Skip to content
  • Essence GU
  • Beautycon
  • NaturallyCurly
  • Afropunk
  • Essence Studios
  • Soko Mrkt
  • Ese Funds
  • Refinery29
  • 2025 ESSENCE Festival Of Culture
  • Celebrity
  • Fashion
  • Beauty
  • Lifestyle
  • Entrepreneurship
  • News
  • Shopping
  • Video
  • Events
  • Subscribe
Home • Love & Sex

Birthday Boy Michael Ealy’s Seven Sexiest Roles Of All Time

Michael Ealy Shares Never Before Seen Photo Of Daughter
By Lauren Porter · Updated December 6, 2020
Michael Ealy has those eyes that you can’t look away from and his on-screen smolder always prove to be a true scene-stealer. Don’t believe us? Let’s take a trip down memory lane. In honor of his birthday, we rank Ealy’s sexiest roles—from Being Mary Jane to Their Eyes Are Watching God.
01
#7: Being Mary Jane
Michael joined the cast of Being Mary Jane in season 4 as Justin Talbot, the coworker/rival/ (and yet another) problematic love interest of Gabrielle Union’s Mary Jane Paul. While their relationship took a lot of emotional twists and turns, Talbot was one smooth brother.
Birthday Boy Michael Ealy’s Seven Sexiest Roles
02
#6: Halo
This wasn’t even a big screen moment for Michael but when he starred opposite of Queen Beyoncé in the music video for her sit song, “Halo,” we couldn’t keep our eyes off of him. From the way he caressed her, to the way his lips just perfectly pouted, he damn near stole the spotlight — sorry, Bey.
Birthday Boy Michael Ealy’s Seven Sexiest Roles
vevo
03
#5: About Last Night
Michael in a rom-com starring opposite Joy Bryant along with Kevin Hart and Regina Hall? Yes, please! The actor brought to the life the re-imagining of the character Danny Martin to a T and made us swoon and smile scene after scene as he gave us a do-right guy we could root for who was trying to heal from heartbreak and fall in love again.
Birthday Boy Michael Ealy’s Seven Sexiest Roles
04
#4: Takers
Seeing Michael as bad boy Jake Attica in the-2010 crime thriller Takers was a performance from Ealy that we didn’t know we needed until we saw it come to life onscreen. Something about Attica’s smooth-talking just really did it for us. Sorry, not sorry!
Birthday Boy Michael Ealy’s Seven Sexiest Roles
uzanne Tenner/Rainforest/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock
05
#3: Barbershop
This role made the Maryland native Ealy a household name. His Barbershop character Ricky Nash (cute cornrows and all) will always hold a special place in our hearts.
Birthday Boy Michael Ealy’s Seven Sexiest Roles
Snap Stills/REX/Shutterstock
06
#2: Think Like A Man
Dominic, Dominic, Dominic–where do we begin? As soon as Michael appeared on screen in 2012 blockbuster film Think Like A Man, we were in madly love with him (and his honest, romantic ways). The cutie with big dreams of one day owning his own restaurant swept Taraji P. Henson’s character off of her feet and we’ve never been more jealous of her before. He could cook AND the sex was great?! Where can we find one of him?
Birthday Boy Michael Ealy’s Seven Sexiest Roles
07
#1: Their Eyes Are Watching God
Don’t sleep on TV movies, because Their Eyes Are Watching God was without a doubt one of Michael’s sexiest moments. Bringing to life the character Tea Cake opposite on-screen love interest Halle Berry, Michael stole our hearts from the moment he appeared on the scene to woo her middle-aged character post-divorce. From the passionate sex their characters had to the way his skin glistened in the sun, whew, is it hot in here right now or is that just us?!
Birthday Boy Michael Ealy’s Seven Sexiest Roles
TOPICS:  Eye Candy