Actor Paul Rudd has been named People’s Sexiest Man Alive for 2021, the magazine announced late Tuesday.
The 52-year-old “Ant-Man” star told People that some fans may be scratching their heads as to why he received the award, which the magazine has given since 1985.
“I do have an awareness, enough to know that when people hear that I’d be picked for this, they would say, ‘What?’” he said. “This is not false humility. There are so many people that should get this before me.”
Photos: Paul Rudd through the years Here are some memorable photos of actor Paul Rudd through the years. (Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images)
Photos: Paul Rudd through the years 1995: Paul Rudd appears in the movie "Clueless" (1995). (CBS via Getty Images)
Photos: Paul Rudd through the years 1998: Jennifer Aniston and Paul Rudd star in "The Object of My Affection." (Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
Photos: Paul Rudd through the years 2000: Paul Rudd attends the sixth annual Screen Actors Guild Awards on March 12, 2000, in Beverly Hills, California. (Brenda Chase/Getty Images)
Photos: Paul Rudd through the years 2001: Rachel Weisz, Paul Rudd and Gretchen Mol at the opening night party for Neil LaBute's play "The Shape of Things" at Ernie's in New York City. (Scott Gries/ImageDirect via Getty Images)
Photos: Paul Rudd through the years 2002: Actor Paul Rudd arrives at the New York premiere of "The Chateau" at the Chelsea West Cinema on August 6, 2002, in New York City. (Matthew Peyton/Getty Images)
Photos: Paul Rudd through the years 2003: Actor Paul Rudd and his wife, Julie Yaeger, attend the Vanity Fair 2003 Tribeca Film Festival launch party at the State Supreme Courthouse on May 1, 2003, in New York City. (Evan Agostini/Getty Images)
Photos: Paul Rudd through the years 2004: Actors Fred Willard, Christina Applegate, Steve Carell, David Koechner, Will Ferrell and Paul Rudd attend the premiere of the Dreamworks film "Anchorman" on June 28, 2004, at the Mann's Chinese Theater, in Westwood, California. (Vince Bucci/Getty Images)
Photos: Paul Rudd through the years 2005: Actor Paul Rudd poses with "bridesmaids" Harriett McClure, Heather Laine, Heidi Bailey and Amelia Nelson at the premiere of "Wedding Crashers" at the Ziegfeld Theatre on July 13, 2005, in New York City. (Evan Agostini/Getty Images)
Photos: Paul Rudd through the years 2006: Presenters Lauren Ambrose and Paul Rudd appear onstage at the 60th annual Tony Awards at Radio City Music Hall on June 11, 2006, in New York City. (Paul Hawthorne/Getty Images)
Photos: Paul Rudd through the years 2007: Actress Katherine Heigl, actor/executive producer Seth Rogen, actors Paul Rudd, Leslie Mann and writer/director/producer Judd Apatow pose at the premiere of Universal Pictures' "Knocked Up" at the Mann's Village Theater on May 21, 2007, in Los Angeles. (Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
Photos: Paul Rudd through the years 2008: Actors Paul Rudd and Seann William Scott arrive at the premiere of Universal's "Role Models" at the Mann Village Theatre on October 22, 2008, in Los Angeles. (Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
Photos: Paul Rudd through the years 2009: Actors Jason Segel, Rashida Jones and Paul Rudd attend the Cinema Society and Details screening of "I Love You, Man" at the Tribeca Grand Screening Room on March 6, 2009, in New York City. (Michael Loccisano/Getty Images)
Photos: Paul Rudd through the years 2010: Steve Carrell (left) and Paul Rudd speak onstage at the 2010 MTV Movie Awards held at the Gibson Amphitheatre at Universal Studios on June 6, 2010, in Universal City, California. (Christopher Polk/Getty Images)
Photos: Paul Rudd through the years 2011: Actors Zooey Deschanel, Rashida Jones and Elizabeth Banks arrive to the premiere of the Weinstein Company's "Our Idiot Brother" on August 16, 2011, in Los Angeles. (Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images)
Photos: Paul Rudd through the years 2012: Actors Jennifer Aniston and Paul Rudd arrive at the premiere of Universal Pictures' "Wanderlust" held at Mann Village Theatre on February 16, 2012, in Westwood, California. (Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
Photos: Paul Rudd through the years 2013: Actors Tina Fey and Paul Rudd attend the "Admission" New York Premiere at AMC Loews Lincoln Square 13 on March 5, 2013, in New York City. (Mike Coppola/Getty Images)
Photos: Paul Rudd through the years 2014: Amy Poehler and Paul Rudd attend the "They Came Together" screening during theBAMcinemaFest 2014 at BAM Harvey Theater on June 23, 2014, in New York City. (Ilya S. Savenok/Getty Images)
Photos: Paul Rudd through the years 2015: Actor Paul Rudd is Honored with a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on July 1, 2015, in Hollywood, California. (Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)
Photos: Paul Rudd through the years 2016: Actor Paul Rudd attends the world premiere of Marvel's "Captain America: Civil War" at Dolby Theatre on April 12, 2016, in Los Angeles. (Jesse Grant/Getty Images for Disney)
Photos: Paul Rudd through the years 2017: Comedians Paul Rudd, Seth Rogen, Colin Jost, Amy Schumer and Jim Gaffigan back stage at Hilarity for Charity's third annual New York City Variety Show at Webster Hall on June 8, 2017, in New York City. (Robin Marchant/Getty Images for Hilarity for Charity)
Photos: Paul Rudd through the years 2018: Paul Rudd attends the premiere of Disney and Marvel's "Ant-Man and the Wasp" on June 25, 2018, in Los Angeles. (Christopher Polk/Getty Images)
Photos: Paul Rudd through the years 2019: Lisa Kudrow, Courteney Cox, Jennifer Aniston and Paul Rudd attend SAG-AFTRA Foundation's fourth annual Patron of the Artists Awards at Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts on November 7, 2019, in Beverly Hills, California. (Gregg DeGuire/Getty Images for SAG-AFTRA Foundation)
Photos: Paul Rudd through the years 2020: In this handout photo provided by NBCUniversal Media LLC, Paul Rudd and Jennifer Lopez speak onstage during the 77th annual Golden Globe Awards at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 5, 2020, in Beverly Hills, California. (Paul Drinkwater/NBCUniversal Media, LLC via Getty Images)
Photos: Paul Rudd through the years 2021: Paul Rudd, Will Ferrell and Kathryn Hahn attends "The Shrink Next Door" New York Premiere at The Morgan Library on October 28, 2021, in New York City. (Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty Images)
The husband and father of two, also known for his roles in “Clueless,” “Friends” and “This Is 40,” joked that he was going to “lean into it hard” when it comes to his new title.
“I’m going to own this,” he told the magazine. “I’m not going to try to be like, ‘Oh, I’m so modest.’ I’m getting business cards made. But all of my friends will destroy me, and I expect them to. And that’s why they’re my friends.”
Photos: People magazine's Sexiest Men Alive John Krasinski attends Paramount's "A Quiet Place: Day One" New York Premiere at AMC Lincoln Square Theater on June 26, 2024 in New York City. Krasinski was named People magazine's Sexiest Man Alive for 2024. (Photo by Theo Wargo/Getty Images) (Theo Wargo/Getty Images)
Photos: People magazine's Sexiest Men Alive Patrick Dempsey was selected by People magazine as its Sexiest Man Alive for 2023. (Noam Galai/Getty Images for The Cantor Fitz)
Photos: People magazine's Sexiest Men Alive Chris Evans was named People magazine's Sexiest Man Alive for 2022. (Gerald Matzka/Getty Images for Netflix)
Photos: People magazine's Sexiest Men Alive Actor Paul Rudd was named People's Sexiest Man Alive in 2021. (Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)
Photos: People magazine's Sexiest Men Alive Actor Michael B. Jordan, shown here in this 2018 file photo, was named People's Sexiest Man Alive in 2020. (Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images)
Photos: People magazine's Sexiest Men Alive John Legend was named People's Sexiest Man Alive in 2019. (Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File)
Photos: People magazine's Sexiest Men Alive Actor-director Idris Elba was named People's Sexiest Man Alive in 2018. (Taylor Jewell/Invision/AP, File)
Photos: People magazine's Sexiest Men Alive Blake Shelton was named People's Sexiest Man Alive in 2017. (Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP, File)
Photos: People magazine's Sexiest Men Alive Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, shown here in this 2019 file photo, was named People's Sexiest Man Alive in 2016. (Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP, File)
Photos: People magazine's Sexiest Men Alive David Beckham, shown here in this 2019 file photo, was named People's Sexiest Man Alive in 2015. (Lars Baron/Getty Images)
Photos: People magazine's Sexiest Men Alive Chris Hemsworth, shown here in this 2019 file photo, was named People's Sexiest Man Alive in 2014. (Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)
Photos: People magazine's Sexiest Men Alive Adam Levine, shown here in this 2016 file photo, was named People's Sexiest Man Alive in 2013. (Michael Muller/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images)
Photos: People magazine's Sexiest Men Alive Channing Tatum, shown here in this 2013 file photo, was named People's Sexiest Man Alive in 2012. (Stuart Wilson/Getty Images)
Photos: People magazine's Sexiest Men Alive Bradley Cooper, shown here in this 2019 file photo, was named People's Sexiest Man Alive in 2011. (Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images)
Photos: People magazine's Sexiest Men Alive Actor Ryan Reynolds, shown here in this 2016 file photo, was named People's Sexiest Man Alive in 2010. (Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images)
Photos: People magazine's Sexiest Men Alive Two-time winner Johnny Depp was named People's Sexiest Man Alive for a second time in 2009. (Ferdaus Shamim/WireImage)
Photos: People magazine's Sexiest Men Alive Hugh Jackman, shown here in this 2019 file photo, was named People's Sexiest Man Alive in 2008. (Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File)
Photos: People magazine's Sexiest Men Alive Actor Matt Damon was named People's Sexiest Man Alive in 2007. (Sean Gallup/Getty Images)
Photos: People magazine's Sexiest Men Alive Two-time winner George Clooney, who was first named People's Sexiest Man Alive in 1997, won the title again in 2006. (Sean Gallup/Getty Images)
Photos: People magazine's Sexiest Men Alive Actor Matthew McConaughey was named People's Sexiest Man Alive in 2005. (TIZIANA FABI/AFP via Getty Images)
Photos: People magazine's Sexiest Men Alive Actor Jude Law, shown here in this 2009 file photo, was named People's Sexiest Man Alive in 2004. (Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images)
Photos: People magazine's Sexiest Men Alive Two-time winner Johnny Depp was first named People's Sexiest Man Alive in 2003. (VINCENZO PINTO/AFP via Getty Images)
Photos: People magazine's Sexiest Men Alive Actor Ben Affleck, shown here in this 2013 file photo, was named People's Sexiest Man Alive in 2002. (Jason Merritt/Getty Images)