James Marsden Joins Long and Distinguished List of Celebs Who Crush on Helen Mirren

In case Helen Mirren needed an ego boost (she didn’t), she can add another Hollywood heartthrob to her list of gentleman callers. (OK, “callers” might be a bit extreme — but they are admirers, at the very least.) During an appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show on Monday, Nov. 28, James Marsden got a chance to meet his crush, and he certainly made the most of it.

“I just love her. I do. I’ve had a massive crush on her for years,” he admitted with a boyish smile before confessing he “didn’t meet her backstage.” Why, you ask? It’s simple, really: He once stalked her at an Italian airport.

“I’m glad I’m waiting to be on national television to admit this, but I was on a flight with her once to Rome. And when I got off the flight, I followed her to baggage claim and in a very voyeuristic, creepy way, I took a photo of her while she was walking,” he explained. That was Mirren’s cue to come out and say hello. As she walked toward the Westworld actor, she playfully pretended to snap photos of him and then noted that her husband, Taylor Hackford, had also appeared in the snapshots Marsden had taken in Rome. “Very nice to meet you,” she said as she shook a stunned Marsden’s hand.

He mumbled something about how she had made his day when she cut him off to tell him, “You’re so handsome. Oh my God.” The 43-year-old actor fell to his knees in amazement before getting back up to escort the 71-year-old dame offstage. “I just had to give her my digits right now,” he joked to DeGeneres, who was obviously delighted with herself and the situation. It was clear, however, that no one was more delighted than Marsden.

But he’s hardly the first to confess to carrying a torch for the Collateral Beauty thesp — in fact, he joins a long and distinguished list of Mirren’s male fans. Back in 2008, Russell Brand (who co-starred with Mirren in The Tempest) confessed he was crushing on the actress, bigtime. “She’s so sexy and enchanting, just look at her form.” he said before filming started. “They’re going to have to hold me back when we start work. I’ll be all over her. I don’t know how I’ll get any work done.”

And then there was Ryan Reynolds, who worked with Mirren on Woman in Gold. Despite being married to one of (arguably) the hottest women alive, Reynolds couldn’t keep his eyes off Mirren as they hit a carpet to promote their film at the 65th Berlin International Film Festival in April 2015. His better half, Blake Lively, took to Instagram to call out her man.

“Should I be concerned that my husband’s never looked at me this way?” she playfully asked, hashtagging the pic “#WhereAreThoseEyesWanderingReynolds #HelenMirrenIStheSexiestWomanAlive #WomanInGold.”

But the admiration doesn’t only go one way, and Mirren makes it a point to randomly kiss men (in the classiest way possible). Back in March, the British star stopped by The Late Show With Stephen Colbert and gave the host an extra-friendly greeting: a kiss smack on the lips!

“If I didn’t do it then, I’d never get to do it,” said Mirren to an obviously surprised Colbert. “I’ve been dreaming of doing that for about 15 years, so I just grabbed my chance. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” Colbert struggled to remember his questions and finally managed, “Can you imagine the number of people who are jealous of me right now?” Mirren then lamented that she hadn’t kissed him longer.

During an appearance with Paul Rudd on The Graham Norton Show in 2013, the Oscar-winning actress was delighted to hear that Rudd had once kissed Jack Nicholson and promptly asked permission to lick Rudd’s face (presumably in an effort to get close to Nicholson). “Please do!” Rudd replied, prompting Mirren to lean in and give his cheek a good swipe with her tongue.

Poor Marsden didn’t get to play tonsil hockey with his crush (unless something else happened offstage!), but at least he got to shake her hand. For him, that may be enough (because eventually her husband may get sick of this game).