Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and Ghostbusters: Afterlife star Paul Rudd was recently named by People magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive 2021. As is the case every year, the announcement brought about a divisive response from fans, with some feeling that Rudd was deserving while others wanted to see it given to someone else. In any case, it was Rudd who earned the title for this year, the first time the 52-year-old has been named.

One person who might have voted differently is Paul Rudd’s wife, Julie Yaeger, with whom he’s been married since 2003. Recently, Rudd was asked by Extra about the Sexiest Man Alive title, and perhaps jokingly (or maybe not), he suggested that Julie would have totally gone with another A-list actor. Here’s what Rudd said when asked if Julie would have voted for him:

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Previously speaking with People about the honor, Rudd also revealed that Julie is the only person he told about the Sexiest Man Alive situation ahead of time. While Rudd imagines that Julie might have preferred to vote for Keanu Reeves, she supported her husband when he first told her, ultimately agreeing that they made the right choice. Even so, Rudd jokes that she probably wasn’t being honest with him when she said that.

“No, she would have voted for Keanu Reeves. Come on, he’s Keanu, I’d vote for him!”

Keanu Reeves is technically a one-time winner of the Sexiest Man Alive title, though he wasn’t properly given his own magazine cover, and the win was also announced two decades later. In 1994, People did not officially name a Sexiest Man Alive. People editor Jess Cagle revealed in a 2015 Lifetime special chronicling everyone who’s had the honor that the three runners-up for that year were Reeves, Hugh Grant, and Jim Carrey. 21 years later, Cagle officially chose Reeves to be named as that year’s winner.

“She was stupefied. But you know she was very sweet about it. After some giggling and shock, she said ‘Oh, they got it right.’ And that was very sweet. She was probably not telling the truth, but what’s she going to say?”

These days, Paul Rudd of Clueless and Halloween 6 fame is back on the big screen following the recent premiere of his latest movie, Ghostbusters: Afterlife, a legacy sequel to the popular Ghostbusters movies of the 1980s. While Rudd joins Mckenna Grace, Carrie Coon, and a slew of other franchise newcomers, the sequel brings back original stars like Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, and Bill Murray. Rudd also told Extra that working with the three actors was “really exciting and an honor.”

Fans of Rudd’s should also be doing themselves a big favor by checking out his new series, The Shrink Next Door, which co-stars Will Ferrell and is streaming on Apple TV+. For more superhero action from the popular actor and this year’s Sexiest Man Alive, you can catch Rudd in the upcoming Marvel sequel Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, which is due to be released in theaters on July 28, 2023. This news comes to us from Extra.