Eyes up here! Plenty of celebrity women show off their bikini bodies in skimpy swimwear, but only a handful of famous men have been photographed in similarly tiny bathing suits.
While Speedo is a brand that offers a whole range of swimwear from athletic tech suits to lifeguard outfits and goggles, the name has also become synonymous with men’s swim briefs, also known by the Australian term “budgie smuggler.” Speedo the brand introduced its signature briefs in 1956, and men around the world have been strutting their stuff on the beach ever since.
The skimpy bottoms go in and out of fashion in cycles, but in 2006, tiny trunks rose to prominence again after Daniel Craig was photographed wearing a pair on the set of his first James Bond movie, Casino Royale. Andy Cohen later described the now-iconic look as the thing that helped sell the public on Craig’s turn as the fictional spy.
In 2021, the Bravo exec asked the Knives Out actor where the swimsuit was over a decade later, but Craig admitted that he didn’t know. “It might be in the Bond archive,” the U.K. native explained during an interview on Cohen’s SiriusXM radio show. “There’s this huge warehouse where everything’s kept. It may be sitting there. I know there were two pairs.”
Fans of the look, however, may be disappointed to know that Craig has no plans to reintroduce his risqué beach outfit now that his Bond days are over. “I like a square-cut Speedo, I have to say,” the Logan Lucky star told Cohen. “But on the older man, it just gets a little weird.”
Small bathing suits have also made a splash in the sports realm over the years, with athletes including Ryan Lochte and Michael Phelps donning the look at various points in their careers. Before he was an actor, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson famously wore briefs as a wrestler — but he doesn’t look back on all of his costumes with fondness.
“Wow what a @WWE rookie memory,” the Fast Five actor tweeted in November 2017 while reflecting on the 20th anniversary of his debut in the ring, sharing a video of himself in neon blue briefs. “I had the world’s WORST wrestling outfit EVER and [was] so broke I used to cut my own hair.”
After retiring from the sport, the Jungle Cruise star encountered Speedos again for the 2017 big-screen adaptation of Baywatch. During a 2015 interview with Entertainment Tonight, he was asked to choose between two red swimsuits while discussing the then-upcoming movie. “Which one’s bigger in the crotch?” he asked before grabbing the larger pair. “Yeah, I need this one.”
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Keep scrolling for more photos of celebrity men in Speedos:
The Nine Perfect Strangers alum opted for barely there trunks during a 2022 vacation in Colombia.
Courtesy of Luke Evans/Instagram
While in the Bahamas, the James Bond actor turned up the heat on the 2006 set of Casino Royale.
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The Prince of Wales made a splash on the Scottish Universities water polo team in 2004.
Shutterstock
The Olympic bronze medalist regularly wears tiny swimsuits in his career as a diver.
Patrick B Kraemer/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
“Yes please!” Kim Zolciak-Biermann captioned a 2018 photo of her husband rinsing off in an outdoor shower. “For the love of God!”
Courtesy of Kim Zolciak-Biermann/Instagram
The LMFAO rapper performed in London in July 2012.
Steven C Mitchell/EPA/Shutterstock
The Good Will Hunting actor donned the tiny swimwear for HBO’s Behind the Candelabra in 2013.
YouTube
Posing for a portrait on Venice Beach in 1977, the future actor and governor of California terminated modesty.
Rolf Hayo/Shutterstock
The Bravo exec posted this flashback shot for #ThrowbackThursday in September 2013. “Me, a speedo, a lawnmower. Discuss,” he captioned the snap.
Courtesy of Andy Cohen/Instagram
