It’s official — John Krasinski is People’s Sexiest Man Alive.
The title was bestowed on The Office funny guy and If director on Tuesday’s The Late Show With Stephen Colbert. It started with a funny bit about how Colbert wished he had won and Krasinski consoled him.
After, it was the typical kinda awkward conversation about how Krasinski was surprised he was picked, how his wife — Emily Blunt — reacted (with laughter) and how he’ll never be as sexy as previous titleholders like Matthew McConaughey. He also used the late-night airtime to plug his upcoming Jack Ryan movie.
As the magazine’s two cover options were unveiled on TV, the publication dropped its cover story — with another interview (“I think it’s going to make me do more household chores,” Krasinski joked) and lots of photos of him looking cute.
While People’s pick is always top secret, a month ago there was buzz that Krasinski may be the guy. Krasinski told Colbert that the only person he told, besides his wife, was Matt Damon, so maybe that former SMA was the leak.
It’s not surprising that social media is already lit up in debate about the sexiness of the outlet’s pick. While it’s not a Blake Shelton situation, it’s more confusion over why Krasinski now and not someone who’s really been on the rise like Glen Powell, who is having a year, or Adam Brody, who is having a revival. (Pedro Pascal, Jason Momoa, Charles Melton — social media is filled with other suggestions.)
So how does the magazine determine their guy? Here’s everything we know about the process, including that while “sexy” is in the title it’s really about sales. And how when there’s a debate about the winner, which is pretty much every time, sales go up.
How long has Sexiest Man Alive been a thing?
Since 1985 — making it nearly 40 years — and it all started with Mel Gibson.
The controversial actor/director is technically the first titleholder, but it wasn’t planned that way. A People reporter interviewed the then-rising star on the set of Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome. People no longer has the story on its website, but Gibson sounded a bit unhinged — using a derogatory term, calling the movie he was promoting “a piece of shit,” telling the reporter he didn’t “want to be doing this interview,” drinking and smoking, according to a 2014 Slate story about the Sexiest Man Alive’s history.
Former People staff writer Michelle Green was given the interview file and turned it into a juicy story. She ended her piece with the line: “And then the sexiest man alive slouches away, alone,” and her kicker became the magazine cover line. The issue went on to sell 2 million copies — and the franchise was born.
Green told Slate that launching the franchise is “something that I sort of hate having unleashed upon the world.” She called “the very idea of a ‘sexiest man alive’ … a false concept. It’s not, ‘Do I want to f*** this guy?’ It’s a very calculated feature that’s all about selling magazines. I can’t believe people fall for it.”
Who are the other Sexiest Men Alive?
After Gibson, the magazine staff selected a SMA nearly every year, starting with St. Elsewhere’s Mark Harmon and then L.A. Law star Harry Hamlin. Others of that era were also white straight men: Patrick Swayze, Harrison Ford, George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise and Nick Nolte.
The first person of color was Denzel Washington (1996). The oldest Sexiest Man Alive was Sean Connery (1989) at age 59. One year there was a Sexiest Couple Alive: Richard Gere and Cindy Crawford (1993).
In the 2000s, being awarded the title became a playful competition between pals Pitt and Clooney, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck. There were jokes about “campaigning.” In that era, Johnny Depp held the title twice (2003 and 2009), and McConaughey (2005) was so all-in (he memorably took the mag’s “Sexy Aptitude Test”) that the publication decided interviews were mandatory or a person wouldn’t get selected. The magazine also got serious and trademarked “Sexiest Man Alive.”
The traditional hunks continued into the 2010s: Chris Hemsworth, Channing Tatum, David Beckham, Ryan Reynolds. That changed slightly with box office giant Dwayne Johnson being a more non-traditional pick as the first Samoan SMA — and certainly the most muscular. There was also a lot of backlash: Readers had thoughts about Shelton and his The Voice pal Adam Levine as titleholders. There was also disappointment over Bradley Cooper being picked in 2011 when people had been pulling for Ryan Gosling, but Cooper reportedly went the extra mile doing lots of promotion for the magazine.
From 2019 — when it was John Legend — into the 2020s, the picks are more than just eye candy with the mag devoting space to Michael B. Jordan (2020) and Chris Evans’s (2022) activism. Nice guy Paul Rudd (2021) also had the title. Patrick Dempsey, 2023’s pick, was a long time coming for the ’80s movie star.
Krasinski has two different sexy covers. (People via Instagram)
Has anyone turned down the title?
That would be Gosling, who reportedly said no multiple times. John F. Kennedy Jr. declined to participate when he was named SMA in 1988, and Affleck had his mom interviewed in his place in 2002.
Meanwhile, Evans was reportedly in discussions to be the pick in 2020 and 2021, but it didn’t pan out. Blame his NSFW photo scandal for one of the setbacks.
What have People editors said about selecting the sexy guy?
The franchise has obviously evolved over time — and as editors of the magazine changed.
The late People magazine editor Pat Ryan, a woman, was the one who made it into a franchise, wisely targeting the mostly female reading audience. Former editor Jim Gaines, who later took the reins from Ryan, told Slate, “Honestly, if it had been a male editor, I’m not sure if it would have even happened.”
When the franchise was first born, there was no set time of year that the issue ran. Now, it’s November — and the magazine starts its countdowns months earlier to help maximize sales.
As far as making the selection, then-managing editor Larry Hackett revealed some secrets during ABC News’s 2010 special, 25 Years of Sexy: People Magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive.
“I think what makes ‘Sexy Man’ work so well is that it’s fun,” said Hackett. “So the decision that we make is based on what we sort of hear out there among the public. … Whose movie did you see? Whose record did you buy? Whose television show did you watch? How are you feeling about these individuals?”
Hackett said they like “a mix of someone who’s hot but well-known. Not too young, not too old and somebody who, frankly, maybe we haven’t thought of.”
He added, according to Bustle, “Sexy certainly has to do with someone being good-looking and has to do with a certain kind of romantic, flirtatiousness physical appeal that may be beyond just academic appreciation of the way they look.”
Then-editor in chief Dan Wakeford told CNN in 2019, “We start thinking about who could be next year’s Sexiest Man the day after the last one publishes.”
He said they consider “everyone” to begin with. Research is done, including focus groups. The magazine editors hold top-secret meetings. When a subject is picked, only about 10 staffers total know who it is and they keep the story locked down on a “secret server.”
Wakeford said that picking someone who was “kind,” “good” and “nice” was important that year — when it went to Legend. He also said that cover subjects are “never paid.” However, the cover guy gets as many copies of the issue as he wants.
He also said that publicists pitch their clients to be on the cover — because it helps elevate the star’s fame (“This title will follow them,” Wakeford said) — and, as a result, their bottom line. That’s why the SMA agrees to promote the magazine — it’s a financial win-win for all.
A source told Slate that “Unlike Time’s Person of the Year, which is bestowed, Sexiest Man has to be accepted. Whoever it is does a photoshoot, sits for an interview, does a lot of press.”
“Any time everyone wonders why they didn’t pick the obvious choice … it’s because that guy didn’t want to do it,” the former employee said.
Controversy is good for the bottom line
Again, the purpose here is revenue. So all the online bickering about whether or not People made a good selection only helps the magazine’s bottom line.
“Usually, when there is a debate, that’s when we get big cover sales,” Wakeford said.
He added, “There’s always going to be a little bit of controversy.”
Is there only one sexy man a year?
No. The concept evolved from a single cover story on one guy to an issue filled with different types of sexy guys. Krasinski’s cover touts that there are “125 men we love” featured this year.
Now, the magazine often rolls out some of the selections ahead of time to build momentum. For instance, earlier this week, Selena Gomez shared that her boyfriend, Benny Blanco, was named a “Sexy Gentleman.”
Isn’t this concept dated?
Sure is — and there is no shortage of people pointing that out. They’ve also criticized the lack of diversity, including no out LGBTQ Hollywood stars.
It’s in the same vein as beauty pageants and Victoria’s Secret fashion shows — which people continue to wonder why they continue … and yet they do.
Others look at it as a nice, light break from serious news.
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