 Originally , the character resembled a " <unk> leading man , " described by Greno as " a muscular commoner / farm boy . " However , the directors had always envisioned Flynn as " a dashing thief . " To assist with the development of Flynn 's design , Howard and Greno held a large meeting with thirty of Tangled 's female employees . Calling it the " Hot Man Meeting , " the employees were encouraged to " bring in pictures of their favorite hunky men . " The Hot Man Meeting was created because the directors , who found that they were very much impressed with Rapunzel 's design , felt that " Flynn [ needed ] to be up to [ Rapunzel 's ] level . " Greno described the Hot Man Meeting as " crazy , " elaborating , " Photos of all the hottest men in Hollywood [ were ] being thrown around a room . Photos being torn in half and pasted back together . Eyes were ripped from one picture and put on another . Heads were torn from photos , " concluding , " I 've never seen anything like it . " Howard cited American actor Clark Gable and English footballer David Beckham among several celebrities by whom Flynn was influenced during the meeting , joking that the employees eventually " started using Nathan and me as examples of what not to do . " 
