Jonathan Bailey has officially been crowned PEOPLE magazine’s 2025 Sexiest Man Alive.
On Monday, the Wicked: For Good star appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon to mark his Sexiest Man Alive announcement as he cheerfully admired his cover before chatting about the honor.
"It's the honor of a lifetime," the 37-year-old said, adding, "I want to say, Jimmy, thank you so much for turning it down so that I could be here."
"At the beginning of the year I was doing Shakespeare's Richard II — for those of you who don't know, it's not a comedy," he said, reflecting on being "in the zone" of the very serious production when he got the news.
The Bridgerton star mentioned, "So you go slightly mad, and the only thing madder than doing Richard II is being invited into this."
Bailey joked that he tried to leak the news to friends after a few drinks, but they didn’t believe him. Now that it’s public, he’s hoping for “more respect,” quipping, “I f---ing hope so!”
He admitted it took him a moment to fully embrace the title.
In his cover story, Jonathan Bailey said, "It's a huge honor," adding, "Obviously, I’m incredibly flattered. And it's completely absurd."
Notably, the milestone came after Bailey won a Critics' Choice Award and was nominated for an Emmy last year.
