Noah Wyle, star of The Pitt, named People’s Sexiest Man Alive for 2026

LOS ANGELES: Actor Noah Wyle, star of the HBO medical drama "The Pitt", has been named People magazine's Sexiest Man Alive for 2026. The magazine announced the title on Tuesday.

Wyle is 55. He said the news "sounded like a prank" when he first heard it. "Not in a million years did I think that this would be an honor bestowed on me," he told People.

He said his wife, Sara Wells, helped persuade him to accept. According to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, she believes his qualities as a husband and father are worth celebrating. Wyle joked that she was "very pleased that this reflects well on her taste".

"I hope this changes everything. I hope it's just wine and roses, milk and honey from here on out," he said with a laugh. He then added: "No, I don't, but I am going to take a lot of ribbing from friends and family for sure."

People's announcement described his "smoldering intensity" and "leading-man looks". It also noted that "he loves to do the dishes".

Wyle has won two Emmy Awards for outstanding lead actor in a drama series for playing Dr Michael "Robby" Robinavitch in "The Pitt". The show follows life in a Pittsburgh trauma centre. According to CBC News, citing Warner Bros. Discovery, it averaged more than 18 million viewers per episode after its first season was released. It earned 13 prime-time Emmy nominations in its first year and 25 in its second.

Wyle also played Dr John Carter in the long-running medical drama "ER", which debuted in 1994. His "ER" co-star George Clooney has received the People title twice. Wyle was among several "ER" cast members on the cover of a 1996 "Sexy Men of ER" issue of the magazine.

He later starred in "The Librarian" film franchise in the 2000s. His other work includes "The Red Line" and "Leverage: Redemption".

Wyle said he is still most at ease when acting. "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," he told People.

Past winners include Michael B. Jordan, Idris Elba, John Krasinski and Paul Rudd. Wyle follows Jonathan Bailey, who held the title in 2025.

Reaction on social media was mixed. One user on People's TikTok post called Wyle "one of my first crushes while watching ER in the 90s". Another asked: "are we just picking names out of a hat now." The title has drawn criticism before. After Blake Shelton was named in 2017, he posted a video of himself reading his "favourite mean posts".