WASHINGTON • Although the news cycle will be a bit preoccupied with the midterm elections in the United States this week, People magazine had another result to share: the name of the 2018 Sexiest Man Alive.
On Monday night, the magazine declared Idris Elba, the beloved British actor, the winner of this year's title.
Jimmy Fallon broke the news on The Tonight Show, as he revealed the cover to Elba, who appeared via satellite from London.
"Congratulations on being the sexiest man alive. We have the cover here," Fallon said. "It refers to you as a sweet, smouldering superstar. Can we see a little smoulder?"
Elba, 46, showed off his sweet and smouldering looks, to the delight of the studio audience. He also caught his first glimpse of the cover and was very pleased.
"It's amazing, I'm really, really happy with that. Thank you so much, People magazine, for making me sexiest man in the world," Elba said, flexing a bicep. "My mum is going to be very, very proud."
Elba, who became a star in America after HBO's The Wire, had a memorable part in Avengers: Infinity War this year, reprising his role from the Thor franchise.
People reported that Elba, a father of two, keeps busy "deejaying in Ibiza, kickboxing in Thailand or designing his own clothing line, not to mention planning his wedding to his fiancee Sabrina Dhowre, 29, a model".
Plus, he is working on the much anticipated fifth season of Luther, which will reportedly debut on BBC One. His starring role as a brilliant detective earned him a Golden Globe award and four Emmy nominations.
Elba also recently shot down the persistent rumour that he would be the next actor to play James Bond, but a Sexiest Man Alive title will not help quiet speculation.
Other actors and singers who have been given the title by the People magazine's editors in recent years include Blake Shelton, Chris Hemsworth, Adam Levine, George Clooney and Channing Tatum.
Only two other non-white men - African-American star Denzel Washington in 1996 and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, whose mother is Samoan and whose father is black Canadian, in 2016 - have won the title since People started the feature in 1985.
WASHINGTON POST, REUTERS
