Mr. April

Warm and wet -- that's what April is around these parts... and the Black Man Next Door was all about that when searching for Mr. April, Canadian Actor, Ryan Rodney Reynolds. Some R&R we can all appreciate, right?

It's weird that the first time I saw him was on the horror movie remake, The Amityville Horror. To ponder the frailty of a human mind that's 'taken over' by some unseen force is quite frightening... but one look at him, and I got over it pretty fast.

"Vetting" eligible men for this position has proved to be quite difficult, yet rewarding.... considering the eligibility requirements. For the basics, Mr. April is originally from Vancouver, British Columbia - a city that I thoroughly enjoyed, and I wished I had bumped into Mr. April then. At 6'2", Ryan is a 32-year-old Scorpio with rich, deep credentials.

Many of us gay men aspire to win the heart of one who not only takes care of himself physically, but mentally, too. In our many endeavors to find a man like Ryan Reynolds, we find narcissism, overcompensation, and emotional coldness in his place. But when that nightmare is not realized, a moment of reflection is definitely due.

In researching Mr. April, one thing that particularly struck a chord in my heart was Ryan's trip to Malawi a couple of years ago -- documented in an exclusive article on The Advocate. Now, many "celebrities" journey to places that are chocked full of humanitarian afflictions for various reasons. I'm always wary of their true intentions... skeptical about their sincerity vs. their desire to come away with a more marketable image.

Not Mr. April. In going to Malawi to help repair a crumbling orphanage and visit medical facilities, Ryan Reynolds managed to do a good deed for a worthy cause, all while squelching my skepticism over his humbleness.

There are many other things about Mr. April that provide much more dimension to his delicious physique, if you're more interested than just getting him in the sack, that is. Here are some general tidbits about Ryan Reynolds:

Ryan enjoys fishing, motorcycles, mountain biking, and football.

Mr. April has a fear of flying, but obviously overcomes that somehow because he loves to travel, and his favorite city is Amsterdam.

Ryan used to work in nightclubs, a grocery store, and yacht club... jobs that the 'everyday man' can identify with.

One of my favorite quotes from Mr. April regarding the issue of "Outing":

"Hence the witch hunt. That’s what frustrates me about some of the celebrity blogs in particular. They’re so obsessed with outing certain celebrities or punishing the people they think should be out that it turns into sort of this new McCarthyism. If I were a gay man, I’d like to believe that it would be my choice if I were to publicize that or not."

Mr. April - Ryan Reynolds