Sexiest Man Dead! See 9 Former Sexiest Men Alive Who Played Ghosts, Vampires and More

Mar. 15, 2025

Since 1985, PEOPLE has been singling out the hottest living men in Hollywood. Everyone fromMel GibsontoPatrick Dempseyhas graced the cover of our annualSexiest Man Aliveissue, but only a select few have had the charisma to outlast this mortal coil!

01of 10Harry HamlinHarry Hamlin on the cover of PEOPLE in 1987 and in ‘Anne Rice’s Mayfair Witches’.People; Album / Alamy Stock PhotoNo. 1 on our list is a bit of a fudge, but hey, you take the tricks with the treats this time of year, right? In AMC’sMayfair Witches, based onAnne Rice’s novels, Sexiest Man Alive 1987Harry Hamlinplays the dastardly Cortland Mayfair. Spoiler alert: In the show’s first season finale he is turned to stone for his sins, meaning he’stechnicallynot alive. But with the actor set to return in season 2, premiering in January, it seems likely that Cortland will rise again.

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Harry Hamlin

Harry Hamlin on the cover of PEOPLE in 1987 and in ‘Anne Rice’s Mayfair Witches’.People; Album / Alamy Stock Photo

People; Album / Alamy Stock Photo

No. 1 on our list is a bit of a fudge, but hey, you take the tricks with the treats this time of year, right? In AMC’sMayfair Witches, based onAnne Rice’s novels, Sexiest Man Alive 1987Harry Hamlinplays the dastardly Cortland Mayfair. Spoiler alert: In the show’s first season finale he is turned to stone for his sins, meaning he’stechnicallynot alive. But with the actor set to return in season 2, premiering in January, it seems likely that Cortland will rise again.

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Tom Cruise

1990’s Sexist Man AliveTom Cruiseplayed OG Lestat, the Brat Prince of the undead, in the 1994 film adaptation of Anne Rice’sInterview with the Vampire. It’s hard to imagine a character who relished being dead as much as Cruise’s, and the actor brought plenty of over-the-top panache to the role.

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Patrick Swayze

Not all ghosts are scary! The latePatrick Swayze, PEOPLE’s Sexiest Man Alive in 1991, played a hunky, lovelorn spirit in 1990’sGhost. At the time, theDirty Dancingstar said he knew the part would be “one of those roles of a lifetime.”

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Brad Pitt

05of 10Denzel WashingtonDenzel Washington on the cover of PEOPLE in 1996 and in ‘The Preacher’s Wife’.People; TOUCHSTONE PICTURES / AlbumHere’s something to think about: Are angels just ghosts with better PR? Others may quibble over the various categories of the dearly departed, but if it means getting Sexiest Man Alive 1996Denzel Washingtonon this list, we’re definitely counting his role as Dudley the angel in 1996’sThe Preacher’s Wife.

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Denzel Washington

Denzel Washington on the cover of PEOPLE in 1996 and in ‘The Preacher’s Wife’.People; TOUCHSTONE PICTURES / Album

People; TOUCHSTONE PICTURES / Album

Here’s something to think about: Are angels just ghosts with better PR? Others may quibble over the various categories of the dearly departed, but if it means getting Sexiest Man Alive 1996Denzel Washingtonon this list, we’re definitely counting his role as Dudley the angel in 1996’sThe Preacher’s Wife.

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Johnny Depp

After being named Sexiest Man Alive twice — first in 2003 and again in 2009 —Johnny Deppcrept from the crypt in 2012’sDark Shadows. The film, based on the 1960s soap opera, found him re-teaming with frequent collaboratorTim Burtonto play dashing vampire Barnabas Collins.

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Jude Law

Years before he was named PEOPLE’s Sexiest Man Alive in 2004,Jude Lawstarred as a sexily sinister vampire in the 1998 British thrillerThe Wisdom of Crocodiles(also released asImmortality). The film’s twist: Law’s undead Steven Grlscz can only drain the blood of victims who are in love with him.

08of 10Ryan ReynoldsRyan Reynolds on the cover of PEOPLE in 2013 and in ‘R.I.P.D.'.People; Cinematic / Alamy Stock PhotoRyan Reynolds’ 2013 movieR.I.P.D.is a little bitGhost, a little bitMen in Black. The filmsaw 2010’s Sexiest Man Alive playing a murdered detective who returns from the afterlife to hunt down fugitive ghosts as part of a special investigative unit from the great beyond.

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Ryan Reynolds

Ryan Reynolds on the cover of PEOPLE in 2013 and in ‘R.I.P.D.'.People; Cinematic / Alamy Stock Photo

People; Cinematic / Alamy Stock Photo

Ryan Reynolds’ 2013 movieR.I.P.D.is a little bitGhost, a little bitMen in Black. The filmsaw 2010’s Sexiest Man Alive playing a murdered detective who returns from the afterlife to hunt down fugitive ghosts as part of a special investigative unit from the great beyond.

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Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson

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John Krasinski

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source: people.com