Duncan James: “A guy’s smile hooks me in faster than anything”

We couldn’t help but notice one thing as the reader votes poured in for this year’s Hot 100 contest: more than any other year, a whole lot of gay and bi guys had made the list.

We decided to specially spotlight a few of them in our new Hot 100 issue, out now. Among them: Blue hunk Duncan James, about to tread the boards in Priscilla: Queen of the Desert.

What part of a man do you find most sexy?

Definitely a guy’s smile. That can hook you in faster than anything else, or at least it does for me.

Do you feel a pressure to look a certain way?

Regardless of who you are or your individual career choice, we are bombarded with information day and night about what the right way to look is, but this is where the trade off with confidence comes and you have to be strong enough to decide who you are and stick with that no matter what anyone else says.

Have you had to buff up to be more successful?

No, thankfully not. I have a great team around me who are honest and straightforward and are not the kind of team to tell me to buff up.

Have you ever taken a health kick too far?

I used to go to the gym too often, sometimes seven days a week, sometimes twice a day. Now I go three times a week and it makes me much more balanced as a person.

Does being fit and healthy equate with body confidence?

Absolutely, there is that feeling you get from being happy with your body and what you are eating that translates into confidence in your work and home life. I’ve always been careful because I do love my food but I balance that through the gym and good cardio workouts. I know if I didn’t do that I would put on weight easily.

Do you think an ideal body weight exists?

This comes back to confidence with who you are as a person. Only you can know what is right for you and what your ideal body or weight is. It’s not for others to decide for you. If you are confident, then that is all you need.

You can read our full chat with Duncan as well as some of the other lads from our Hot 100 – including Charlie King, Joe Lycett, Andrew Hayden-Smith and our winner, Aussie bobsledder Simon Dunn -in our special Hot 100 issue, out now. You can buy it in shops, download it from Pocketmags.com/Attitude and order a print copy from newsstand.co.uk/Attitude.