Goodbye, Toxic Masculinity! Hollywood Bromances Are Thriving

This coming weekend, Valentine’s Day will mark our annual “official” day of romance. We love love, especially the splashy, Hollywood-worthy kind—and if the past year of press tours have proven anything, it’s this: Bromances are officially thriving.

Male co-stars and friends are now more lovey-dovey than ever, and the lack of toxic masculinity in the public eye is extremely refreshing. Remember when straight men used to be afraid to, like, hug? Now, red carpets and press interviews are filled with so much male chemistry that you can practically taste the pheromones.

The bromance discourse reached new heights earlier this year, when Heated Rivalry was hitting peak fame. With each interview that co-stars Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie did, it seemed they were only getting closer and closer—they even graced us with touchy-feely play-fighting, or intense eye contact. These were not just two actors hired and paid to get along: Their chemistry was palpable, even through the screen. ”We just FaceTime or call each other randomly and consistently, and that’s been my stability through this,” Williams has said of Storrie.

That same co-star chemistry seemed to be recently felt between Nicholas Hoult and David Corenswet while promoting their Superman film last year. Corenswet said Hoult is the “kind of actor I want to be”; Hoult once described a hug from Corenswet as “warm and safe.” These are compliments I have yet to hear from a passionate lover—let alone a colleague.

There is something refreshing and sweet about seeing men baring their feelings and wearing their hearts on their sleeves—or on their well-chiseled arms, as with Stranger Things co-stars Joe Keery and Gaten Matarazzo. On-screen, their characters Steve and Dustin were BFFs: “You die, I die.” Off-screen, though, the stars became almost inseparable, kindling a true modern-day bromance. “It makes me sad that I may never work with him again,” says Keery.

While full-tilt bromances may be on the rise more than ever, a handful of Hollywood duos have been perfecting the art of being inseparable long before it was trendy to do so. Take George Clooney and Brad Pitt, or Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, all of whom seem to play together as well and as easily as they work together. Ditto for rappers like Tyler, the Creator and A$AP Rocky: Tyler even calls A$AP his “work husband.”

So this Valentine’s Day, we are celebrating love in all forms—but especially man love. Well, hold on: Maybe men don’t need to be celebrated more. . . but you know what we mean: No more men saying “no homo”—and more men giving each other a cheeky little compliment, an affectionate hug—or even a kiss.

Below, more of Hollywood’s best ongoing bromances.