Is Scotland the new Australia (for actors)?

By Sharon Eberson / Tuesday, Oct. 7

Mel Gibson, Russell Crowe, Hugh Jackman, Eric Bana, Guy Pearce and the late Heath Ledger are all followers in the footsteps of the dashing Tasmanian Erroll Flynn as Antipodean actors who ooze that certain something that screams macho charisma on the screen.

But lately, Scotland is giving them a run for their money. At least from where I'm sitting.

I DVRed "The Tonight Show" to see Gerard Butler display his easygoing, self-deprecating charm in an appearance for the movie "RocknRolla," and while I was watching, my son, Josh, came into the room.

"Do you have to be from Scotland to be cool these days?" he asked, referring to Butler and James McAvoy ("Wanted," "Atonement," "Becoming Jane"). The question was in our shorthand of: he knows which movie stars mom thinks are hot and delightful interviewees.

Just to show that I don't believe generalizations are worth much, I've always heard that Sean Connery was an ornery interview subject. But it's refreshing to see guys like "300" break-out star Butler and McAvoy play tough guys or sensitive guys on screen, and then seem to be having so much fun with their success when they are interviewed.

And because I love anything that's "six degrees of . . ." Butler is set to star in Brian DePalma's prequel to "The Untouchables," titled "The Untouchables: Capone Rising," as Jimmy Malone, a cop in Chicago during Al Capone's rise to power. It was Connery who originated the role of Malone in the 1987 "Untouchables" - which won Sir Sean an Oscar.

While we're having fun throwing Scots into a grabbag of good will, it's worth noting that the charismatic John Barrowman was born in Glasgow (though raised in Illinois), and he heats up the screen on "Torchwood" (which, just to confuse matters, is filmed in Wales). Ewan McGregor, Robert Carlyle, Dougray Scott, David ("Dr. Who") Tennant and the oft-kilted Alan Cumming hale from Scotland and have been known to light up the stage and screen, too.

Just sayin'.

Photos from "RocknRolla" red carpet in L.A., including kiss with co-star Thandie Newton. Photo credit: Jewel Samad/AFP/Getty Images

Equal time for favorite female stars:

Shown wearing little more than a T-shirt, Halle Berry talks about being the sexiest woman alive, a title Esquire magazine bestows on her in its November issue.

"I don't know exactly what it means, but being 42 and having just had a baby, I think I'll take it," says Berry, who gave birth to her daughter, Nahla, in March.

"Sexiness is a state of mind - a comfortable state of being," she says. "It's about loving yourself in your most unlovable moments."

But Berry, who won an Oscar for her role in "Monster's Ball," can't claim the sexiest-woman honor all to herself.

"I share this title with every woman, because every woman is a nominee for it at any moment," she says. (AP)