PEOPLE MAGAZINE'S
SEXIEST MEN

EXAMINING THE MOVIES MADE BY AMERICA'S HEARTTHROBS,
BEFORE AND AFTER CROWNING OF THE FAMED TITLE

BY AMY LANZA

Each year, People Magazine grants one lucky heartthrob the title of Sexiest Man by surveying magazine readers to see "which sexy men are getting [them] worked up".  While the list ranges from Hollywood movie stars to a British soccer player, all have made an appearance in at least one full length feature film.  What effect does being crowned "Sexiest Man" have on their film career?  Does it hurtle them into the spotlight?  Diminish their legitimacy as respectable actors?

For each sexy man, I compiled a list of their films, the year in which the film was released, the film's critic rating on the popular rating website Rotten Tomatoes, and the total gross domestic box office for each film from Box Office Mojo.  Each actor's timeline is different, depending on when their movies were made (i.e. Chris Hemsworth was not even alive when Sean Connery starred in Goldfinger.).  Film rating and box office are used as a proxy for "success" in the industry, and box office is denoted as size of each film's dot:

Smaller to larger earnings in US dollars

The gold trophy on each chart marks the year in which the celebrity received the designation of Sexiest Man, and the number to the right of the chart symbolizes the change in the celebrity's average movie rating before being crowned Sexiest Man and after being Sexiest Man.  For example, -3.25 means the celebrity's average movie rating after being crowned is 3.25 percent LOWER than the celebrity's average movie rating before being crowned.

Before and after becoming a Sexy Man

Overall, FIFTY SIX PERCENT of celebrities named Sexy Man saw a drop in their film ratings after the fact.  Is being sexy worth the potential damage it can do to one's career?

Click on an actor's name below to jump to their section, and hover over the dots to learn about each celeb's work.