From the Magazine Digital Covers Sexiest Man Alive Dwayne Johnson Jokes He 'Will Forever Be Sexiest Man Alive' at 'Red Notice' Premiere Dwayne Johnson was named PEOPLE's Sexiest Man Alive in 2016 By Greta Bjornson Greta Bjornson Greta Bjornson is a former digital news writer at PEOPLE. She left PEOPLE in 2022. People Editorial Guidelines Published on November 4, 2021 03:26PM EDT Dwayne Johnson is holding onto his Sexiest Man Alive crown. The actor, 49, was given the honor in 2016. Now, five years later, he says, "I am and will forever be Sexiest Man Alive." Johnson spoke to PEOPLE (The TV Show!) special correspondent Adrianna Costa at the Los Angeles premiere of his Netflix film Red Notice, where he chatted about his appearance on the famous annual cover. "Listen, my Sexiest Man Alive title is in perpetuity. It's for life. Right?," Johnson questions PEOPLE. "I don't give it up." Dwayne Johnson Admits Vin Diesel Jokes 'Play Great' in His Movies, Including Red Notice While both Johnson and his Red Notice costar Ryan Reynolds have been named Sexiest in the past, Johnson refused to answer who is the "sexier" star. Kevin Mazur/Getty "Well, I mean, really that's up to the eye of the beholder, right?," he tells PEOPLE. "And it's all like interpretive. It's like when you read the Bible, you read different verses in a different way." PEOPLE is gearing up to announce this year's pick, but Johnson says that no matter who receives the honor in 2021, he'll always hold the title in his mind. "That means whoever you put on the cover, it doesn't matter because I'm always going to be the Sexiest Man Alive," he explains. When he first learned he was selected in 2016, Johnson told PEOPLE, "I said, 'That's awesome.' And then what went through my mind was just how cool and exciting it is. And then I thought, 'Wow, we've pretty much reached the pinnacle.' I'm not quite too sure where we go from here. I've done it all, this is it." Amy Sussman/Getty The former WWE star told PEOPLE he guessed fans found him sexy for his "sense of humor," adding, "and I think probably just not trying to be sexy and just being cool and confident in your movies. I think with a lot of my fans, I've gotten to a very, very cool place where there's a direct line between the man they know off-screen and the man they see on-screen." The most recent star to be named Sexiest Man Alive, Michael B. Jordan, told PEOPLE it was "a cool feeling" to receive the honor in 2020. Dwayne Johnson Says He Was 'Born to Play' Black Adam in First Look at Upcoming DC Superhero Film "You know, everybody always made that joke, like, 'Mike, this is the one thing you're probably not going to get.' But it's a good club to be a part of," he said in November 2020. PEOPLE's Sexiest Man Alive Issue hits newsstands Nov. 12. With reporting by Adrianna Costa