Is Brad Pitt nonetheless scorching at 61? What a few septuagenarian — and former James Bond — like Pierce Brosnan? What to do with an issue like Tom Cruise? And who, actually, is the sexiest male superstar born anytime earlier than Gerald Ford was within the White Home?
May it’s Idris Elba? Keanu Reeves? Jamie Foxx? Pedro Pascal? Hugh Jackman? Or one other former James Bond, Daniel Craig?
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – JUNE 24: Idris Elba attends Amazon’s “Heads Of State” World Premiere at Alice Tully Corridor, Lincoln Middle on June 24, 2025 in New York Metropolis. (Picture by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Photos)
AARP, the nonprofit that advocates for older People on a variety of points, additionally likes to dip into tradition and leisure, and the newest problem of its standard AARP journal has gotten into the Folks sport of turning society’s’ gaze onto the desirability of male stars, versus well-known girls. The journal has carried out so by releasing its first ever checklist of the Hottest Actors over 50.
Over time, Folks’s annual “Sexiest Man Alive” cowl has celebrated the attractiveness of such male idols as Pitt, George Clooney, Denzel Washington, Harrison Ford and even of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Blake Shelton and Adam Levine.
NORTHAMPTON, ENGLAND – JULY 05: Actor Keanu Reeves seems on within the paddock earlier than qualifying forward of the F1 Grand Prix of Nice Britain at Silverstone Circuit on July 05, 2025 in Northampton, England. (Picture by Alex Bierens de Haan/Getty Photos)
Not surprisingly, there’s some overlap between Folks journal’s Sexiest Males and this new checklist produced by AARP journal. In fact, AARP focuses on the attractiveness of males of a sure age. AARP additionally provides out its personal annual “Movies for Grownups” awards to rejoice movies that resonate with older audiences as a strategy to combat ageism within the leisure trade.
For its Hottest Actors checklist, AARP has created a listing of 25 males of their 50s, 60s and 70s who it says “exude the kind of magnetism, vibrancy, heart and soul that amounts to that rare, intangible superpower: star quality.”
LONDON, ENGLAND – JULY 08: Johnny Depp attends the “Modigliani – Three Days On The Wing Of Madness” UK Premiere on the Curzon Mayfair on July 08, 2025 in London, England. (Picture by Gareth Cattermole/Getty Photos)
And whereas a few of Folks’s Sexiest Males have graduated into changing into AARP Hottest Actors, there are some SMA guys who’ve been left off the brand new checklist. In a couple of instances, the explanations for the snubs appear apparent. Cancel tradition has seeped into the Hottest Actors consideration. Therefore the omission of Mel Gibson and Johnny Depp, the latter a two-time SMA cowl star.
In a couple of different instances, the actors have largely retreated from the middle of the cultural dialog — i.e. Nick Nolte and Richard Gere, the latter who additionally was twice placed on a Folks SMA cowl.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – AUGUST 15: Harrison Ford attends the Apple TV+ “Shrinking” Panel in the course of the TV Academy’s Inaugural Televerse Pageant at JW Marriott LA Stay on August 15, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. (Picture by Frazer Harrison/Getty Photos)
Nonetheless, it’s a bit mysterious that Harrison Ford didn’t make the Hottest Actors checklist, particularly for the reason that 1998 SMA cowl boy continues to be making films, strolling purple carpets and looking out fairly good at 83. And what in regards to the adorably ageless Paul Rudd, who was the Sexiest Man as just lately as 2021?
Sure, Pitt made the Hottest Actors checklist. A two-time Sexiest Man from 1995 and 2002, Pitt positioned fairly excessive on the AARP checklist, although he wasn’t No. 1, regardless of trying fairly scorching, and dashingly weathered, within the hit summer time movie, “F:1.” Pitt truly got here in No. 6, behind his “Ocean’s 11” co-star Clooney, who additionally was honored twice as Folks’s SMA.
One attention-grabbing snub is Ben Affleck, an SMA from 2002, whereas his good good friend and frequent collaborator, Matt Damon, made the AARP checklist. Damon, who was an SMA in 2007, is No. 12 on the AARP checklist. He was praised for being “one of the industry’s most bankable — yet still easygoing and accessible — stars.” Affleck isn’t identified to be “easygoing,” and possibly the AARP judges thought they have been over-exposed to his private messiness through his Jennifer Lopez drama.
INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA – MAY 31: (L-R) Matt Damon and Ben Affleck attend Netflix Tudum 2025: The Stay Occasion at The Kia Discussion board on Might 31, 2025 in Inglewood, California. (Picture by Kevin Winter/Getty Photos)
The AARP checklist additionally doesn’t embrace another main male stars who’re nonetheless working. Whereas these actors by no means obtained Folks journal honors, they attained heartthrob standing at the very least as soon as of their careers. These omissions embrace Antonio Banderas, Daniel Day-Lewis, Colin Firth, Russell Crowe and Kevin Costner. Since Leonardo Di Caprio and Bradley Cooper each turned 50 this 12 months, additionally they may been included on the AARP checklist — however they weren’t.
So, listed below are the actors that AARP considers to be the Hottest Actors Over 50, and see in case you agree with their alternative for no. 1:
25. Jamie Foxx, 57,24. Robert Downey, Jr., 6023. Billy Porter, 5522. Ken Watanabe, 6521. Pierce Brosnan, 7220. Hugh Jackman, 5619. Benjamin Bratt, 6118. Rob Lowe, 6117. Ricky Martin, 5316. Javier Bardem, 5615. Jon Hamm, 5414. Morris Chestnut, 5613. Matthew McConaughey, 5512. Matt Damon, 5411. Colman Domingo, 5510. Keanu Reeves, 609. Dwayne Johnson, 538. Patrick Dempsey, 597. Daniel Craig, 576. Brad Pitt, 615. Denzel Washington, 704. George Clooney, 643. Noah Wylie, 542. Pedro Pascal, 501. Idris Elba, 52
