Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson named People’s Sexiest Man Alive

The former wrestling champion, who also happens to be the world’s highest paid actor, appears on the cover of the mag’s annual issue wearing a simple white T-shirt and jeans.

The cover describes him as “sweet, smart and sculpted” — and there’s really no denying the last part.

“Wow, we’ve pretty much reached the pinnacle,” the 44-year-old Ballers star said, reacting to his new title. “I’m not quite too sure where we go from here. I’ve done it all, this is it.”

But what does he think makes someone sexy?

“Ah, a sense of humour,” the Hawaii native told People. “And I think probably just not trying to be sexy and just being cool and confident in your movies. I think with a lot of my fans, I’ve gotten to a very, very cool place where there’s a direct line between the man they know off-screen and the man they see on screen.”

He follows Chris Hemsworth (2016) and David Beckham (2015) into an exclusive club of ‘sexiest men’ that also includes Brad Pitt, Denzel Washington, George Clooney, Ryan Reynolds, Bradley Cooper, Channing Tatum and Adam Levine.

Johnson — who is half-black and half-Samoan — is the first man of colour to be named by the magazine since Denzel Washington topped the list back in 1996.

Life is pretty good for “The Rock” these days. In August, Forbes named him Hollywood’s highest-paid actor, raking in a staggering $64.5 million (AUD$86 million) between June 2015-2016.

But a successful transition into showbiz isn’t the only thing the father-of-two wants to accomplish. The movie star and producer revealed in an interview with Vanity Fair this week that he would consider running for president in 2020. “I wouldn’t rule it out,” he told the magazine while promoting his upcoming Disney film, Moana.

“It would be a great opportunity to help people, so it’s possible. This past election shows that anything can happen.”

Just imagine — “The Rock” and Kanye West campaigning for the White House in 2020.

“Professionally, he’s had an amazing year,” People magazine’s senior editor Julie Jordan told Today. “He’s transitioned from wrestling to Hollywood. He is the highest paid actor in the world now. He’s got [Disney’s] Moana coming out next week, and he has Rock the Troops coming out for military families on December 13.”

She added: “He’s a big guy, and he’s got an even bigger heart.”

“The Rock” will make his big debut as the ‘Sexiest Man Alive’ on Tuesday’s episode of The Ellen Show.

Originally published as People’s new Sexiest Man Alive