BTS’s Jin, Hugh Jackman, John Legend: The smartest, sexiest men alive

The 2024 Sexiest Man Alive will be unveiled on November 12 by People Magazine, and no, we don’t have a clue who is set to take the crown. 

2023’s laurels went to the McDreamy man of “Grey’s Anatomy,” Patrick Dempsey. 2022 was Captain America himself, Chris Evans, and 2021 was Baskin-Robbins’s employee of the century, Paul Rudd.

Now you might be wondering: how does People Magazine — with an average monthly readership of 94.5 million people — evaluate the crowd of ever-flowing hunky Hollywood men? How do you even begin to decide which influential figure with a positive impact should grace the cover?

Well, the decision is made through close assessment from every angle. They look at what’s in, what’s relevant, what’s sexy — and it’s not just about looks. 

The magazine gauges the opinion of the general public, and editor-at-large Julie Jordan says they even snatch input from female celebrities. They coordinate focus groups and use them to shape the grounds for decision-making among higher-ups.

Take Michael B. Jordan, for example. 

He’s got a dazzling smile and smoking muscles, but his real winning trait is his passion for the betterment of society. He’s a Black Lives Matter activist, a lifelong supporter of women’s rights, and presses for diversity in film through his production company.

It’s a pretty meticulous process that sometimes produces hiccups — like calling Adam Levine the Sexiest Man Alive in 2013, which hasn’t really stood the test of time. 

With that said, why are people so fixated on the idea of the sexiest man alive?

The “Halo Effect”

Psychology Today defines the halo effect as “a cognitive bias that occurs when an initial positive judgement about a person unconsciously colours the perception of the individual as a whole.”

So while there’s no real correlation between beauty and intelligence, there is the fact that people who are conventionally attractive — based on facial structure, symmetry, and clear skin — are often perceived as smarter individuals than those who aren’t. 

If someone’s championed as a smart individual by those around them, they’re more likely to excel in terms of academic performance. 

This idea of the “halo effect” provides a psychological angle to the existence of pretty privilege.

Our minds associate attractive people with positive traits, often thinking they appear kinder, smarter, and socially competent. It’s the reason why attractive people are treated differently, treated better, and why they can get away with behaviours that wouldn’t fly with others.

It’s also why we’ve got a long-standing magazine tradition called the “Sexiest Man Alive” and not the “Ugliest Man Alive,” which would also just be a bad, bad idea for plenty of other reasons.

Study International’s shortlist for the sexiest man alive

Jin from BTS 

As the oldest, “worldwide handsome” member of BTS, Jin has captured the world in his palms with a honey voice and confident charm.

But to say it’s not easy being a part of one of the world’s biggest boy bands may be an understatement.

The members have been transparent about the mental and physical toll it takes when your schedule’s jam-packed, taking you all around the world for music releases and concert tours.

Despite that, it hasn’t stopped them from a formal education.

Jin was accepted as an acting major at Konkuk University before he ever contemplated becoming an idol. In fact, he was chased after by a casting director on the way to class.

After graduating with his bachelor’s in 2017, he enrolled in Hanyang Cyber University for graduate studies.

Manny Jacinto 

When Manny Jacinto launched onto the Hollywood carpets after his breakout role as  Jason Mendoza — the monk-disguised, DJ-wannabe himbo — in “The Good Place,” his chiselled cheeks and sharp jawline could slice through the TV screen.

He then grew out his hair and donned the lightsaber-resistant helmet as Qimir in the Star Wars series, “The Acolyte.” He’s known for his soft-spoken nature in real life but is also vocal about Asian representation on-screen.

But before he was an actor, Jacinto took to the stage through hip-hop dancing, a pursuit that sprung on while he was attending the University of British Columbia.

Jacinto majored in civil engineering to follow in his father’s footsteps, graduating in 2012 with a bachelor’s. Still, the arts was his true calling; a realisation made during an engineering internship.

Stephen Nedoroscik

Stephen Nedoroscik is a man with many names — Mr. Pommel Horse, the pommel horse guy, goggles guy. 

But he’s far, far more than a TikTok craze. Nedoroscik was the final piece to the US men’s gymnastics team strategy at the Paris 2024 Olympics and delivered a near-flawless routine, securing them their first medal since 2008.

As if that’s not enough, Mr. Pommel Horse is also Mr. Educated.

Nedoroscik attended the Pennsylvania State University in August 2016, pursuing an electrical engineering degree and competing with the school’s gymnastics team. He graduated in December 2020 in the midst of the pandemic.

Sexiest men with the sexiest brains

John Legend

Starting with John Legend, 2019’s sexiest man alive.

Before the singer rose to superstardom with his hit song “All of Me” (which also has a whopping 2.4 billion views on YouTube!), Legend was studying the English language and literature at the University of Pennsylvania which he graduated in 1999 with a bachelor’s degree.

With that degree, he worked as a consultant in a highly regarded global consulting firm for a few years before moving on to pursue his music career full-time.

Today, Legend is putting his English education to good use by writing lyrics to his platinum-selling records like “Love Me Now,” “You & I,” “Tonight,” “Green Light,” and “Ordinary People.”

Currently, this EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony award) winner has 10 albums under his belt.

Dwayne Johnson

Dwayne Johnson, 2016’s sexiest man alive, is known for two things: being in overly tight t-shirts in blockbuster movies such as the “Fast & Furious” franchise and the “Jumanji” sequels and being in overly tight briefs smacking wrestlers down as The Rock.

But did you know, he holds a degree in General Studies?

After being the star athlete in high school, Johnson received an athletic scholarship to play American football at the University of Miami. However, he focused more on just scoring touchdowns there.

Johnson was also serious in his studies, majoring in Criminology and Physiology. He eventually graduated in 1995 but moved away from his majors and trained to become a professional wrestler, which was his first step toward Hollywood success.

Bradley Cooper

Bradley Cooper might be the only sexiest man alive with a master’s degree.

With a Master of Fine Arts from the Actors Studio Drama School at Pace University, Cooper proved his degree was worth the time and training as he is now an established five-time Oscar-nominated actor for movies like “Silver Linings Playbook,” “American Hustle,” “American Sniper,” “A Star Is Born,” and “Maestro.”

Cooper has always shown an interest in learning — prior to his master’s degree, he graduated from Georgetown University in 1997 with a bachelor’s degree in English.

He also became fluent in French and spent some time as an exchange student in Aix-en-Provence, France during his time at university.

Hugh Jackman

Education played a huge role for 2008’s sexiest man alive.

Before Hugh Jackman became a huge jacked man for his movie roles, he was teaching Physical Education at Uppingham School in England, during a time when he took a gap year off of his studies.

When he returned to Australia, Jackman pursued a bachelor’s degree in Communications at the University of Technology Sydney from which he graduated in 1991. He also has a graduate diploma from Edith Cowan University.

Today, Jackman is mostly known for his portrayal of the comic book character Wolverine in the “X-Men” movies, with the latest “Deadpool & Wolverine” raking in US$1.3 billion, making it the highest-grossing R-rated movie in history.

Matthew McConaughey

Matthew McConaughey is another sexiest man alive who takes education seriously.

The 2005 winner attended the University of Texas at Austin in 1989 and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Radio-Television-Film in 1993. His educational journey comes full circle as he is now a professor there teaching film production classes since 2015.

Being in the film industry since the day he graduated, it is only fitting that the Oscar-winning actor returns to teach in his alma mater, sharing his experiences as an actor and a student there.

Denzel Washington

Taking it back to the ’90s, two-time Oscar winner Denzel Washington was the sexiest man alive in 1996.

Not only did he earn a bachelor’s degree in theatre at Fordham University but Washington also served on the university’s Board of Trustees for six years since 1994.

Even sexier, he gifted the university US$2 million with an additional US$250,000 to establish a scholarship fund for students of Fordham College at Lincoln Centre, where he attended in the past.

Now, the actor occasionally returns to campus to inspire current theatre students with his 50 years of experience in the entertainment industry.

John F. Kennedy Jr.

It is not surprising to see 1988’s winner John F. Kennedy Jr. being around education for most of his adult teen years since he is the son of former US President John F. Kennedy.

This Kennedy attended Brown University and graduated in 1983 with a bachelor’s degree in American Studies. There, he had a knack for acting as he actively performed in multiple plays before landing a role in an American sitcom called “Murphy Brown” for only eight episodes.

Education remained his passion even as he travelled to India during a break. There, he spent some time at Delhi University where he researched topics like food production, health, and education.

In 1989, Kennedy Jr. attended and graduated from law school at New York University where he then used his lawyering expertise and served as a prosecutor in the Manhattan district attorney’s office for four years.