PAIs he, isn’t he, will he ever be the next James Bond? We still don’t know. What we do know, however, is Idris Elba is certifiably the ‘Sexiest Man Alive’ for 2018.
The 46-year-old actor and director is the 33rd man to receive the award, from People magazine, which was announced last night (November 5), on NBC’s The Tonight Show, hosted by Jimmy Fallon.
Well-known for his breakthrough role in The Wire, Elba has gone on to star in the crime drama Luther, provide his sultry tones in The Jungle Book, as well as appearing in the Avengers and Thor franchises.
Previous winners of the prestigious award include Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson (2016), David Beckham (2015) and Chris Hemsworth (2014). Elba came close to nabbing the title last year, but lost out to Blake Shelton for some reason. Luckily, the universe has restored itself ( to an extent, anyway), and crowned our Idris as 2018’s ‘Sexiest Man Alive’.
Talking to People about his latest award, the actor said:
I was like, ‘Come on, no way. Really?’
Looked in the mirror, I checked myself out. I was like, ‘Yeah, you are kind of sexy today.’ But to be honest, it was just a nice feeling. It was a nice surprise — an ego boost for sure.
The first recipient of the coveted award was a then 29-year-old Mel Gibson in 1985.
Giving the rest of us hope for the future, Idris also spoke about his ‘awkward phase’ in school. Despite being an athlete – playing football, basketball, cricket, hockey, rugby and everything else – he didn’t develop into the specimen he is today until a few years later.
The 6’3″ actor said:
I was very tall and skinny, and my name was Idrissa Akuna Elba, okay? I got picked on a little bit. But as soon as I could grow a moustache, I was the coolest kid on the block. Grew a moustache, had some muscles, bonkers.
Far from satisfying himself with just being an actor, Elba likes to keep himself busy Dj-ing, kickboxing, designing his own clothing line and, more recently, trying his hand at directing – his first feature film, Yardie, was released in August this year.
The Luther star also has his own wedding to plan, as he proposed to his fiancée, 29-year-old Sabrina Dhowre, in February this year.
However, when asked what his happiest moment in life was, the answer came easily:
Being witness to the birth of my children is the biggest and best thing ever [16-year-old daughter, Isan, and 4-year-old son, Winston].
I’m super doting, big hugs, kisses, lots of love-yous. I’m sure my daughter’s like, ‘All right Dad, chill out.’ My son is still at that age where he loves a cuddle.
So what’s the philosophy for someone who was just named ‘Sexiest Man Alive’?
He said:
Life isn’t about thinking about what you should have done. I think everyone should adopt the philosophy that tomorrow is not promised so just go for it today, man. You might as well do it to your heart’s content.
You said it, ya big hunk.
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Charlie Cocksedge is a journalist and sub-editor at UNILAD. He graduated from the University of Manchester with an MA in Creative Writing, where he learnt how to write in the third person, before getting his NCTJ. His work has also appeared in such places as The Guardian, PN Review and the bin.