Who is The Most Interesting Man in the World?

I still get a kick out of those TV commercials for Dos Equis featuring "The Most Interesting Man in the World." (My favorite is when he says that he once visited a psychic... to warn her.) The New Yorker has a very short profile of the actor behind the Man. His name is Jonathan Goldsmith. He's 72-years-old. Jewish. And from the Bronx. And he's pretty interesting too! From the New Yorker:

His mother was a Conover model, his father a track coach at James Monroe High School. Postcollegiate dissolution (and a session with the famed psychoanalyst Fredric Wertham) led him into an acting class at the Living Theatre and, eventually, into competition with the likes of Dustin Hoffman and Robert Duvall. (Goldsmith recalls a contentious exchange with Hoffman: “I jumped up and said, ‘Dustin, the reason you don’t like me is because I’m gonna make it and you’re not.’ ”) Goldsmith eventually made it–out to Los Angeles, anyway–and embarked on a career as a “that guy,” very often the that guy who gets killed, on television shows such as “Bonanza,” “Mannix,” “Gunsmoke,” “Hawaii Five-O,” “The Rockford Files,” “Barnaby Jones,” “Charlie’s Angels,” “CHiPs,” “Dynasty,” “T. J. Hooker,” “Knots Landing,” “Magnum, P.I.,” “MacGyver,” and “Dallas,” to name a few. He had an equally peripatetic career off the lot, the particulars of which he’s saving for a book. He divulged one old surefire tactic: knowing that Warren Beatty kept a penthouse suite at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel, Goldsmith used to wait in the lobby for the young women who’d been summoned there, and he’d intercept them, saying, “Warren sent me down. I’m terribly sorry, but he had to cancel the meeting.”

"Interesting" (Thanks, Bob Pescovitz!)

• [planettom]

  In at least one of the TV commercials, the faux footage from his life seems to have another actor playing a younger version of TMIMITW. Or am I wrong about that?

• [Anonymous]

  “I don’t always drink horse piss. But when I do, I choose Don Equis.”

  I like those ads too.

• [boo]

  Really!!!

  You really think that this is interesting?!?!?

  • [Ugly Canuck]

    Not just interesting, but most interesting.

  • [betatron]

    His technique for siphoning Warren Beatty’s girl toys was brilliant!

  • [Ben]

    You’re right, boo. Go ahead, tell us about *your* life.

• [Drew from Zhrodague]

  Those commercials are funny, and I get a kick out of ‘em. I also end up working with some extremely interesting people, and consider myself also an interesting people. Some of you reading this are interesting peoples.

  Secret agents, cowboys, and female scientists should be used to sell us products in funny commercials, but it is up to us as the viewer to decide what it means to be interesting.

  I’ll drink Dos Equis.

• [Anonymous]

  He was on Adam Carollas podcast- not very interesting.

• [pidg]

  Adland jumps on the Chuck Norris bandwagon.

  Surprised nobody has said.

• [Anonymous]

  A striking resemblance to my friend the renowned Spanish Cinematographer Javier Aguiresarobe:

  Sorry the following web address is so long. Me not good at intertubes.

  http://www.elpais.com/especial/protagonistas/2008/img/60-Javier-Aguirresarrobe.jpg

  Good hunting
  Chris Weitz

  Mod note: I tidied up the URL. If you just click on Full-Size Image over on the right, it will give you just the image and strip the meta-crap out of the URL. Or click Website For This Image if you want the whole page. Also, welcome to Boing Boing!

• [abstract_reg]

  Ok, so now that we know this actor is not the most interesting man in the world, I think Boing Boing should do something to figure out who is.

• [Anonymous]

  Says alot about this society that the “most interesting man in the world” is an obscure tv actor.

  I think scientists, writers, artists, activists are plenty more interesting, but then again I’m an anon old fart who never gets his comments posted.

  • [Antinous / Moderator]

    Odd, there are 92 published comments for this IP.

• [Anonymous]

  Dude sounds like an old school character, and I love those commercials also! Love them!

• [penguinchris]

  As far as modern-day commercials go, I agree that these are near the top. They’re well-written, clever and funny, and perfectly executed. I’m not sure “interesting” was the right choice of word, though.

  He’s mysterious, cool and suave, adventurous (a lot like James Bond, but independently wealthy and under no one’s orders but his own apparently), but… in the end, he’s a playboy. He’s occasionally shown doing a good deed (feeding baby eagles on a cliff side for example), but mostly he’s acting on his own behalf only.

  From all that I’d say the character leads a highly desirable life, and a book about his exploits *would* be interesting if written well. It still bugs me to call him the most interesting as opposed to some other word, but… to be honest I can’t think of a better way to describe him, contradicting the whole point of my comment :)

• [Anonymous]

  Best cock block artist in the world.

  Mike Jones/

• [Anonymous]

  The most interesting man in the world is Brian Blessed.

  Professional boxer, martial arts master, RAF service, actor of stage, film, and TV for nearly 50 years, adventurer, been to all over the world, both the North and South Poles, climbed Everest, and only turned back at 28000 feet to save his friend. He also cares for over 2,000 animals at his home, of all shapes, breeds, and sizes.

  And that’s just the beginning.

  But don’t take my word for it. Look him up. (cue Reading Rainbow music)

• [RadioSilence]

  The Most Interesting Man in the World?

  got to be Stephen Fry, no competition.

• [Anonymous]

  I thought it was Ron Jeremy:-)

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dyz7yJzqlug

• [theboredom]

  That bit about cock-blocking Warren Beatty is pure gold.

• [blue balaclava]

  *That’s* Jonathan Goldsmith? Damn, they made him iron his hair out….

  But yeah, he was all over the telly in the 70s and 80s — and known as much by his curly hair as by anything. No wonder I didn’t recognize….

• [Maddy]

  I lost a bet that he was Maximilian Schell, but I won a bet right after that Maximilian Schell was still alive.

  Oh, and I had my picture taken with Mr. Dos Equis — at a scotch tasting.

• [Tavie]

  He’s 72-years-old. Jewish. And from the Bronx.

  ZOMG, he’s my dad, except, like, interesting?

• [Anonymous]

  You know what, though?

  I’m sick of shrugging off banal little daily misogyny like the commercial that starts out, “He wouldn’t be afraid to show his feminine side, if he had one.”

  I’m tired of being insulted by idiots all the time. Screw these stupid commercials. Screw Dos Equis.

  • [marco antonio]

    It must be very tiring to be you.
    The fact that it’s the most interesting MAN makes it perfectly fine to say he doesn’t have a femenine side. And it’s not sexist, mysiongist or even a personal attack against you.

    Pick your battles right, otherwise your opinion risks becoming background noise.

• [Brainspore]

  TMIMITW always reminded me of a Mexican version of Ernest Hemingway.

  My favorite line from the campaign was “He’s a lover, not a fighter. But he’s also a fighter so don’t get any ideas.”