Noah Wyle named People's Sexiest Man Alive
Noah Wyle, the 55-year-old star of HBO's smash-hit The Pitt, has been crowned People magazine's Sexiest Man Alive for 2026, a designation that some fans are cheering, while others are asking for a second opinion.
The magazine announced Tuesday that Wyle was just what the doctor ordered for this year
Alexandra Mae Jones · CBC News
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Move over McDreamy — there's a new TV doctor running up heartbeats in hospital scrubs, at least according to People magazine.
Noah Wyle, the 55-year-old star of HBO's smash-hit The Pitt, has been crowned People's latest Sexiest Man Alive.
When he first got the news, he thought it "sounded like a prank," Wyle said in the People interview released Tuesday. But his wife was able to convince him it was probably real.
"She was very pleased that this reflects well on her taste," he joked, adding that he expected to "take a lot of ribbing from friends and family," once the news came out.
#NoahWyle is PEOPLE’s 2026 #SexiestManAlive! Watch our video interview in the #PeopleApp, and read the full issue two days early as a #PeopleVIP. https://t.co/QeP1StmEJb
📷️: Jeff Lipsky https://t.co/PsRXGZWrea
—peopleWyle first charmed audiences with a stethoscope in the 90s as Dr. John Carter in NBC's medical drama ER. The show was a massive hit, garnering attention for both its heavy-hitting plotlines and its swoony-worthy cast; Wyle was one of several ER cast members who graced the cover of a 1996 "Sexy Men of ER" issue of People magazine, and his ER costar George Clooney was given the Sexiest Man Alive designation twice.
Wyle went on to star in The Librarian film franchise in the 2000s and garnered praise for appearances in series like The Red Line (2019) and Leverage: Redemption (2021-2025), but it was his return to the medical world in 2025 as Dr. Michael "Robby" Robinavitch in The Pitt that launched him back into the headlines.
Wyle and George Clooney, left, the stars of ER, arrive for the 48th Annual Emmy Awards in Pasadena, Calif., in 1996. (Vince Bucci/AFP/Getty Images)
The show quickly became a cultural phenomenon, averaging more than 18 million viewers per episode after the full first season dropped, according to parent company Warner Bros. Discovery, and racking up 13 prime-time Emmy nominations in its first year and 25 in its second.
Wyle has won the Emmy for outstanding lead actor in a drama series two years in a row for his work on the show.
He told People that, sexiest man title or not, he still feels most comfortable when acting.
Wyle poses for photographers at the HBO Max Experience in London in March. (Carlo Paloni/Invision/The Associated Press)
"I like being in other people's skin. I like putting on characters. I get self-conscious. It's still the hardest kind of interaction for me, speaking without a script as myself."
Wyle follows Wicked actor Jonathan Bailey, who was designated People's Sexiest Man in 2025.
For some fans, Wyle is the correct choice, but others are seeking a second opinion. In the comments on People's reveal on Tiktok, one user called Wyle "one of my first crushes while watching ER in the 90s," while another wrote, "are we just picking names out of a hat now."
Other names ranging from The Boys star Jensen Ackles to Bad Bunny to Wyle's The Pitt co-star Shawn Hatosy have been raised by disgruntled commenters who feel People misjudged the temperature on this one.
people magazine when they chose noah wyle as the sexiest man of the year https://t.co/3mE5vr2WZ2
—stylesgalaThe girls that get it, get it 😭 Noah Wyle sexiest man alive 🙂↕️🙂↕️🙂↕️
—petitebleufillethey saw noah wyle and shawn hastosy in the same show and said noah was the sexiest man alive?
—gloopnyThe designation has been controversial before — after Blake Shelton was crowned in 2017, the decision sparked so much backlash that Shelton posted a video of himself reading out his "favourite mean posts."
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Alexandra Mae Jones is a senior writer for CBC News based in Toronto. She has written on a variety of topics, from health to pop culture to breaking news, and previously reported for CTV News and the Toronto Star. She joined CBC in 2024. You can reach her at alexandra.mae.jones@cbc.ca
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