ONTD Original: Sexiest Man Alive season is here! Time to guess who it'll be
The last year has been a dry turd pile folded into a rotting ham sandwich and force fed to us via bazooka-to-the-face whenever the Supreme Court is in session, but we can hardly blame that on reigning Sexiest Man Alive Paul Rudd!
PEOPLE Magazine anoints their annual SMA within the first 2-3 weeks of November, so it's time to wildly speculate on who it might be! Based on some research (read: Wikipedia) and following the trends, I've come up with some names on who may be in the running.
Background: The SMA picks a celebrity, usually an entertainer, known by the PEOPLE demographic (70% female btwn ages 18 to 45) and by the general American public. The SMA hasn't been under the age of 30 since 1990 and have recently skewed 40+*. They also - and this is key - are almost always on or are getting ready for a promo tour*. The SMA has to be game for the cheesy interview and cover, an appearance on Colbert, and the social media jokes.
(* Save for Michael B. Jordan who was 33 and primarily used the SMA platform to outline his career path; a profile mostly saved for industry trades but MBJ's team tailored it to the PEOPLE audience)
The SMA Issue is one of PEOPLE'S tentpole and highest selling of the year, due in part to being released around the time people are travelling for Thanksgiving. SMA speculation the week of and day of trend pretty high as well. So while it may sound like a lame ass title that loses prestige some years, it still amounts to A LOT of press for the celebrity, which is why they grin and bear it each year. So my methodology pretty much amounted to: find who has a project to promote, see if they fit the demo, and if they'd play along with the shenanigans that accompany SMA.
Here is my (probably wrong) list of who our contenders are. Also, slightly NSFW photos.
Jason Momoa
Why: Generally liked by most audiences and would gladly play along, promoting Netflix's 'Slumberland' (premiers Nov. 18) and the various environmental causes dear to him. 'Slumberland' allegedly cost $120m+ to make so he will be hustling hard to make an impact as November is stacked with other big budget releases. Unclear if his recent divorce and living in his Big Boy Camper in the driveway would hinder things. He and his girlfriend Eiza G leak relationship status to PEOPLE so the communication and effusive press is already there.
John Krasinski
Why: He's inoffensive to middle America and maintains audience goodwill through 'The Office' and the former YouTube series 'Some Good News', which he sold to ViacomCBS. Wife Emily Blunt has an Amazon Prime series 'The English' in November and would happily integrate the SMA announcement into her press appearances. John will follow in December with his 'Jack Ryan' Amazon series promo duties. Linking your SMA title to MAGA Jack Ryan would be strategic. These two could milk the title for all it's worth.
Ke Huy Quan
Why: He is enjoying a big comeback tour enthusiastically embraced by audiences. He's on the hunt for a Best Supporting Actor nomination and this could help keep momentum. Industry trades and pods have made mention that the 'Everything Everywhere All At Once' cast campaigning together, holding screenings and Q&As has been a delight to watch and this is something they could all have fun with. They are basically the party train this awards season
Ryan Reynolds
Why: While he always has something to promote, he will be in the middle of press duties for 'Spirited' his musical comedy with Will Ferrell that opens Nov. 11 in theaters and lands on Appletv a week later. He was named SMA in 2010 but wasn't married to Blake at the time so this round we'll get anecdotes about being a father of four and whatever else those two come up with to leverage the coverage.
Henry Cavill
Why: He hasn't been named SMA before and with Superman fresh in everyone's mind I doubt many would argue his worthiness. Enola Holmes 2 premieres the first week of November. He can, like, tear apart a computer with his bare hands on Colbert or something (I know nothing about this man).
Simu Liu
Why: He has yet to be named, is a box office success superhero, and would seemingly be game for it. He doesn't have anything on schedule to promote but he could take the same approach Michael B. Jordan did the year he was awarded and use it to outline how he's building his career and empire.
Bad Bunny
Why: He's had a huge 2022 and his current tour is the highest-grossing tour by a Latin artist in history and is leading in nominations for the Nov. 20 American Music Awards. At 28, he may be a bit too young as PEOPLE chooses celebrities mainly in their 30s and 40s though it isn't unheard of. He would be an exciting choice, though maybe too exciting for PEOPLE.
Dwayne Johnson
Why: Like Reynolds, he always has something to promote; 'Young Rock' premieres its 3rd season Nov. 4 and 'Black Adam' is still in theaters. Also like Reynolds he'd be a 2nd time awardee having won in 2016. The 7 year gap shouldn't be an issue as other winners have shorter gaps (Richard Gere and 2 abusers I won't name).
Daniel Craig
Why: He seems to have lightened up a bit regarding press ever since he left Bond behind. He has 'Glass Onion' coming out and Netflix is giving it a 1-week limited theater run over Thanksgiving, which is a big deal for Netflix. Like I mentioned in the Background: this is PEOPLE'S big thanksgiving issue. Having him on the cover reminding people travelling KO2 is out in theaters wouldn't be a bad idea.
Harry Styles
Why: Because God has abandoned us. Like the horror movie villian who pops up one last time, any and all things DWD just won't stay dead. 'My Policeman' hits Amazon Prime Nov. 4 and his fans would cause a paper shortage for PEOPLE. It would make him one of the youngest title holders, but he's also Harry Styles.
Keanu Reeves
Why: No one would fight this...except maybe him. He was retroactively named 1994's SMA in 2015 though he didn't get his own cover. He doesn't have anything on schedule left to promote for the year so chances seem low.
Jamie Foxx
Why: Multi-talented, multi-hyphenated and generally well-like by audiences he'd gladly play along with the title and the silliness that goes along with it. He has a supporting role(?) in the John Boyega-led 'They Cloned Tyrone' on Netflix coming out end of December and has 6 other projects in post-production.
Chris Evans
Why: Rumored to have been offered it in 2020 but backed out bc we all saw his hog. Rumored again last year before Paul Rudd took the crown. Will this be his year? And will he finally reveal why he had that meme on his phone? Does he make memes of himself and send them out??
Silk Sonic
Why: Please. We haven't had a double cover since Richard Gere and Cindy Crawford for Sexiest Couple. How much fun would they have with it???
Almost made the list: Pedro Pascal, Johnathan Majors, Stanley Tucci, Mahershala Ali, Dev Patel, Bowen Yang, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Glenn Powell, Miles Teller
Poll Who do you think will win this year's Sexiest Man Alive?
Source Source 2 Source 3 Source 4 Source 5 Source 6 Source 7 Source 8 Source 9 Source 10 Source 11
PEOPLE Magazine anoints their annual SMA within the first 2-3 weeks of November, so it's time to wildly speculate on who it might be! Based on some research (read: Wikipedia) and following the trends, I've come up with some names on who may be in the running.
Background: The SMA picks a celebrity, usually an entertainer, known by the PEOPLE demographic (70% female btwn ages 18 to 45) and by the general American public. The SMA hasn't been under the age of 30 since 1990 and have recently skewed 40+*. They also - and this is key - are almost always on or are getting ready for a promo tour*. The SMA has to be game for the cheesy interview and cover, an appearance on Colbert, and the social media jokes.
(* Save for Michael B. Jordan who was 33 and primarily used the SMA platform to outline his career path; a profile mostly saved for industry trades but MBJ's team tailored it to the PEOPLE audience)
The SMA Issue is one of PEOPLE'S tentpole and highest selling of the year, due in part to being released around the time people are travelling for Thanksgiving. SMA speculation the week of and day of trend pretty high as well. So while it may sound like a lame ass title that loses prestige some years, it still amounts to A LOT of press for the celebrity, which is why they grin and bear it each year. So my methodology pretty much amounted to: find who has a project to promote, see if they fit the demo, and if they'd play along with the shenanigans that accompany SMA.
Here is my (probably wrong) list of who our contenders are. Also, slightly NSFW photos.
Jason Momoa
Why: Generally liked by most audiences and would gladly play along, promoting Netflix's 'Slumberland' (premiers Nov. 18) and the various environmental causes dear to him. 'Slumberland' allegedly cost $120m+ to make so he will be hustling hard to make an impact as November is stacked with other big budget releases. Unclear if his recent divorce and living in his Big Boy Camper in the driveway would hinder things. He and his girlfriend Eiza G leak relationship status to PEOPLE so the communication and effusive press is already there.
John Krasinski
Why: He's inoffensive to middle America and maintains audience goodwill through 'The Office' and the former YouTube series 'Some Good News', which he sold to ViacomCBS. Wife Emily Blunt has an Amazon Prime series 'The English' in November and would happily integrate the SMA announcement into her press appearances. John will follow in December with his 'Jack Ryan' Amazon series promo duties. Linking your SMA title to MAGA Jack Ryan would be strategic. These two could milk the title for all it's worth.
Ke Huy Quan
Why: He is enjoying a big comeback tour enthusiastically embraced by audiences. He's on the hunt for a Best Supporting Actor nomination and this could help keep momentum. Industry trades and pods have made mention that the 'Everything Everywhere All At Once' cast campaigning together, holding screenings and Q&As has been a delight to watch and this is something they could all have fun with. They are basically the party train this awards season
Ryan Reynolds
Why: While he always has something to promote, he will be in the middle of press duties for 'Spirited' his musical comedy with Will Ferrell that opens Nov. 11 in theaters and lands on Appletv a week later. He was named SMA in 2010 but wasn't married to Blake at the time so this round we'll get anecdotes about being a father of four and whatever else those two come up with to leverage the coverage.
Henry Cavill
Why: He hasn't been named SMA before and with Superman fresh in everyone's mind I doubt many would argue his worthiness. Enola Holmes 2 premieres the first week of November. He can, like, tear apart a computer with his bare hands on Colbert or something (I know nothing about this man).
Simu Liu
Why: He has yet to be named, is a box office success superhero, and would seemingly be game for it. He doesn't have anything on schedule to promote but he could take the same approach Michael B. Jordan did the year he was awarded and use it to outline how he's building his career and empire.
Bad Bunny
Why: He's had a huge 2022 and his current tour is the highest-grossing tour by a Latin artist in history and is leading in nominations for the Nov. 20 American Music Awards. At 28, he may be a bit too young as PEOPLE chooses celebrities mainly in their 30s and 40s though it isn't unheard of. He would be an exciting choice, though maybe too exciting for PEOPLE.
Dwayne Johnson
Why: Like Reynolds, he always has something to promote; 'Young Rock' premieres its 3rd season Nov. 4 and 'Black Adam' is still in theaters. Also like Reynolds he'd be a 2nd time awardee having won in 2016. The 7 year gap shouldn't be an issue as other winners have shorter gaps (Richard Gere and 2 abusers I won't name).
Daniel Craig
Why: He seems to have lightened up a bit regarding press ever since he left Bond behind. He has 'Glass Onion' coming out and Netflix is giving it a 1-week limited theater run over Thanksgiving, which is a big deal for Netflix. Like I mentioned in the Background: this is PEOPLE'S big thanksgiving issue. Having him on the cover reminding people travelling KO2 is out in theaters wouldn't be a bad idea.
Harry Styles
Why: Because God has abandoned us. Like the horror movie villian who pops up one last time, any and all things DWD just won't stay dead. 'My Policeman' hits Amazon Prime Nov. 4 and his fans would cause a paper shortage for PEOPLE. It would make him one of the youngest title holders, but he's also Harry Styles.
Keanu Reeves
Why: No one would fight this...except maybe him. He was retroactively named 1994's SMA in 2015 though he didn't get his own cover. He doesn't have anything on schedule left to promote for the year so chances seem low.
Jamie Foxx
Why: Multi-talented, multi-hyphenated and generally well-like by audiences he'd gladly play along with the title and the silliness that goes along with it. He has a supporting role(?) in the John Boyega-led 'They Cloned Tyrone' on Netflix coming out end of December and has 6 other projects in post-production.
Chris Evans
Why: Rumored to have been offered it in 2020 but backed out bc we all saw his hog. Rumored again last year before Paul Rudd took the crown. Will this be his year? And will he finally reveal why he had that meme on his phone? Does he make memes of himself and send them out??
Silk Sonic
Why: Please. We haven't had a double cover since Richard Gere and Cindy Crawford for Sexiest Couple. How much fun would they have with it???
Almost made the list: Pedro Pascal, Johnathan Majors, Stanley Tucci, Mahershala Ali, Dev Patel, Bowen Yang, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Glenn Powell, Miles Teller
Poll Who do you think will win this year's Sexiest Man Alive?
Source Source 2 Source 3 Source 4 Source 5 Source 6 Source 7 Source 8 Source 9 Source 10 Source 11