At the end of EMIS-2024, we asked one deliberately unserious question: who is the sexiest man on the planet?

Not everyone appreciated it. Some respondents called it a stupid question. Others thanked us for ending a long survey on a lighter note.

Either way, the answers were revealing.

Not celebrities

Across EMIS-2024 overall, the most common answers were not famous people at all.

A large share of responses was non-specific or highly personal (34%), or missing altogether (15%). Among the clear, repeated answers, two stood out:

• “Myself” (11%)
• “My partner” (8%)

Both were more common than any individual celebrity. Even the most frequently named public figures — including Henry Cavill, Brad Pitt, Timothée Chalamet, and Chris Hemsworth — remained below 5%.

The strongest signal, then, is not about fame, but about proximity.

This pattern is not new. In EMIS-2010 and EMIS-2017, “myself” and “my partner” were also among the most common answers, with Brad Pitt — rather than Henry Cavill — leading the celebrity rankings. In 2010, the results were even compared to a Eurovision Sexiest Men Contest, reflecting a similarly playful mix of shared references and local variation.

A shared cultural pool

Where celebrities do appear, the pattern looks less like a universal ranking and more like a generational effect within a shared reference set.

A small group of widely recognisable figures recurs across most breakdowns, but without forming a single stable hierarchy. Rather, the results suggest a common cultural pool, shaped by media exposure and cohort.

Notably, in a survey largely of gay and bisexual men and trans people, these recurring names cluster around white male actors who are publicly presented as cisgender and heterosexual and embedded in mainstream film culture.

Countries: similar structure, local flavour

Across countries, the same structure repeats: many responses are non-specific or highly personal, while “myself” and “my partner” appear consistently and celebrities form a secondary layer.

At the same time, there are some memorable variations.

In Belgium, Germany, and Israel, versions of “stupid question” made it into the top eight responses. In the United Kingdom — and also in Moldova — respondents were more likely to meet the question in the spirit of (British) humour, welcoming a slightly irreverent tone.

In some countries, variants of “all men are sexy” appeared among the more frequent answers. In others, respondents named types rather than individuals — for example muscular men or hairy “bears”.

A serious note on a non-serious question

This was not designed as a scientific ranking of attractiveness, but as a playful open-text item at the end of a long survey.

Even so, the pattern is clear: attraction in EMIS-2024 is not only directed towards celebrities. It is also relational, local, and sometimes self-referential.

In EMIS-2024, the sexiest man on the planet was often not a film star. Quite often, he was you — or someone you love.

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Among named responses, the rankings are as follows:.

Overall

1. Myself
2. My partner
3. Henry Cavill
4. Brad Pitt
5. Timothée Chalamet
6. Chris Hemsworth
7. Tom Holland
8. Ryan Reynolds

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Trans community

1. My partner
2. Myself
3. Pedro Pascal
4. Henry Cavill
5. Jason Momoa
6. Mads Mikkelsen
7. Ryan Reynolds
8. Keanu Reeves

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Ages 16–24

1. Myself
2. My partner
3. Henry Cavill
4. Tom Holland
5. Timothée Chalamet
6. Manu Ríos
7. Ryan Reynolds
8. Chris Evans

Ages 25–39

1. Myself
2. My partner
3. Henry Cavill
4. Timothée Chalamet
5. Tom Holland
6. Chris Hemsworth
7. Chris Evans
8. Jake Gyllenhaal

Ages 40+

1. Myself
2. My partner
3. Brad Pitt
4. Henry Cavill
5. Chris Hemsworth
6. Timothée Chalamet
7. George Clooney
8. Ryan Gosling

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Selected countries

Austria

1. Myself
2. My partner
3. Henry Cavill
4. Ryan Reynolds
5. Timothée Chalamet
6. All men are sexy
7. Brad Pitt

Azerbaijan

1. Myself
2. My partner
3. Zamiq Həsənov
4. Burak Özçivit
5. Antonio Banderas
6. Tarkan
7. Brad Pitt

Belgium

1. My partner
2. Myself
3. Henry Cavill
4. Brad Pitt
5. Timothée Chalamet
6. Tom Holland
7. Ryan Reynolds
8. Stupid question

Bulgaria

1. Myself
2. Henry Cavill
3. My partner
4. Chris Hemsworth
5. Matt Bomer
6. All men are sexy
7. Brad Pitt
8. Manu Ríos

Croatia

1. Henry Cavill
2. Myself
3. My partner
4. Brad Pitt
5. Ryan Reynolds
6. Chris Evans
7. Joško Gvardiol
8. Ryan Gosling

Cyprus

1. Myself
2. Henry Cavill
3. My partner
4. Chris Hemsworth
5. Jason Statham
6. Ryan Gosling
7. Timothée Chalamet
8. Tom Hardy

Czechia

1. My partner
2. Myself
3. Henry Cavill
4. Brad Pitt
5. Tom Holland
6. Timothée Chalamet
7. All men are sexy
8. Chris Evans

Denmark

1. Myself
2. My partner
3. Henry Cavill
4. Ryan Reynolds
5. Timothée Chalamet
6. Jonathan Bailey
7. Brad Pitt
8. Chris Hemsworth

Estonia

1. My partner
2. Myself
3. Henry Cavill
4. Tom Holland
5. Barry Keoghan
6. Brad Pitt
7. Jake Gyllenhaal
8. Jason Momoa

Finland

1. My partner
2. Henry Cavill
3. Myself
4. Chris Hemsworth
5. Timothée Chalamet
6. Pedro Pascal
7. Ryan Gosling
8. Ryan Reynolds

France

1. My partner
2. Myself
3. Brad Pitt
4. Henry Cavill
5. Timothée Chalamet
6. Ryan Gosling
7. Tom Holland
8. Chris Hemsworth

Germany

1. My partner
2. Myself
3. Henry Cavill
4. Chris Hemsworth
5. Tom Holland
6. Stupid question
7. Timothée Chalamet
8. Brad Pitt

Greece

1. Henry Cavill
2. Myself
3. My partner
4. Brad Pitt
5. Tom Hardy
6. Chris Hemsworth
7. George Clooney
8. Ryan Gosling

Hungary

1. My partner
2. Henry Cavill
3. Myself
4. Timothée Chalamet
5. Tom Holland
6. Chris Hemsworth
7. Manu Ríos
8. Ryan Reynolds

Ireland

1. Myself
2. My partner
3. Henry Cavill
4. Chris Hemsworth
5. Timothée Chalamet
6. Ryan Reynolds
7. Tom Hardy
8. Pedro Pascal

Israel

1. My partner
2. Myself
3. Henry Cavill
4. Brad Pitt
5. Timothée Chalamet
6. Tom Holland
7. Stupid question
8. Chris Hemsworth

Italy

1. Myself
2. Henry Cavill
3. My partner
4. Brad Pitt
5. Chris Evans
6. Chris Hemsworth
7. Manu Ríos
8. Timothée Chalamet

Kazakhstan

1. My partner
2. Myself
3. Henry Cavill
4. Brad Pitt
5. Johnny Depp
6. Jake Gyllenhaal
7. Tom Cruise

Luxembourg

1. My partner
2. Henry Cavill
3. Myself
4. Ryan Reynolds
5. Brad Pitt
6. Chris Evans
7. Timothée Chalamet
8. Tom Holland

Malta

1. My partner
2. Myself
3. Henry Cavill
4. Timothée Chalamet
5. Brad Pitt
6. Chris Evans
7. Chris Hemsworth
8. Jake Gyllenhaal

Moldova

1. Myself
2. My partner
3. Brad Pitt
4. Volodymir Zelenskyi
5. David Beckham
6. Nice Question
7. Chris Evans
8. Henry Cavill

Netherlands

1. Myself
2. My partner
3. Henry Cavill
4. Brad Pitt
5. Timothée Chalamet
6. Tom Holland
7. Chris Hemsworth
8. Ryan Reynolds

Norway

1. My partner
2. Henry Cavill
3. Myself
4. Tom Holland
5. Timothée Chalamet
6. Chris Hemsworth
7. Brad Pitt
8. Ryan Reynolds

Poland

1. Myself
2. My partner
3. Henry Cavill
4. Timothée Chalamet
5. Brad Pitt
6. Tom Holland
7. Ryan Reynolds
8. All men are sexy

Portugal / Spain

1. Myself
2. Henry Cavill
3. My partner
4. Brad Pitt
5. Chris Hemsworth
6. José Condessa (Portugal) / Miguel Ángel Silvestre (Spain)
7. Chris Evans
8. Manu Ríos (Portugal) / Ricky Martin (Spain)

Romania

1. Myself
2. My partner
3. Henry Cavill
4. Timothée Chalamet
5. Brad Pitt
6. Chris Hemsworth
7. Ryan Reynolds
8. Jacob Elordi

Slovakia

1. My partner
2. Myself
3. Henry Cavill
4. Timothée Chalamet
5. Chris Evans
6. Chris Hemsworth
7. Tom Holland
8. Brad Pitt

Russia

1. Myself
2. My partner
3. Brad Pitt
4. Tom Holland
5. Timothée Chalamet
6. Henry Cavill
7. All men are sexy
8. Ryan Gosling

Sweden

1. My partner
2. Myself
3. Henry Cavill
4. Brad Pitt
5. Timothée Chalamet
6. Chris Hemsworth
7. Ryan Reynolds

Switzerland

1. My partner
2. Myself
3. Henry Cavill
4. Ryan Reynolds
5. Chris Hemsworth
6. Jake Gyllenhaal
7. Timothée Chalamet

Ukraine

1. Myself
2. My partner
3. Henry Cavill
4. Brad Pitt
5. Tom Holland
6. Ryan Gosling
7. Timothée Chalamet
8. All men are sexy

United Kingdom

1. Myself
2. Henry Cavill
3. My partner
4. Tom Holland
5. Ryan Reynolds
6. Tom Daley
7. Chris Hemsworth
8. Timothée Chalamet

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