Actor, filmmaker and producer Idris Elba, was named “Sexiest Man Alive” of 2018 by PEOPLE.
Ever since his breakthrough role in America as drug kingpin Russell “Stringer” Bell on HBO’s hit series The Wire, he’s been making women swoon.
Now his commanding portrayal of memorable characters like the gatekeeper of Asgard, Heimdall, in Marvel’s Thor franchise, or his role in the hit show Luther, the British heartthrob, has propelled him to become one of Hollywood’s biggest and sexiest stars.
So what did Elba think when he first heard about that title? “I was like, ‘Come on, no way. Really?’” the actor tells PEOPLE in this week’s cover story.
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“Looked in the mirror, I checked myself out. I was like, ‘Yeah, you are kind of sexy today.’ But to be honest, it was just a nice feeling. It was a nice surprise — an ego boost for sure.”
Elba married his wife, Sabrina Dhowre, in April 2019 and the couple couldn’t be happier.
He asked the former 2014 Miss Vancouver to marry him in 2018, but said his proposal “was the most nerve-wracking thing for me ever.”
“But in terms of wanting to make someone feel super special and feel my love, that was pretty romantic for me,” he told PEOPLE.
