George Clooney has a reputation for being a big prankster and a guy who knows how to make an A+ comment. Now, he’s – unintentionally – done that again. That’s because after Noah Wyle was named Sexiest Man Alive for 2026, people figured his ER co-star would have a great response to his new title. It turns out, he already did...months before it happened…and isn’t that just the most George Clooney thing ever?
So, when Noah Wyle was dubbed 2026’s Sexiest Man Alive, the comments included references to The Pitt and ER, of course. And one also called out his former co-star and fellow sexy man, George Clooney. It even referenced the Ocean’s Eleven actor’s trademark good-natured snark, writing:
George Clooney will never let him live this down….
Well, in a way, Clooney did just that, because he started commenting on Wyle being the Sexiest Man Alive well before the title was official. Back in January, in fact, he was campaigning for The Pitt star to get it. However, he wasn’t doing it for People’s title. He was pitching that the AARP should also have a Sexiest Man Alive, as he explained at the Movies for Grownups Awards with AARP:
By the way, AARP, just a thought for your magazine: Once a year you do sexiest man still alive. I just want that out there. As an idea I would nominate Noah Wyle as the first guy.
Well, the award show Clooney said this at was made by and for people over 50, and Wyle is 55. So, he’d qualify for the award. However, he also qualifies for People’s too, and clearly, they wanted to put him on the cover.
Honestly, all of this is just so on brand for Clooney, even though he probably didn’t know his comment would pay off one day.
He’s a very funny guy; he’s friends with Wyle, and the two poke fun at each other frequently. I mean, Wyle threw lighthearted shade at Clooney while explaining why he’d never appear on The Pitt. And Clooney said he doesn’t think the HBO Max show needs his help. They know how to joke with each other, and it’s obvious that they’re good friends. So, yeah, I get why the Jay Kelly star was joking about his pal being the Sexiest Man Alive ten months before it actually happened.
Plus, Clooney is a two-time Sexiest Man Alive himself; he knows what it takes. He also once campaigned for Matt Damon to get the title. And, guess what? In 2007, Damon was named Sexiest Man Alive…Clearly, George Clooney is the king of manifesting the Sexiest Man Alive.
Well, with all that said, if you’d like to see the Sexiest Men of 1997, 2006 (remember Clooney won it twice) and 2026 together on screen, you can stream ER with a Hulu subscription. If you’d like to see the show that brought Wyle back into the spotlight, you can stream The Pitt with an HBO Max subscription.
