Actor Paul Rudd has been crowned 2021’s Sexiest Man Alive by People magazine.
Rudd, known for his starring roles in Marvel’s Ant-Man films, This is 40 and Clueless, was revealed as this year’s winner on CBS’ The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.
Colbert announced the news after performing a series of sketches on his show with Rudd, which saw the “Ant-Man” star complete tasks in order to prove his sexiness. Little did viewers know that they were watching the sexiest man alive in action.
“I do have an awareness, enough to know that when people hear that I’d be picked for this, they would say, ‘What?’ ” Rudd told People in his sexiest man alive cover story. “This is not false humility. There are so many people that should get this before me.”
At the end of the tests, the comedian revealed Rudd passed and was indeed the sexiest man alive. “Don’t you see Paul? There’s nothing sexier than humility. That was the last test and you passed,” Colbert told the actor.
The 52-year-old actor has become a meme in recent years over his seemingly ageless looks.
“When I think about myself, I think of myself as a husband and a father, like I’m that,” he said. “I just hang out with my family when I’m not working. That’s what I kind of like the most.”
The actor told People he shared the news first with his wife Julie Yaeger, who was “stupefied.”
“After some giggling and shock, she said ‘Oh, they got it right,’ ” he added. “And that was very sweet. She was probably not telling the truth, but what’s she going to say?”
“I’m hoping now that I’ll finally be invited to some of those sexy dinners with Clooney and Pitt and B Jordan,” he commented jokingly on what he expected from the title. “And I figure I’ll be on a lot more yachts. I’m excited to expand my yachting life. And I’ll probably try to get better at brooding in really soft light. I like to ponder. I think this is going to help me become more inward and mysterious. And I’m looking forward to that.”
