In “Juno,” Paulie Bleeker, your average unpopular high school kid, gets his crush pregnant, and he will do anything to keep her. His adorability factor grows on Juno and, to be honest, on us as viewers, too. Michael Cera has done the nerdy kid thing a few times in his career.
In real life, Michael Cera is a very handsome man, and he has a talent for music, too — he plays both guitar and bass and can sing pretty well. Despite all these cool points, he keeps being cast as a dork quite often. He was Scott Pilgrim, for crying out loud.
Chris Owen – American Pie
Chuck Sherman is a fan-favorite geek. Also known as “The Sherminator,” the character appears throughout the "American Pie" franchise. In the original 1999 film, he is a dorky high school kid who is obsessed with Arnold Schwarzenegger movies.
This time the geek gets the girl, but then again, "American Pie" is one of those vulgar teen flicks, so no surprise there. In real life, what makes Chris Owen cool is how down-to-earth he is. In 2014, when his acting career took a dip, he started waiting tables at a sushi restaurant. Can you believe that? Thankfully, his career bounced back up eventually.
Andrew Garfield – The Amazing Spider-Man
In "The Amazing Spider-Man" (2002), we get a slightly different dorky Peter Parker. He’s smart and shy and, of course, secretly superhuman. Many Marvel fans won’t think twice to say this Spidey movie is the best of its kind, even better than Sam Raimi’s. People are entitled to their opinions.
One thing we know is that Andrew Garfield is a knockout off the set. And he has to be cool, or his "Spiderman" co-star Emma Stone would never have dated him. Garfield recently reprised the role of Peter Parker in "Spider-Man: No Way Home," sending audiences into a frenzy when he made that surprise appearance.
Ed Helms – The Office
The character of Andy Bernard is a model suit from a privileged background with a position of authority, but he is crippled by his gnawing insecurity. He makes us laugh as he tries so hard to be the boss.
Ed Helms says Andy, the character is like an unhinged version of himself. On TV, he’s the office nerd, but in actuality, Ed Helms is the great success Andy wishes he could be — he's a successful actor, musician, and comedian. According to science, that's cool. Not to mention the fact that he also played a pretty nerdy character in "The Hangover" film series.
Leonard Nimoy – Star Trek
Part human, part Vulcan, Spock possessed superhuman intelligence and was Captain Kirk’s trusted guide at the helm of the Enterprise. His intelligence made him nearly inhuman, at least emotionally, seemingly free of those weaknesses. But when they did show, we loved it.
"Star Trek" and Spock’s influence are alive and well in the Trekkie fandom. Nimoy, however, left us in 2015 at age 83. He was a cultural icon. He wrote one memoir titled "I Am Not Spock," and later, he wrote a second autobiography called "I Am Spock." A true space-level cool move. You know you've left a huge impact on pop culture when other actors keep playing your character.