PEOPLE's Sexiest Man Alive is adding a real superhero to its ranks, as Chris Evans has been named this year's honoree.
"My mom will be so happy," Evans tells PEOPLE of being named the 2022 Sexiest Man Alive. "She's proud of everything I do but this is something she can really brag about." And he's right: his mom Lisa tells PEOPLE, "I am not surprised at all. Our family will be beside themselves."
"This whole thing is tough to be interviewed about," Evans says with a laugh. "It feels like a weird form of humble bragging." He adds that if you were tell a younger version of himself this honor would one day be his, "he'd be pumped! This would probably be the road to the cool table which I was not at."
Now that he's been named PEOPLE's Sexiest Man Alive, Evans jokes that he's prepared to hear all about it from his friends. "Really this will just be a point of bullying," he says. "It's ripe for harassment."
The actor joins a long list of Sexiest Men Alive, including last year's honoree Paul Rudd, and previous title holders Michael B. Jordan, George Clooney, Brad Pitt, John Legend, Idris Elba, Chris Hemsworth, and Channing Tatum. But don't expect him to use the word "sexy" when describing himself. "It's something that as I become old and saggy I can look back on and say, 'I remember then ... '" Evans says. "I'm lucky to be in the discussion in any capacity."