On the November 25th, 2008, Hugh Jackman had the honor of being awarded the title of Sexiest Man Alive by PEOPLE Magazine, and while the Wolverine actor still seems rather proud of this accolade, he argues that Ryan Reynolds winning just two years later was a sign of PEOPLE’s slipping standards.
In a recent interview with MTV News, Josh Horowitz brought up the fact that Idris Elba was the latest to earn this title, asking if former winners get any sway in who receives the honor. It seems, however, that The Front Runner star is out of the loop these days.
“This is the first I’ve heard about it,” replied Jackman. “In my head, time stopped ten years ago, there has been no other people since then.”
Jackman went on to joke that by the time Ryan Reynolds took the title back in 2010, the honor had already lost its significance:
“I mean, Ryan [Reynolds] does like to bring it up occasionally, but everyone knows that it doesn’t really mean anything now, but ten yeas ago it meant something.”
Of course, this little dig at his peers is just one more chapter in the ongoing fake-feud between Jackman and Reynolds that’s already seen a pretty eventful week.
A few days ago, for example, the Australian star went on record ruling out the possibility of a Wade Wilson/Logan crossover, prompting the Deadpool lead to jokingly called him selfish on Twitter. What’s more, the pair even managed to rope John Krasinski into their dispute earlier this week after the director of A Quiet Place called Jackman out for getting uncomfortably close to his wife Emily Blunt.
Anyway, putting tongue-in-cheek rivalries aside, Jackman went on to recall how PEOPLE told him ten years ago that being named Sexiest Man Alive would be his most frequently referenced accomplishment.
“In all seriousness,” Jackman told Horowitz. “When I got it, the people from PEOPLE said to me, ‘I just want you to know that no matter what you do, you can win an Oscar, you’re gonna host the Oscars, no matter what you do, this will come up more than anything’.”
Indeed, the actor thought that the publication was just being “arrogant” or a “little facetious,” but as this very interview seems to attest, they were “one hundred percent right.” Regardless, it’s clear that filmgoers will remember Hugh Jackman‘s run as Wolverine for many years to come, and so long as his rivalry with Reynolds keeps on going, fans probably won’t be letting go of their dream of some day seeing this pair together on the big screen once more.
