Jonathan Bailey Is 'Still Giggling' About His Sexiest Man Alive Cover, Which He Revealed on “The Tonight Show”
- - Jonathan Bailey Is 'Still Giggling' About His Sexiest Man Alive Cover, Which He Revealed on “The Tonight Show”
Alex ApatoffNovember 4, 2025 at 6:09 AM
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Jonathan Bailey's Sexiest Man Alive cover is a big deal — literally!
For the announcement of the Wicked: For Good star's 2025 Sexiest Man Alive title (the 40th anniversary of the franchise!) Bailey walked onto the set of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon in front of a massive version of his PEOPLE cover. He jokingly caressed his chest hair in the photo before taking a seat to discuss the honor.
After declaring it "the honor of a lifetime" — and thanking Fallon for turning it down so that he could win — Bailey confessed that he was "still giggling" about taking the crown, making him the latest in a line of very sexy men.
"At the beginning of the year I was doing Shakespeare's Richard II — for those of you who don't know, it's not a comedy," he said, recalling being "in the zone" of the very serious production when he got the news. "So you go slightly mad, and the only thing madder than doing Richard II is being invited into this."
Todd Owyoung/NBC
Jonathan Bailey on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon
Though he says he tried unsuccessfully to leak the news to his friends after a few drinks ("They were like, 'Yeah, yeah, yeah, do your affirmations,' " he says), now that the news is out, he's hoping for more respect. When asked if he thinks people will treat him differently now, he declares, "I f---ing hope so!"
Botched leaks aside, he says it wasn't hard to keep the secret — "Not many people are going, 'Are you...?'" he jokes — but his win can hardly come as a surprise to anyone with eyes. However, Bailey himself tells PEOPLE it took him a moment before he fully embraced it.
"It's a huge honor," he said in his cover story. "Obviously, I’m incredibly flattered. And it's completely absurd."
Todd Owyoung/NBC
Jonathan Bailey on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon during his Sexiest Man Alive reveal
The actor, who can next be seen in the second installment of the Wicked films, has had one internet-melting moment after another over the past year or so, from his viral milk drinking video (it was for charity!) to his "slutty little glasses" in the Jurassic Park reboot to the shorts he wore while promoting said reboot to his chemistry with, well, all of his costars. But that doesn't mean he's ready to wear the "internet's boyfriend" mantle.
"I don’t know about that. There’s so many of them, right?" he asks.
So he doesn't see any of the thirsty comments about himself online?
"I try not to. I think sometimes you get really sucked in," he says, adding, " I might read it once a month. I might dive in."
Still, considering his previous costar Phoebe Waller-Bridge has called him a "chemistry machine," it stands to reason that the "internet's boyfriend" title has stuck. And fans who have gotten a little overheated watching the steamy scenes Bridgerton or Fellow Travelers (or heck, even just that shirtless glimpse in the For Good trailer) can attest that she's not exaggerating at all.
It's not just his undeniable charisma that makes him such a worthy winner — he also has a good eye for what makes a guy sexy.
"In 2025, I'm sort of thrilled that PEOPLE magazine have invited someone in, to bestow this honor on someone who can really cherish the value of a sexy man," he said with a grin on The Tonight Show.
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
