The editors of People Magazine unveiled their choice for 2018’s “Sexiest Man Alive” today, and fans of the hit movie Aquaman will be heartened to see the choice is, of course, Willem DaFoe, who plays Atlantean hero Vulko in the film.
According to the magazine, women the world over have become obsessed with what they describe as DaFoe’s “perfect man” qualities, his warm sneer, his long, boney arms, and his reedy voice, which they say “makes women swoon when he speaks Atlantean.”
DaFoe, 63, has never graced People’s cover before. The hunk said humbly of the honor, “I don’t think anyone has worked harder than me to fill out the sexy underwater hero suits featured in Aquaman.”
Fans get some insight into the highly guarded “Sexiest Man” selection process in the magazine’s cover story. Editor Christie Wilkenson explains that while many years are difficult, this year was a no brainer. “There aren’t too many men this year who have clearly been on the minds—and in the fantasies—of our readers more than Aquaman heartthrob Willem Dafoe,” she said.
Publicity for DaFoe’s Aquaman has been intense, which also helped make DaFoe’s selection a shoe-in. DaFoe’s image on movie posters and billboards for Aquaman as the third figure in the background, as well as his appearance for a few brief moments in trailers for the film, have put his handsome face in front of millions of adoring fans in recent weeks.
Des Moines, IA, People reader Carol Klienhearst, 39, could not be happier with the choice. “My friends and I are not into comicbooks, but we will definitely see Aquaman, but really just to lust after Willem DaFoe,” she said with a laugh.
She then turned serious: “I want Willem DaFoe to make me his slave woman and I want to bear his children, even if it kills me.”
New York reader Angie Steadford, 21, echoed the sentiment. “I need to be embraced by DaFoe’s sinewy arms and I want to know what he smells like,” she said. “His wife, Giada Colagrande, is literally the luckiest woman in the whole world right now. I hate her.”
The magazine hits newsstands Monday.
