Noah Wyle thought People might be playing a joke on him. Instead, the magazine was offering the 55-year-old actor its 2026 Sexiest Man Alive title, announced Oct. 27. The honor comes a month after his Emmy win for “The Pitt.”
Wyle told People editor-in-chief Charlotte Triggs the call sounded like “a classic set-up for a prank,” ABC13 reported.
“Just not in a million years did I think this would be an honor bestowed on me in this lifetime,” he said.
Noah Wyle’s Wife, Sara Wells, Talked Him Into It
His wife, Sara Wells, helped persuade him to accept. The couple married in 2014, and Wyle credited her with seeing the fun in an honor he had never expected.
He joked that accepting the title would flatter his wife’s taste, according to People’s interview.
His kids were tougher. Wyle has a son, Owen, and daughter, Auden, with his ex-wife Tracy Warbin. He and Wells have a daughter, Frances.
“My son is super practical,” Wyle told People, according to Fox News. The reaction he got: “Oh, this is going to make my life so much harder now.” He said his daughter will “tease me about this for the next 50 years.”
From ‘ER’ to ‘The Pitt’ and an Emmy Sweep
Wyle became famous playing Dr. John Carter on “ER.” Now he plays Dr. Michael “Robby” Robinavitch on HBO Max’s “The Pitt,” and he directs episodes too. Last month the show won the Emmy for outstanding drama series, and Wyle won lead actor in a drama, Good Morning America reported.
His old castmate George Clooney got the title in 1997 and again in 2006. In January, Clooney joked that he’d nominate Wyle if AARP ever did a “Sexiest Man Still Alive” issue.
Not everyone online was sold. One fan suggested giving Bailey a second year. Others were thrilled. “This is actually an incredible win for anyone who grew up watching ER,” one wrote, Fox News reported.
Jonathan Bailey Was the First Openly Gay Sexiest Man Alive
Last year’s cover belonged to Jonathan Bailey, the “Wicked” and “Bridgerton” actor who became the first openly gay recipient in November 2025. Wyle follows Bailey and 2024 honoree John Krasinski.
Bailey called it “a huge honor” when he talked to People. “Obviously, I’m incredibly flattered. And it’s completely absurd,” he said, The Associated Press reported.
On “The Tonight Show,” he joked that the magazine had picked “someone who can really cherish the value of a sexy man.”
He also used the cover to talk about The Shameless Fund, the group he started to support LGBTQ+ organizations. “I know the LGBT sector is under immense threat at the moment,” Bailey told People.
He’s talked before about the pressure to stay in the closet as a young actor. “I think when I was in my early 20s, there was definitely an understanding that, to be gay would be a hindrance,” he told Elton John in an interview, USA Today reported. “I wasn’t going to not hold my boyfriend’s hand in the street.”
More than 250,000 readers voted in People’s side polls this year. Stephen Colbert won Sexiest Silver Fox. Travis Kelce got Sexiest Cat Dad.
