It's official: the Sexiest Man Alive in 2018 is ... Idris Elba! The Luther actor has enjoyed enormous success on the stage, television and the silver screen, and this accomplishment courtesy of People is only the latest in his long-standing career. While most people aren't surprised to see Idris Elba picked for this prestigious honor, there is one person who is seemingly taken aback by the choice selection: Elba himself. He admitted as much once the selection was made, but he certainly isn't mad to be given such a rare honor. Here's what Idris Elba said when he was picked as this year's hot choice.
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.
Only a handful of people know what it's like to be named the Sexiest Man Alive by People Magazine. Idris Elba joins those ranks today, but he seems a bit bashful about the whole idea. The actor admits that he had to look at himself for a while (not a hard thing for him to do, admittedly), and try to assess how he got this noteworthy notification. But he is at least partly proud of himself to be considered the most handsome gentleman in the world, and admits that it is probably going to do a number on his ego. It's hard to be named Sexiest Man Alive and not get at least a little cocky about it.
In any case, Idris Elba isn't afraid to joke about the whole situation, at least. Shortly after his pondering thoughts, Elba also made the following crack.
What really went through my mind was 'Again?' No, I'm jokin'.
We're glad Idris Elba isn't taking the whole matter too seriously. While it's certainly an honor to be named the most attractive person on the planet, at least for one year's time, Elba recognizes that he shouldn't let the whole thing go entirely to his head and that he should simply enjoy the compliment.
In addition to these comments for People, Idris Elba also celebrated the news on social media, where he also took the time to remind people to vote.
Meanwhile, Idris Elba remains as busy as ever, both as an actor and otherwise. Earlier this year, Elba jumped into the director's chair with his feature debut Yardie, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January. It doesn't have a U.S. release date at the moment, but we expect this recent accomplishment might help him find some distributors in the midst. It was, however, released in Germany and the U.K. in August, and it's soon set to be released in Portugal at the end of the month. We expect to hear something about its nationwide release momentarily, but for now, we're left unsure.
As an actor in films, Idris Elba was recently seen in Avengers: Infinity War, and he is currently filming a role in Hobbs and Shaw, the forthcoming Fast & Furious spin-off with Jason Statham and Dwayne Johnson. He is also reportedly lining up a role in the upcoming cinematic adaptation of Cats, which is expected to hit theaters next year. It was also recently announced that he will be joining George Miller's Three Thousand Years of Longing, the film that will serve as the director's long-awaited follow-up to 2015's Mad Max: Fury Road. Elba will appear in the new movie alongside Tilda Swinton.
Then on television, Idris Elba is soon set to reappear as DCI John Luther in the new season of Luther, which is expected to make its premiere soon. He is also involved in the comedy series, In the Long Run, which the actor not only stars in but created. It's the first time Idris Elba will serve as a show creator. And if that weren't enough, Idris Elba also recently signed up for the new Netflix series, Turn It Up Charlie, where he will play the title character of Charlie. As we said, Idris Elba is keeping very, very busy these days. But he's not afraid to take some time to celebrate this newest accomplishment.
