Noah Wyle named People's 2026 Sexiest Man Alive, a year after Jonathan Bailey

Noah Wyle, the star of HBO’s medical drama The Pitt, has been named People magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive for 2026. The announcement came Tuesday, Oct. 27, and it is the first time the 55-year-old actor has received the title.

Wyle succeeds Wicked star Jonathan Bailey, who was named the 2025 Sexiest Man Alive.

“Sounded like a prank”

In his interview with People, Wyle said he didn’t believe the news at first. “I thought that sounded like a prank — just not in a million years did I think that this would be an honor bestowed on me,” he said, as quoted by Variety.

He also joked about what comes next. “I hope this changes everything. I hope it’s just wine and roses, milk and honey from here on out,” he said, before adding with a laugh, “No, I don’t, but I am going to take a lot of ribbing from friends and family for sure.”

From ER to The Pitt

Wyle first became a household name playing medical student and later doctor John Carter on NBC’s ER, which ran until 2009. Variety notes he earned three Golden Globe nominations and five Emmy nominations for the role without winning.

More than a decade later, he returned to a hospital setting as Dr. Michael “Robby” Robinavitch, the attending physician at the center of The Pitt. That role has brought the awards that eluded him on ER. According to Variety:

ABC News also noted that The Pitt won the Emmy for outstanding drama series.

A nudge from George Clooney

The honor has a connection to Wyle’s former ER co-star George Clooney, himself a two-time Sexiest Man Alive (1997 and 2006). In January, at the AARP Movies for Grownups Awards, Clooney joked that if the organization ever did a “sexiest man still alive” issue, he would nominate Wyle. “When I grow up, I want to be Noah Wyle,” Clooney said, per Variety.

Noah Wyle’s wife and family

Wyle has been married to Sara Wells since June 2014, and the couple’s daughter, Frances, was born in June 2015, ABC News reported. He also has two children, Owen and Auden, with his ex-wife, Tracy Warbin.

Asked how Wells felt about the title, Wyle told People she was “amused by it all.” “She’s the reason I accepted because she was very pleased that this confers well on her taste, I think,” he said, adding that she believes the kind of husband and father he is “is worth promoting.”

About the title

People launched the Sexiest Man Alive franchise in 1985 with Mel Gibson, and 2026 marks its 41st year, according to Variety. Recent honorees include John Krasinski (2024) and Jonathan Bailey (2025), and past winners include Patrick Dempsey, Chris Evans, Paul Rudd, Michael B. Jordan, John Legend and Idris Elba.

Ahead of the announcement, the magazine also shared results of a readers’ poll, with ABC News reporting that Stephen Colbert was named Sexiest Silver Fox and Travis Kelce took Sexiest Cat Dad.

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