenes on Parks And Rec? In real life he's better.
Rex Features21/35Age: 26 Nationality: British Occupation: Musician/ hipster pin-up Band name: Drowners Sounds like: A lo-fi, lowbrow Libertines. Shtick: He's one of those boys in a band whose lips seem perpetually locked on to cool, hot, women. Past squeezes: Alexa Chung (rumoured), and this summer he was seen with Dakota Johnson. Lucky sod. Get the look: Black denim jacket, vintage band t-shirt, black Converse Chuck Taylors, skinny jeans, and black Ray-Ban Clubmaster sunglasses. **Least likely to be seen: **Smoking an e-cigarette; eating.
Rex Features22/35**Age: **23 Nationality: British **Occupation: **Footballer Top Gooner: He may be straight out of Caerphilly, but Ramsey is no country bumpkin. As well as being a key member of the Arsenal team, he is on the books of London's Elite model agency. **Big break: **In 2010, Stoke City's Ryan Shawcross mistimed a tackle and snapped Ramsey's right leg like a dry twig. It took him three years to recover, but rather than ending his career, he returned even better than before. **Big moment: **Scoring the winner in last year's FA Cup final, helping Arsenal to their first trophy in nine years.
Rex Features23/35**Age: **30 Nationality: American Occupation: Actor Girls, girls, girls: Granted, it doesn't hurt this ultra-laconic American actor is the breakout star (sorry, Lena) of Girls. But here's what puts Driver over the top for us: bar the pilot, he's never watched a single minute of the show. Obi-Wan Something: He has been cast in an (undisclosed) key part in the Star Wars sequel. We're calling it: Jedi. Who else but Driver, an ex-Marine, for a combat role? Flat-earth bros: He arrived for an interview with the Sunday Times in the back of a flatbed truck. Total. Dude.
Rex Features24/35Age: 27 Nationality: American **Occupation: **Rapper Statement of intent: He has promised to musically destroy everyone from Drake to Tyler, The Creator, and has anointed himself the "King of New York". Ballsy. Things his last album, Good Kid, M.A.A.D City, has been compared to: Nas' *Illmatic *and JD Salinger's The Catcher In The Rye. Sounds like hype? We'd beg to differ. It was a bona fide classic. We'd go so far as to say: He's the great rapper of his generation. His third album can't come soon enough.
25/35**Age: **26 Nationality: British **Occupation: **The xx beatmaster, production whizz **Old Jamie: **There was a time when he was simply known as one third of Mercury Prize-winning The xx. New Jamie: He's just as at home producing tracks for Drake as he is working with Alicia Keys (admit it, you liked "This Girl Is On Fire" too). **Enjoys: **Wearing top-to-toe black. Hates: Giving interviews. **What next? **A proper debut solo album, likely to feature the 2014 zinger "Girl/Sleep Sound". Bring it on.
Rex Features26/35Age: 33 Nationality: Canadian **Occupation: **Actor/director **Bullitt Boy: **Some actors can't carry a film no matter how many great lines they're given, while some - well, some can carry a film just by gazing into the middle distance. And looking damn good while doing it. Former champ: Steve McQueen. Reigning champ: Ryan Gosling. Daddy cool: He has a new daughter with his partner Eva Mendes. And if there's one thing more dashing than Ryan Gosling, it's Ryan Gosling with a baby.
Rex Features27/35Age: 37 Nationality: Korean-American Occupation: Chef, empire builder **We used to shout about: **His Momofuku chain of restaurants in New York (the Noodle Bar, the Milk Bar etc), and the pork-bun craze that they started. **And we're still talking about: **His bizarre/awesome appearance on the Deltron 3030 album Event 2 last year. **But right now we're shouting about: **His magazine Lucky Peach, a compendium of food essays with all the spunk of a fanzine and all the beauty that print can deliver. If only it was monthly rather than quarterly.
Rex Features28/35**Age: **26 Nationality: Latvian Occupation: Tennis player (World No13) **Must be boring: **Actually no. In a sport dominated by a vanilla cartel, Gulbis has a tendency to shoot from the hip and serve from the lip. For instance: "I respect Roger [Federer], Rafa [Nadal], Novak [Djokovic] and [Andy] Murray, but for me all four of them are boring players. Their interviews are boring. Honestly, they are crap. It's a joke." **Is that all? **Nope. He is also pro-legalising marijuana, loves a big night out, and smashes rackets on court out of habit. And he spent a night in a Stockholm cell: "If you go out and meet some girls, and immediately you're put in jail, that's not normal. It was very funny, though. I think everybody should go to jail at least once." In other words: Andy Murray, he is not.
Rex Features29/35Age: 35 Nationality: Italian Occupation: World-Cup-winning footballer As a consequence, he is also known as: L'Architetto (The Architect), Il Metronomo (The Metronome), and Il Professore (The Professor). Why? Because the way the Juventus midfielder passes the ball makes the game look so simple. He sounds great: You should see his long hair and magnificent beard! It's little wonder he has modelled for Dolce & Gabbana. Tell us more: Read it yourself. His whole autobiography is as good as the title: I Think Therefore I Play.
Rex Features30/35**Age: **33 Nationality: American **Occupation: **President Obama's speechwriter **West Wing Wunderkind: **Started out as an intern for the 2007 Obama campaign. His big moment came after the Tucson shootings in 2011, when he was outed as the author of the president's celebrated remarks. **Big shoes: **He has successfully replaced the super-smart, model-dating Jon Favreau. Funny ha ha: Keenan turns up in video skits for White House Correspondents' Dinners. You know, starring alongside the president.
Rex Features31/35Age: 32 **Nationality: **British Occupation: Ambassador, pilot **Royal ascent: **The dark star of aristocratic cool, William shuns bling and ego but his presence has an incalculable effect on those around him. Ever the diplomat: His tour Down Under boosted the popularity of the monarchy and won over republicans. Plus, the announcement of his new child arguably saved the Union. That's clout. **Get to the chopper! **A pro search-and-rescue pilot - one of the trickiest jobs in flying - he returns to the skies next spring.
Rex Features32/35**Age: **37 **Nationality: **British **Occupation: **Musician Conscious coupling: Having split from Gwyneth Paltrow, Martin almost immediately hooked up with Jennifer Lawrence, the most desirable woman in Hollywood. **Viva la vida: **Again, having split with Paltrow, Martin - again, almost immediately - returned to eating meat. **Early motivation: **"I don't want to be the person that makes everybody laugh before they go off and bang. I want to be the guy that everybody bangs." His secret: "I don't really care about being cool." Exactly.
Rex Features33/35Age: 28 Nationality: Canadian Also know as: Aubrey Drake Graham (to his parents), or Champagne Papi (to his Instagram devotees) "Started from the bottom...": The bottom of his mother's house as it turns out, spending every waking moment as an ambitious teen writing rhymes in her basement. **YOLO: **Next year Drake will release his fifth studio album, Views From The 6. **Do say: **"That arctic-fox-fur, gold-hardware bomber jacket you designed is dope!" **Don't say: **"Chris Brown is so misunderstood."
Rex Features34/35**Age: **28 Incarnations: Lightspeed Champion, Blood Orange, Test Icicles. Born: Houston, Texa Bred: Ilford, east London The man who would be Prince: A slave to the music of the Eighties, Hynes takes socially challenging issues and puts them to an uppity disco beat. (Smokey sax included.) **Talisman of cool: **As an eclectic eccentric, Hynes is longed for by more commercial (read: less cool) recording artists. He's made a name for himself quietly writing and producing for the likes of Kylie, Solange Knowles and Florence And The Machine. Staying ahead: Anyone who can wear a hat so effortlessly deserves your utmost respect.
Getty Image35/35Age: 37 Nationality: British **Occupation: **Actor **All inked up: **Don't get us wrong, we love the current crop of ludicrously talented, silly-surnamed thesps from the upper crust - Benedict Cumberbatch, Eddie Redmayne etc - but among them Hardy is a breath of fresh air. Unkempt, wild and tatted to the eyeballs: "different" is putting it mildly. His reluctance to do press only adds to the intrigue. **Oscar winner-in-waiting: **Hardy has made a name for channelling the wild (in his breakout, Bronson) and unstable (Bane in The Dark Knight Rises), so it's no shock he's next up in the reboot of Mad Max, the only blockbuster that could end up at the Oscar races. **Locked down: **Proof of Hardy's intense magnetism could be found in this summer's Locke, which consisted of nothing but Hardy, in a car, talking on the phone. It was one of the most gripping films of the year.
