30+ 2000s Heartthrobs Who Absolutely Had Us Smitten In Our Younger Years: How They Looked Then Vs Now

Zac Efron when he was in High School Musical just hits different—even today.

Sophia

• Published in Film & TV
• June 25, 2022

The 2000s decade was definitely something—everyone was just trying to get by and have a good time. Not only that, but this is also the decade that gave birth to a lot of monumental pop cultural reset moments—from Justin Bieber's Baby to Britney Spear's bald head!

But it's not only just the music industry that gave birth to such iconic moments and pieces in the 2000s era, this decade also provided us a chock-full of rom-coms and chick flicks that have made such an immense impact on the youngsters who were still in their growing-up phase at that time. From Mean Girls, 13 Going on 30, and Bring It On, to Legally Blonde, 10 Things I Hate About You, and The Devil Wears Prada, movies back then just hit different, and people still don't get sick of rewatching them over and over again up until now.

That's just how timeless they are, and every time the actors show up on the screen, we are still left swooning even more than ever. After all, these movies were filled with such good-looking actors that it's impossible not to even develop the slightest crush on them, especially since these movies were released when we were just on our way to adolescence.

That being said, take a look at some of our favorite 2000s heartthrobs below and see how they looked like then vs now! We're sure you're bound to see your childhood crushes here so scroll on:

1. Chad Michael Murray then:

Chad Michael Murray now:

2. Zac Efron then:

High School Musical, anyone?

Zac Efron now:

3. The Jonas Brothers then:

Right after gawking at one of the stars from High School Musical, it's only natural to gush over the boy band guys from Camp Rock, right? Right.

The Jonas Brothers now:

4. Omarion then:

Omarion now:

5. Taylor Lautner then:

Let your inner Twighlight fan back out to howl at the moon.

Taylor Lautner now:

6. Usher then:

Usher now:

7. Orlando Bloom then:

Orlando Bloom now:

8. Channing Tatum then:

Channing Tatum now:

9. Shane West then:

Shane West now:

10. Corbin Bleu then:

Another opportunity to remember High School Musical.

Corbin Bleu now:

11. Jesse McCartney then:

Jesse McCartney now:

12. Raviv Ullman then:

Raviv Ullman now:

13. Tom Welling then:

Tom Welling now:

14. Oliver James Hutson then:

Oliver James Hutson now:

15. Sean Faris then:

Sean Faris now:

16. Adrian Grenier then:

Adrian Grenier now:

17. Enrique Iglesias then:

Enrique Iglesias now:

It's nice to see he's still sporting caps regularly.

18. Robert Schwartzman then:

Robert Schwartzman now:

19. Jonathan Bennett then:

Jonathan Bennett now:

20. Penn Badgley then:

Penn Badgley now:

21. Robert Pattinson then:

Robert Pattinson now:

22. Mark Ruffalo then:

Mark Ruffalo now:

23. Chris Pine then:

Chris Pine now:

24. Ashton Kutcher then:

Ashton Kutcher now:

25. Mario then:

Mario now:

26. Patrick Dempsey then:

Patrick Dempsey now:

27. Heath Ledger then:

Heath Ledger in 2007:

28. Daniel Radcliffe then:

Daniel Radcliffe now:

29. Ryan Gosling then:

Ryan Gosling now:

30. Bow Wow then:

Bow Wow now:

31. Joseph Gordon-Levitt then:

Joseph Gordon-Levitt now:

32. Nick Cannon then:

Nick Cannon now:

33. Milo Ventimiglia then:

Milo Ventimiglia now:

They may have inevitably aged, but nothing could ever jump on the fact that these men have truly caught our hearts back then—until now! We have a special place in our hearts for them, after all, they did play a pivotal role in our life when we watched them as kids and teens.

Which one was your favorite then and now? Comment down your thoughts, or share this article for all your family and friends to see!

Sophia