The Single Sexiest Photo of Each of the Sexiest Men Alive

Patrick Dempsey attends a red carpet for the movie "Ferrari" at the 80th Venice International Film Festival on August 31, 2023 in Venice, Italy — Photo:
Pascal Le Segretain/Getty

PEOPLE's 2023 Sexiest Man Alive will be announced soon, and while we continue to remember Chris Evans' sexy 2022 reign, we can't forget all the men who've gone before him.

From some of our early 1980s-era honorees (looking at you, Mark Harmon) to more recent favorites (Idris Elba! Paul Rudd! The Rock!) we've done the hard work of selecting the hottest photo ever of each Sexiest Man Alive title recipient.

Enjoy — and visit PEOPLE this Wednesday morning for all things sexy. You won't be disappointed!

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1985: Mel Gibson

Mel Gibson played a sailor in 1984's The Bounty.

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1986: Mark Harmon

Real men rock chest hair. Case in point: Mark Harmon.

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1987: Harry Hamlin

Something about this Harry Hamlin photo just says, "step into my office and let me solve all of your problems for you."

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1988: John F. Kennedy Jr.

It takes a special man — a.k.a. John F. Kennedy Jr. — to look this hot in short shorts.

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1989: Sean Connery

GOLDFINGER, Sean Connery, portrait, 1964 — Everett

How about you show us your gadgets, Bond?

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1990: Tom Cruise

Why exactly did Tom Cruise ever take off his Top Gun uniform?

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1991: Patrick Swayze

We'd practice our Dirty Dancing any time, anywhere for Mr. Patrick Swayze.

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1992: Nick Nolte

We'll just leave this Nick Nolte photo here.

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1993 and 1999: Richard Gere

A young Richard Gere is just the thing to cure the rainy day blues.

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1995 and 2000: Brad Pitt

What we'd give to know what's going on in Brad Pitt's mind in this pic ...

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1996: Denzel Washington

Shirts are so overrated, at least when Denzel Washington is involved.

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1997 and 2006: George Clooney

We love Amal, but George Clooney will always be our imaginary husband.

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1998: Harrison Ford

Harrison Ford's Indiana Jones can wrangle us any time.

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2001: Pierce Brosnan

The name's Alive, Sexiest Man Alive.

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2002: Ben Affleck

Astronaut Affleck might just be the best Ben Affleck.

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2003 and 2009: Johnny Depp

So early '90s in the best way possible.

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2004: Jude Law

Those eyes and that suit on Jude Law? It should come with a warning label, we're just sayin'.

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2005: Matthew McConaughey

"All right" doesn't even begin to cover how this photo of Matthew McConaughey makes us feel.

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2007: Matt Damon

Matt Damon will always be Jason Bourne in our hearts.

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2008: Hugh Jackman

Hugh Jackman has maybe gone to the gym, like, a couple times.

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2010: Ryan Reynolds

Ryan Reynolds cleans up nice, to say the least.

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2011: Bradley Cooper

Need to take a vacation? Short-term solution: Look at this photo of Bradley Cooper over and over again.

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2012: Channing Tatum

MAGIC MIKE XXL TURNED THE SUMMER TEMPERATURE WAY UP — Warner Bros.

One word for this Channing Tatum snap: magical.

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2013: Adam Levine

This just in: There's something really, really sexy about a plain white tee when it's on Adam Levine.

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2014: Chris Hemsworth

Chris Hemsworth: god of thunder and of our hearts.

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2015: David Beckham

It's impossible to pick the sexiest photo ever of David Beckham because every photo of him is the sexiest photo ever of Becks.

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2016: Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson

It's a tough choice between the workout selfies and cute dad pics, but this smiley Baywatch shot of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson is a winner.

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2017: Blake Shelton

13th Annual Stars For Second Harvest Benefit — Tim Mosenfelder/WireImage

A guy like Blake Shelton + a guitar = the way to our hearts.

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2018: Idris Elba

Can we just do a whole gallery on him? (Oh wait, we did!)

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2019: John Legend

Sometimes wife Chrissy Teigen's propensity to overshare on social media pays off, as it did when she gave us a glimpse of John Legend's impressive rear view.

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2020: Michael B. Jordan

What we wouldn't give to be on that yacht with Michael B. Jordan ...

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2021: Paul Rudd

Actor Paul Rudd attends the "The Catcher Was A Spy" Premiere during the 2018 Sundance Film Festival at The Marc Theatre on January 19, 2018 — Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images

The eyes have it in this shot of Paul Rudd.

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2022: Chris Evans

Chris Evans Sexiest Man Alive 2022 — Michael Schwartz

To be honest, it's hard to pick a bad photo of that year's Sexiest Man Alive, Chris Evans.

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2023: Patrick Dempsey

It was hard to choose just one shot of the reigning Sexiest Man Alive — do we go for a close-up on his famous blue eyes, or choose one of him in scrubs as McDreamy on Grey's Anatomy? — but in the end, this tuxedo'ed shot of the racecar aficionado posing in front of some hot wheels at the 2023 Venice Film Festival premiere of Ferrari proved irresistible.