Ryan Reynolds jokes that being People’s Sexiest Man Alive is ‘wasted’ on Paul Rudd

Ryan Reynolds has responded to Paul Rudd being named People’s Sexiest Man Alive, with the actor joking that the opportunity will be “wasted” on the Ant Man star and urging him not to “blow it”.

The Deadpool actor, 45, who previously held the honour of People’s Sexiest Man Alive in 2010, reflected on the choice while speaking with Hoda Kotb and Savannah Guthrie on the Today show on Wednesday.

“Of course it is. I just heard about this this morning. I’m very excited,” Reynolds said after the hosts raised the topic of Rudd’s achievement.

However, the father-of-three then joked that he believes the opportunity will be “wasted” on Rudd, “like so many before him”.

“I think that this opportunity will be wasted on him, like so many before him,” he said. “He’s going to play it shy. He’s going to play it bashful, humble. If I know what I knew now, I wouldn’t. You got to seize this opportunity.”

According to Reynolds, if he were to earn the title now, he would handle it differently than he did a decade ago, with the actor claiming that his family would “need to go on without me”.

“If I got it now, I’m not saying I would leave my family, but they would need to go on without me,” he continued, adding: “I would roam the world clutching my dog-eared People magazine, going from town to town, sewing my wild oats like some sort of nude, magical gardener. It would be amazing.”

The Red Notice star then offered some advice directly to Rudd, concluding: “Don’t blow this Rudd! Do not blow this opportunity. Run like the wind.”

Reynolds is not the only actor to weigh in on People’s latest choice, as Seth Rogen shared his support for the magazine’s decision on Twitter, where he retweeted a cover of the issue and wrote: “No arguments here.”

Mark Ruffalo also took the opportunity to praise Rudd’s achievement, with the actor sharing a clip of him and his fellow Marvel star on the red carpet, as well as a photo of the People cover, on Instagram and writing: “Is that Paul Rudd…#sexiestmanalive?! I knew this day would come. Congrats, man. I hope you continue to never age so you can continue to hold this title.”

As for Rudd’s reaction to the title, the 52-year-old actor told People that “there are so many people that should get this before me,” before admitting that he plans to embrace the honour.

“I mean I’m going to lean into it hard. I’m going to own this. I’m not going to try to be like ‘Oh, I’m so modest.’ I’m getting business cards made,” he joked.

Rudd also speculated about the impact the title will have on his life, telling People that he’s hoping he will now be invited “to some of those sexy dinners” with past winners such as George Clooney, Brad Pitt and Michael B Jordan and that he sees a lot more yachts and brooding in his future.

“And I figure I’ll be on a lot more yachts. I’m excited to expand my yachting life,” he continued. “And I’ll probably try to get better at brooding in really soft light. I like to ponder. I think this is going to help me become more inward and mysterious. And I’m looking forward to that.”