This Actor Is the Frontrunner for People’s Sexiest Man Alive 2026
One actor has become an early favorite to be People’s Sexiest Man Alive in 2026. Bridgerton’s Jonathan Bailey claimed the title in 2025, which came with a pair of magazine covers that had him holding a dog while shirtless and emerging from the water with a bare chest. However, the competition is close in early predictions, and there are several caveats that could put this current frontrunner at a disadvantage. The annual winner for People’s Sexiest Man Alive, which the magazine debuted in 1985, is typically revealed around early November and in recent years has been featured as a guest on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on the same day as the announcement.
Michael B. Jordan is leading a tight race for People’s Sexiest Man Alive
Actor Michael B. Jordan holds an early lead to be named People’s Sexiest Man Alive, though he’s in a tight race against Connor Storrie, Bad Bunny, Ryan Gosling, and Timothée Chalamet, according to a bet on Polymarket (as of May 13).
- Michael B. Jordan – 24%
- Connor Storrie – 18%
- Bad Bunny – 16%
- Timothée Chalamet – 13%
- Ryan Gosling – 12%
- Travis Kelce – 5%
- Clavicular – 3%
- Hudson Williams – 1%
Jordan’s star power has grown dramatically this year for his dual performances in Sinners, for which he won the 2026 Oscar for Best Lead Actor after nabbing the 2026 Actor Award for Outstanding Lead Male Actor. Meanwhile, Connor Storrie’s breakout role as hockey player Ilya Rozanov in Heated Rivalry has brought him into prominence, and Bad Bunny is still riding the wave of his Super Bowl performance and his Album of the Year Grammy win.
Looking at the history of the prediction market, which started in mid-February, the frontrunner has changed multiple times. Chalamet held the lead at the beginning until the middle of March when Bad Bunny took over for a long stint. Then Jordan became the frontunner in late April and has a solid lead over his competitors (at the time of writing). The leader has switched often enough over the last three months that the top spot a shaky position, and there’s plenty of time until the end of the year for a new name to emerge.
That said, there are several reasons to take these results with a grain of salt. Michael B. Jordan already won the People’s Sexiest Man Alive title in 2020, after starring in Creed II, Black Panther, Fahrenheit 451, and Just Mercy between 2018 and 2019. At the time, he told People that the women in his family “are definitely proud of this one,” especially since many joked that he would never get it.
However, through the 40-year history of the award, only four people have repeated as People’s Sexiest Man Alive: Johnny Depp (2003 & 2009), Brad Pitt (1995 & 2000), Richard Gere (1999 & 1993 with his then wife Cindy Crawford), and George Clooney (1997 & 2006). That doesn’t mean that Jordan can’t take the top spot again, but no one has been a repeat winner since 2009.
The number of options in the Polymarket bet is low as well. The Reader’s Choice Poll from People in 2025 highlighted other heartthrobs, like Riley Green, Damson Idris, Derek Hough, Dylan Efron, Christian McCaffrey, and Mason Thames. A similar bet on Kalshi for the 2025 People’s Sexiest Man Alive contest, according to Sportsbook Review, included Pedro Pascal, Jeremy Allen White, Sterling K. Brown, Glen Powell, Shawn Mendes, Jacob Elordi, and more. Interestingly, Jonathan Bailey only held 11% of the bet, against Jeremy Allen White’s 15% and Pedro Pascal’s 38%, yet he still won the title anyway in an upset. That’s another reason not to count out any of the names in the bet.
Source: Comingsoon.net