Hollywood actor Idrissa Akuna Elba better known as Idris Elba has revealed that being named the “Sexiest Man Alive” in 2018 has been his most challenging role to date.
American celebrity magazine PEOPLE, select men for its coveted title of ‘Sexiest Man Alive’ yearly. American actor and filmmaker, Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson AO was the first to receive the title in 1985. In recent years, actors such as Chris Evans, Paul Rudd, Michael B. Jordan and John Legend to mention a few have been honoured to hold the title.
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In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, Elba, 50, talked about his 2018 honor and said that despite taking on many roles throughout his career, starring on the cover of PEOPLE was one of his most difficult.
“I said to the photographer, ‘I don’t always photograph great in pictures, this picture needs to be great”.
“[They’re like] ‘No, no, no. We’ve done this a million times, we know how to do it.’ And I was like, ‘Ok, I’ll just be me. Then they do this sort of thing where they make your favorite camera angle work for the cover.”
For Elba, being bestowed with the title was a big deal back in 2018.
“I was like, ‘Come on, no way. Really?'” the actor told PEOPLE at the time. “[I] 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.”
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Elba’s comments about his Sexiest Man Alive feature came about after he put an end to the long-running rumour about his chances of becoming the next James Bond. In one of his interviews, Elba said he was nowhere near being cast as 007 after the exit of Daniel Craig.
Opening up about the role that 1989’s Sexiest Man Alive Sean Connery once held, Elba admitted it was nothing more than a rumor.
“I love the Bond franchise, I’m very close to the producers. We were all kind of laughing about the rumors because they are just that.”
He continued:
“I can’t speak for [the producers], but from my perspective, there’s never been any sort of truth to any of it. It’s a compliment, and it’s an honor — but it’s not a truth.”