Throwback Thursday: Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt were the world to us in '80s

Brace yourself as we transport you to the 1980s with these long-forgotten hunks with piercing blue eyes, ridiculous good looks, mischievous smiles and excellent lighting skills.

Are you sitting down? Do you have a glass of cold water to dump over your head at a moment's notice? Because we have scoured our collective ‘girl crush’ memory (and the internet) for the hottest men from 1980s Hollywood. Swoon.

Yes, we’re familiar with Christian Grey, but now it’s time to talk about some seriously-sexy-'80s-heartthrobs-turned-present-day-gray-haired-babes.

Brace yourself as we transport you to the 1980s with these long-forgotten hunks with piercing blue eyes, ridiculous good looks, mischievous smiles and excellent lighting skills. We are (still) into them and we’re chuffed to bits to present this highly personalised list.

1 Tom Cruise, 52
Every heartthrob list should start with the adorable and total dreamboat, Tom Cruise: Probably the biggest movie star of the decade and one of the sexiest to boot. It's almost impossible to think of Tom Cruise without thinking of that scene from 1983's Risky Business (yes, the one where he is dancing about in his pants). His breakthrough role as a fun-loving teen was only the beginning, with countless blockbuster hits to follow from Top Gun to Rain Man. To us, Tom Cruise is everything: Rom-com scene stealer to good-guy action hero. Also, in the '80s he hadn't yet heard of scientology (so didn’t come across as a nutcase!).

2 Keanu Reeves, 50
Talk about great eye candy! He pretty much was the epitome of boyish charm in the '80s with his floppy hair and youthful good looks. Our love affair with Keanu Reeves began when we saw him in The Brotherhood of Justice in 1986; and continued through the Speed and Matrix years. He still kicks ass in our hearts and in flicks like John Wick and Man of Tai Chi. Looking good, Keanu. Very good.

3 Brad Pitt, 51
If Jennifer Aniston and Angelina Jolie give Brad a stamp of approval, then we do too. He may have lost his baby face – Pitt had a few small roles in the late '80s in Dallas and 21 Jump Street – but decades into his career, the now family man, humanitarian, and activist, still makes us weak in the knees. Honestly, as much as we love that Angelina ended up with Brad, we kind of want him for ourselves, and always will! We just can't get enough of those dreamy blue eyes. Loving him is elementary, dear readers. Elementary.

4 Johnny Depp, 51
In the 1980s, there’s nobody who made us melt quite like Johnny Depp. His turn as the gun-wielding, guy-liner-sporting, Captain Jack Sparrow is probably one of his most memorable roles, but Depp made his mark on Hollywood long ago. Long before the Pirates franchise, he had roles in 21 Jump Street and A Nightmare on Elm Street that made him an overnight sensation. We just love this two-time Sexiest Man Alive titleholder. Doesn't everybody?

5 Richard Gere, 65
Back in the '80s, Richard Gere was the go-to guy for romantic leading man material. And nobody before or after has worn naval whites better! Ah! Tall, dark and handsome, he was the poster boy for Prince Charming-ish good looks. Remember that sexy moment when he swept Debra Winger off her feet at the close of An Officer and a Gentleman? We've been his number one fans, ever since.

6 Harrison Ford, 72
What’s a list of sexy 1980s actors without Harrison Ford? The charming, charismatic and stylish actor has had more professional success than many of his peers, thanks to two little movie franchises. Having stolen the Star Wars trilogy as loveable rogue Han Solo, Ford went on to earn a franchise all his own as, err, the loveable rogue Indiana Jones. But the primo action man of the 80s was quite a bit of an eye candy. A badass eye candy.

7 John Cusack, 48
Having appeared in John Hughes classic Sixteen Candles, baby-faced John Cusack went on to star in Cameron Crowe’s debut feature, Say Anything, rocking the old trench coat look like a champ. We’re still slightly baffled by the Cusack phenomenon of the '80s, but there’s no debating that by the turn of the decade, he was very hot stuff. Sexy and romantic, all rolled into one.

8 Pierce Brosnan, 62
If you’re cast as Bond, James Bond, your cool factor is pretty high. Pierce Brosnan has proved he is off the charts playing the shaken-not-stirred role, as well as many other leading man parts, in The Thomas Crown Affair, among others. But even before the icy-blue-eyed Irish hunk looked impossibly handsome amid the backdrop of Europe and America in Bond films, we were obsessed with him for his Taffin and The Fourth Protocol parts: Full marks for being charming and talented.

9 Charlie Sheen, 49
While he wasn't completely off-the-edge sexy, Charlie Sheen still has a place on our dreamy list. Martin Sheen’s son inherited his old man’s movie star looks, and bags of charisma to boot. What’s happened to him now is nothing short of tragic, but back in the 80s’, he was one of the hottest properties in the business.

10 Matt Dillon, 51
The ultimate bad-boy, Matt Dillon undoubtedly adorned the walls of millions of teenage girls in the '80s. He gained heartthrob status with films like Little Darlings and Liar's Moon and his success rode into the '90s. He's shown versatility starring in comedies like There's something about Mary and You, Me, and Dupree. And his career got sweeter with age, as he showed he was more than a pretty face, in heavier film roles like 2006's Crash (playing a troubled cop). We'd sure like to know what his secret is, because we swear he doesn't look a day over 30.

11 John Stamos, 51
We’ve been, umm, hooked on John Stamos since he was the handsome, funny and dreamy uncle Jesse on Full House. Since his career-catapulting role, the he's-so-Greek-and-his-hair-even-more-Greek babe has only grown on us. Our only regret: We wish someone had ended his hair crisis on the iconic show and told him to cut his mullet. Quite frankly, while he’s cute with his buzz cut in recent years, we found his longer, wilder, mind-of-its-own hairstyle from the '80s quite irresistible.

12 Kurt Russell, 64
In 1980s, Hollywood was overflowing with sexy men, but sexy men with irresistible bodies, well, that’s a whole other breed. So much so that Goldie Hawn’s long-time partner Kurt became one of Hollywood’s most reliable tough guys after badass turns in the likes of The Thing and Escape from New York. His blond hair and light eyes looked so, so cool...

13 Mel Gibson, 59
Cast your minds back to a time before the drinking, divorce and anti-Semitic rambling and you might remember an era, where Mel Gibson was regarded as one of the sexiest stars in Tinseltown. How times change. Think of that time of him modifying his Mad Max persona with a dash of cheeky charm to play Lethal Weapon’s reckless hero, Martin Riggs, and you'll get what we mean.

There you have it: Some of these hunks from the 80s’ have still got it, and few keep getting better with age. Agree? Let us know in the comments below.

(All photos: Pinterest, Twitter, Facebook, AFP, YouTube, AP)

The author can be reached on Twitter:@SanyaHoon