From Thor to phwoar! Chris Hemsworth is ‘sexiest man alive’

Thor star Chris Hemsworth is People magazine’s “sexiest man alive” of 2014 – let’s take a closer look.

Unmasked during the Nov 18 episode of the late night talk show Jimmy Kimmel Live, the 31-year-old Hemsworth appeared via Skype clad in a loose-fitting T-shirt with his face masked and voice disguised electronically, as he fielded questions from the audience about his age, whether he was single, or if he was an actor.

“Have you ever played a superhero in a movie?”
“Yes.”

“Does your hero use a hammer?”
“Yes.”

After which came the winning question: “Are you Chris Hemsworth?”

The big reveal: During a live broadcast of his talk show, host Jimmy Kimmel unveils the cover of People magazine's "Sexiest Man Alive 2014" issue featuring the man himself. Below, hunky Hemsworth packs on the muscles to play Thor, the god superhero from Asgard, in a scene from Thor: The Dark World.    

The star of Thor, sequel Thor: The Dark World and The Avengers then revealed his face and thanked his parents in good humour “for putting this all together” as he received a mock trophy, which was a vanity mirror. Hemsworth also wryly thanked “all the other previous intelligent men, because this [the accolade] is based on an IQ test, not just physical appearance.”

The magazine also revealed on its website the runners-up who couldn’t quite manage to out-sexy Hemsworth for the annual title: 2. Chris Pratt; 3. Jamie Dornan; 4. Ki Hong Lee; 5. Blake Shelton; 6. Bradley Cooper; 7. Matt Bomer; 8. Michael Strahan; 9. Eddie Redmayne, and; 10. Scott Foley.

Past choices for the magazine's sexiest men, a tradition that goes back to a 1985 cover story on fellow Australian Mel Gibson, have ranged in age from the late 27-year-old with John F. Kennedy, Jr. in 1988, to the then-59-year-old Sean Connery in the following year.

Hollywood’s favourite leading men Johnny Depp, George Clooney, Brad Pitt and Richard Gere have each been chosen twice. Meanwhile, last year’s somewhat controversial cover-man, rocker Adam Levine, was one of the few non-actors selected by the editors.

Rise to fame

Hemsworth’s first real acting stint was on the long-running Australian soap Home & Away in which he played Kim Hyde, a hunky high school dropout, from 2004 to 2007. The actor then decided to head to Hollywood where he landed his first significant role in 2009’s Star Trek reboot – he appeared in the film’s opening sequence of as George Kirk, the doom-fated father of James T. Kirk.

Noted for his easygoing yet hunky looks, somewhat reminiscent of the late Heath Ledger, Hemsworth was picked for the titular role of Marvel’s Thor in 2011, a move that proved to be a hit with fans. The series has spawned two films and a subsequent tie-in with the Avengers series. 

He’s set to reprise his role as the hammer-wielding Norse god in the highly-anticipated The Avengers' sequel Avengers: Age of Ultron due to hit cinemas in May 2015.

And just in case you’re wondering: Helmsworth has been married to Spanish actress Elsa Pataky since December 2010. The couple have three children: daughter India Rose and twin sons, Tristan and Sasha. – Reuters