From 'Be Yourself' to 'Buckle Up,' These Former Sexiest Men Alive Have Some Sage Advice for Future Winners
- - From 'Be Yourself' to 'Buckle Up,' These Former Sexiest Men Alive Have Some Sage Advice for Future Winners
Alex ApatoffOctober 29, 2025 at 6:30 PM
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There's less than a week left before we announce PEOPLE's Sexiest Man Alive 2025 on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on Nov. 3, and we imagine this year's titleholder is taking his vitamins, meditating and stretching in preparation for the big year he has ahead of him.
Once more thing he can do to prepare? Read up on all the sage advice given from previous Sexiest Men Alive, from two-time winner George Clooney to winner "in perpetuity," Dwayne Johnson. In between the jokes, there is some sage advice, including "stay off social media" and bask in the certainty of knowing one thing: You can always "be yourself," because that's what earned you the title in the first place.
Check out the best advice from 10 past winners, below.
Related: Sexiest Throwbacks: See All the Sexiest Man Alive Winners Then and Now
01 of 10
John Krasinski
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The reigning 2024 Sexiest Man Alive has some wise words for the next guy, who will be revealed Nov. 3: "Buckle up. It is a hard crown to wear, but you'll be all right. Just stay focused. Take a deep breath, you'll get through it."
02 of 10
George Clooney
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The two-time winner (in 1997 and 2006) shared a few of his thoughts with PEOPLE in 2024, first declaring that the next person in line should be working for their win: "Let's see what kind of a campaign he's running. You know what I mean? I want to see how good a campaigner he is."
Next, he's got to be ready to deal with any discomfort. "I feel as if there's a lot of responsibility for a full year, you have to wear that sash," he joked. "It's very uncomfortable after a while."
03 of 10
Jude Law
Miikka Skaffari/Getty
The 2004 titleholder had some practical advice in 2024: “Be yourself, guys. Be yourself ... Actually, my advice is ask George Clooney. Wasn't he in it like six times?”
04 of 10
Dwayne Johnson and Chris Evans
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What do you get when you put two previous Sexiest Men Alive (2016 for Johnson, 2022 for Evans) in one movie and ask them for advice? A lot of jokes.
“Good luck following us!" Johnson told PEOPLE at the 2024 premiere of their film Red One.
“Yeah, just wrap it up,” Evans added. “You know what I mean, you're only ever going to be second.”“This is in perpetuity," Johnson concluded, a statement he's made before. "We just never give up the title."
(All jokes aside, Johnson suggests the winner "have fun," and Evans says that time is a thief: "It all goes by too quick. You're going to wake up one day and you’re just going to have these crow's feet that are just there permanently. Man, it's all downhill after PEOPLE's Sexiest Man Alive. That's what I've learned.”)
05 of 10
John Legend
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John Legend, who won in 2019, has some practical advice for any future winners: Stay off social media!
“Don't take it too seriously, but enjoy it,” he told PEOPLE of his best advice, in 2024. “It's an interesting thing to win because you get a lot of love and then you get a lot of questioning like, ‘Why did he get it?’ Don't read your social media too much, but just enjoy it. It's fun. Just don't take yourself too seriously with it though.”
06 of 10
David Beckham
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Extremely sexy soccer star (and recently crowed Sexiest Soccer Club Owner) David Beckham, a winner in 2015, suggested future SMA winners stay grounded.
"Don't get carried away! Keep your feet on the ground because you only get it once," he told PEOPLE with a laugh in 2024, before asking, "I think you only get it once. Can you get it more than once?" (Should we take that as a campaign?)
07 of 10
Paul Rudd
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Though 2021 winner Paul Rudd told PEOPLE in 2024 he was "the wrong guy" to offer advice to upcoming SMAs, he did have some very specific advice for 2022 winner Chris Evans before handing over the title."I absolutely said, 'Look, here's the deal, Chris. This comes with a lot of responsibility," he joked to PEOPLE the following February. "If you want to sit down and maybe have like, we'll probably need to spend the day, it's going to take hours, because there's a lot you have to live up to and there's a lot expected of you. And if you want to have like a real strategy session or what it's been like and what's required, I'm available. And I gave him a series of days."
Did Evans respond? "Yeah, he's never returned one text. [But he's] absolutely busy. He's the Sexiest Man Alive. There are no days off for that."
08 of 10
Idris Elba
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Idris Elba, a winner in 2018, knows that being Sexiest Man Alive is a state of mind you get to carry with you forever. So his advice to John Legend, the following year's winner? Make the most of that feeling.
“Just enjoy it. Try not to be sexy, just be you,” the actor told PEOPLE. “One thing Ilearned very quickly: I don’t have to try to be sexy, I am sexy. Doesn’t matter if I woke up in the morning and looked crazy, people would say, ‘Oh, the sexiest man!’ I told myself, ‘Yes!’ No matter what I do, I’ve been given the title, I’m feeling very good about myself.”
09 of 10
Blake Shelton
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Blake Shelton appears backstage during The Elvis '68 All-Star Tribute Special at Universal Studios on October 11, 2018.
Country superstar (and 2017 winner) Blake Shelton's advice to John Legend upon his 2019 win was clearly taken to heart by the singer, since he now shares it with others.
As Shelton told Entertainment Tonight, “I’m the one that broke the news to him on The Voice as a former sexy guy. I told him afterwards, I said, ‘Hey man, listen. After this announcement comes out, wait about two weeks before you look at social media. Because everybody that ever hated you is gonna have something to say about it."
10 of 10
Chris Hemsworth
ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty
In 2024, Chris Hemsworth offered a simple "Congratulations!" to the future winner — but perhaps sounded a note of caution about being immortalized as the Sexiest Man Alive on a magazine cover for all time.
"What happened to me?!" he joked upon seeing his 2014 cover image.
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
