13 Celebrities Who Have the Looks as Well as a Brilliant Mind

Hollywood is full of heartthrobs we all admire for their talent in portraying different characters. But they are also highly intelligent people. Many of these actors went to the best universities in the world, learned several languages, devoted themselves to science and even worked their heads off doing their thesis.

Bright Side’s fan of celebrities who can conquer people with their academic achievement outside career.

1. George Clooney

Few may know this, but before becoming one of Hollywood’s most popular heartthrobs, George attended Northern Kentucky University from 1979 to 1981, majoring in broadcast journalism. Then he briefly went on to study television journalism at the University of Cincinnati. Although he didn’t finish his degree because he decided to pursue his dreams in California, the actor has shown just how ingenious he is as a director and screenwriter. He is also an advocate for human rights.

2. Tom Hiddleston

The actor who played iconic Marvel villain Loki graduated with honors in Classical Studies at Cambridge University. Not only is he charismatic, but he’s also a polyglot: he speaks French, Italian, Spanish, Latin and Ancient Greek. Knowing this, it is not surprising that he has applied his knowledge to work as an adaptor and scriptwriter for plays and films.

He is also a true bookworm and an admirer of classic writers such as Jorge Luis Borges, Edgar Allan Poe and Francisco de Quevedo.

3. Matt Damon

Can you imagine doing a school assignment and ending up winning an Oscar for it? Although it seems crazy, while studying at the prestigious Harvard University, Matt Damon wrote the first version of a screenplay for one of his classes. Years later, he won the Oscar for best original screenplay for writing Good Will Hunting.

In 2013, he was even awarded the Harvard Medal of Arts, which is a recognition of excellence and artistic work by alumni.

4. John Legend

In addition to having an amazing voice, Legend has a big brain. He began playing the piano at age 4 and, thanks to his intellect, started high school at 12. When he went to his undergraduate studies, he turned down an offer from Harvard to study English Philology with an emphasis in African American Literature at the University of Pennsylvania.

To top it off, he is one of the 16 people that’s managed to make it to the EGOT winners list, i.e., he has won an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony.

5. Jake Gyllenhaal

Although different magazines have listed the actor as one of the most attractive men in show business, we must not forget that he is also very smart. Many years before being Spider-Man’s villain, Jake studied Oriental Religions and Philosophy at Columbia University. But 2 years later, he abandoned his studies to pursue a fruitful career in acting.

6. John Krasinski

The actor known for his performance in popular series such as The Office and Jack Ryan graduated as a playwright while studying English at Brown University. To earn his degree, he worked on a thesis called “Content Under Pressure,” which can still be found in the school’s digital bookstore. In addition, prior to his time in higher education, he spent time in Costa Rica as an English teacher.

7. Cole Sprouse

Although he’s had acting gigs since he was a baby, Cole can be described as a man of science. In fact, his university degree has nothing to do with art. He studied Geographic Information Systems in Archaeology which, in the actor’s words, is basically virtual cartography. Before landing the famous role of Jughead on Riverdale, he worked in a lab recording artifacts.

8. David Duchovny

The talented actor is also an inveterate writer, and his love for literature came before his passion for acting. He studied English Literature at Princeton University and later pursued a graduate degree in the same subject at Yale University. In fact, he’s proved just how talented he is by publishing 4 novels. And there’s more: his poetry received an honorable mention in a university contest of the Academy of American Poets.

9. Edward Norton

Edward Norton’s acting ability has led him to be recognized with multiple nominations and awards. In 1991, he graduated from Yale University with a degree in History. Then went to Japan to work as a representative in his grandfather’s company, where he applied the Japanese language skills he acquired during his undergraduate studies.

10. Jamie Foxx

The Oscar-winning singer and actor has lots of different talents. He started playing the piano at age 5; while in high school, he played on a basketball and soccer team and got top grades. His efforts brought him a scholarship to study at the International University of the United States, where he studied Musical Composition and Performing Arts.

11. Wentworth Miller

Wentworth is best known for playing the mastermind of Prison Break. In real life, he is also a very intelligent man, but he applies his knowledge to literature. He graduated with an A.B. in English from Princeton University with a 116-page thesis on the construction of identity in different classic novels.

12. Chris Pine

Chris Pine is an actor who first made everyone fall in love with his role in The Princess Diaries and keeps conquering Hollywood’s hearts with more recent appearances, for instance, on Star Trek. Before coming to Hollywood, he graduated in English philology at the University of California, Berkeley and was an exchange student in England.

13. Colin Firth

Colin is one of Hollywood’s most influential actors in Hollywood. He has not only proven to be one of the best actors when it comes to portraying a character on the big screen, but he’s also a talented writer. He has used his writing skills to support different causes. For instance, he published a book of short stories for the benefit of an organization that supports children with autism.

As if that wasn’t enough, he is also considered a scientific ambassador in the field of political neuroscience for contributing to a scientific paper with 2 researchers from University College London.

Why do you think intelligence is such an attractive feature to have?