The Pitt’s Noah Wyle named ‘Sexiest Man Alive’: ‘I thought it was a prank’
Noah Wyle (Getty Images)
Noah Wyle has been named People’s Sexiest Man Alive 2026, and he admitted he initially assumed the news was a joke.
Speaking with People, the 55-year-old actor said: “I thought that sounded like a prank, just not in a million years did I think that this would be an honour bestowed on me.”
Wyle, who plays Dr. Michael “Robby” Robinavitch in HBO Max medical drama The Pitt, also joked about what the title might change in his day-to-day life. “I hope it’s just wine and roses, milk and honey from here on out. [Laughs] No, I don’t, but I am going to take a lot of ribbing from friends and family for sure,” he said.
Pitt said his wife Sara, 46, helped talk him round, telling him he was “SMA material” and adding that she was “very pleased that this reflects well on her taste”.
‘She’s going to tease me about this for the next 50 years’
Wyle said their children had very different takes on their dad’s new title.
Recalling the moment he told them, he said: “My son is super practical. He was like, ‘Oh, this is going to make my life so much harder now. But that’s cool, Dad. But also, you invite a lot of haters too.’”
He added: “My older daughter was just like, ‘No way, no way.’ Because I think she’s going to tease me about this for the next 50 years.”
People’s ‘Sexiest Man Alive’
People’s Sexiest Man Alive franchise has run for decades and still lands as a yearly pop culture moment, often prompting nostalgia and arguments about who gets labelled “sexy” as Hollywood ages.
Wyle has big shoes to fill, after everyone’s favourite Bridgerton beauty Jonathan Bailey was given the title. He became the first out gay man to win – and honestly, he should win it every year.
John Krasinki came before in 2024, Patrick Dempsey in 2023, Chris Evans in 2022, Paul Rudd in 2021 and Michael B Jordan in 2020.
Mel Gibson was the first to get the title, in 1985.
A woman, Cindy Crawford, was awarded the gong in 1993, when it was changed to “Sexiest Couple Alive”. She won with Richard Gere, with the couple being married at the time.
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