CHRIS HEMSWORTH NAMED SEXIEST MAN ALIVE.
Chris Hemsworth?!
No offence to Mr. Thor, but ... huh?
The 31-year-old Australian actor (as handsome as he may be) wasn’t on anyone’s prediction list for People magazine’s coveted Sexiest Man Alive cover this year. Yet, he was awarded the honour on Jimmy Kimmel Live.
After a guessing game in which the audience tried to figure out the guy’s identity (under 35, played a superhero in a movie, had a famous brother), Hemsworth was finally revealed.
Streaming in via Skype from Australia, Hemsworth sat on a couch as someone off-camera handed him a giant trophy with a mirror attached.
For those who think the name sounds familiar but aren’t exactly sure who he might be, we’ll clear it up. No, it’s not the guy from The Hunger Games who was once engaged to Miley Cyrus: That’s his younger brother, Liam.
Chris is the one who starred in Thor and reprised his role in The Avengers. (There’s a third Hemsworth, Luke, but no one really knows about him.)
Chris also has two new movies (Ron Howard’s In the Heart of the Sea and Michael Mann’s Blackhat) coming out next year, plus the Avengers: Age of Ultron.
A slew of upcoming projects — in addition to gamely sitting for a cover photo shoot and interview — are all key parts of being named People’s Sexiest Man.
It also helps that Hemsworth actually seems cool. “What does it feel like to be the Sexiest Man Alive?” Kimmel asked.
“I’m most excited about the ‘alive’ portion of that statement,” Hemsworth deadpanned. “And the ‘sexy’ is a bonus, and I’m excited.”
Kimmel asked what younger bro Liam has to say about all of this.
“Liam’s good. We’ve been throwing sexy looks back and forth all week and kind of workshopping ... he’s been a real team player for this one,” Hemsworth assured him.
Anyone he would like to thank for the honour?
“My parents, I guess, for putting this together,” Hemsworth said, gesturing to his face, a strand of blond hair artfully falling over his eye.
“Yes, I think we’re all very grateful,” Kimmel confirmed, as the camera cut back to Hemsworth admiring his own reflection in his mirror trophy.
For the second consecutive year, People didn’t name a bachelor — Hemsworth is married to model Elsa Pataky. The couple has three adorable kids, a two-year-old daughter and eight-month-old twin sons.
So that means that Chris Pratt — who many thought would be the front-runner — will just be GQ’s Man of the Year. And Neil Patrick Harris will just have to settle for hosting the Oscars.
Here’s the previous three winners of the award, first handed out in 1985 to Mel Gibson: 2011: Bradley Cooper 2012: Channing Tatum 2013: Adam Levine