Channing Tatum is Sexiest Man Alive 2012

Channing Tatum is Sexiest Man Alive 2012 Step Up actor Channing Tatum is People magazine's Sexiest Man Alive 2012, taking over from last year's Sexiest Man Bradley Cooper.

Channing told the magazine: "My first thought was, 'You are all are messing with me.' I told Jenna after we'd been in the bathtub washing our dogs because they'd gotten skunked. She was like, 'What?' "

Channing Tatum began his career as a model and featured in the video of Ricky Martin's song, She Bangs. He made his debut in 2005 film Coach Carter and rose to fame in 2006 with the film Step Up. Since then he has appeared in G I Joe: The Rise of Cobra, Fighting, Dear John, The Vow, 21 Jump Street, and Magic Mike.

Relationship Status: Married to dancer and actress Jenna Dewan. So look ladies, but don't touch.

Coming up: Top 10 actors named Sexiest Man Alive

Bradley Cooper, 2011: Most famous as the star of The Hangover, Bradley Cooper is this year's Sexiest Man Alive by People magazine. Cooper's first acting job was in 1999 on Sex And The City. Since then, he has made many TV and stage appearances and has had roles in movies such as Wedding Crashers, Failure To Launch, The A Team, Yes Man and Valentine's Day.

Relationship Status: He divorced actress Jennifer Esposito in 2007 and broke up with Renee Zellweger in March last year. Currently, Bradley is said to have rekindled his relationship with Zoe Saldana after their romance initially fizzled out in March.

Johnny Depp, 2003 & 2000: Hollywood's favourite eccentric has been Sexiest Man Alive twice. Famous for playing outlandish characters – Captain Jack Sparrow, Edward Scissorhands, Willy Wonka and The Mad Hatter – Depp has also been nominated for a slew of awards including the Oscar, for films like Benny & Joon, Ed Wood, Donnie Brasco, Public Enemies and Finding Neverland. He won a Golden Globe for his performance in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street, and a Screen Actors Guild award for Pirates Of The Caribbean: The Curse Of The Black Pearl.

Relationship Status: Johnny Depp's dating history includes actresses Winona Ryder, Sherilyn Fenn, Jennifer Grey and supermodel Kate Moss. The actor broke up with his partner of 14 years, French actress-singer Vanessa Paradis in June this year. Reports suggest that currently he is dating his The Rum Diary co-star Amber Heard.

Brad Pitt, 1995 & 2000: Twice chosen Sexiest Man Alive, Brad Pitt has been widely acknowledged among his own contemporary actors as the best looking guy in Hollywood, a label that has more often than not overshadowed his credentials as a serious actor. His breakthrough role was as the small time criminal who takes up with Geena Davis in Thelma And Louise. Frequently cast as beefcake in films like Legends Of The Fall and Troy, Pitt's resume also includes Interview With A Vampire, Kalifornia, Seven, 12 Monkeys and Fight Club.

He played suave conman Rusty in the hit Ocean's Eleven series, and American outlaw Jesse James in the critically acclaimed The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford. Award nominations came his way for Babel, The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button and Inglorious Basterds, though he never won an award to date.

Relationship Status: An early girlfriend was Robin Givens, now better known as Mike Tyson's ex-wife. Pitt also famously dated co-stars Juliette Lewis and Gwyneth Paltrow before marrying Friends star Jennifer Aniston. Their 2005 divorce remains Hollywood's most famous breakup and Pitt has been in a relationship with Angelina Jolie ever since. Brangelina are the Holy Grail of Hollywood coupledom and have three children together plus three adopted by Jolie previously.

George Clooney, 1997 & 2006: George Clooney began his career in television, hit big time as Dr Ross on medical drama ER, and then moved to big screen stardom with movies like From Dusk Till Dawn and One Fine Day. He took over from Val Kilmer as the caped crusader in Batman & Robin, became a Coen Brothers favourite with O Brother, Where Art Thou and Intolerable Cruelty, and raked in the millions as smooth criminal Danny Ocean in the Ocean's Eleven series. Clooney won a Best Supporting Oscar and Golden Globe for Syriana. Other award winning films include Michael Clayton and Up In The Air. Clooney has twice been Sexiest Man Alive.

Relationship Status: Serially single. After divorcing actress Talia Balsam in 1993, Clooney has sworn off marriage. He has since dated a string of beautiful women including model Lisa Snowdon and Italian TV personality Elisabetta Canalis. He is currently seeing WWE alumnus Stacy Keibler.

Harrison Ford, 1998: Harrison Ford's breakthrough role was maverick pilot Han Solo in 1977's Star Wars. 34 years later, he is still starring in movies, the most recent one being this year's Cowboys & Aliens. Perhaps most famous as Indian Jones in the Steven Spielberg directed series, Ford also played CIA agent Jack Ryan in Patriot Games and Clear And Present Danger, and the US President in Air Force One. He was nominated for Golden Globes for his roles in The Mosquito Coast, The Fugitive, Sabrina and Witness for which he was also nominated for an Oscar and a BAFTA. He was named Sexiest Man Alive in 1998, aged 56.

Relationship Status: Married to actress Calista Flockhart with whom he has a son. This is his third marriage.

Denzel Washington, 1996: Denzel Washington remains the only black actor to be named Sexiest Man Alive. He started out in TV on medical drama St. Elsehwere and has since carved an incredible career with movies like Cry Freedom, Glory, Malcolm X, Philadelphia, The Bone Collector, The Hurricane, Training Day and American Gangster. He has been nominated for an award for all these and for nearly every other major role. He has won two Oscars, for Glory and Training Day, and two Golden Globes, for Glory and The Hurricane.

Relationship Status: Happily married since 1983 to actress Pauletta Pearson. They have four children together.

Patrick Swayze, 1991: Few female hearts remained intact after Patrick Swayze's famous finale dance in Dirty Dancing and equally famous pottery scene with Demi Moore in Ghost. After an early film appearance in Francis Ford Coppola's The Outsiders, Swayze was considered a member of the Brat Pack with other young actors of the '80s – Rob Lowe, Emilio Estevez, Robert Downey, Jr. and Molly Ringwald. Despite films, admittedly few and far between, like Point Break, Donnie Darko and To Wong Foo: Thanks For Everything Julie Newmar, Swayze remains largely underrated as an actor.

He died in 2009 after a painful and public battle with cancer. He was married to dancer Lisa Niemi from 1975 till his death.

Tom Cruise, 1990: Before he became a Scientologist and jumped up and down on Oprah's couch, Tom Cruise was the biggest movie star and heartthrob in Hollywood and was People's Sexiest Man Alive in 1990. He debuted in The Oustiders, which also starred Patrick Swayze, and then hit big time with Risky Business in 1983. In his long career, he's had cutie pie roles in Cocktail and Jerry Maguire, action roles in Top Gun and the Mission: Impossible series, dramatic roles in A Few Good Men and Rain Man, and a memorable comedic role in Tropic Thunder. He won Golden Globes for his performances in Born On The Fourth Of July and Magnolia.

Relationship Status: Cruise was divorced in August this year by Katie Holmes whom he had married in 2006. Cruise has been married twice before, to actresses Mimi Rogers and Nicole Kidman. He had a high profile relationship with actress Penelope Cruz after he divorced Kidman.

Richard Gere, 1999: In 1993, Richard Gere and then wife Cindy Crawford were named Sexiest Couple – People did not name a Sexiest Man that year. Six years later, he was chosen Sexiest Man Alive. Gere started out on stage, playing Danny Zuko in the original London version of Grease. His major film roles include An Officer And A Gentleman, Pretty Woman - he was nominated for a Golden Globe for both – and Runaway Bride. He won a Golden Globe for Chicago in 2002. Gere is a practicing Buddhist and visits India very often as an active supporter of the Dalai Lama.

Relationship Status: He and supermodel Cindy Crawford were a match made in showbiz heaven – sadly, they divorced in 1995. Since then, he has been married to actress Carey Lowell and they have a son together.

Mel Gibson, 1985: Mel Gibson was the first ever Sexiest Man Alive, in 1985. By then, he was already a big star, having played the title role in Mad Max and Martin Riggs in Lethal Weapon. He went on to star in blockbuster hits including the sequels to Lethal Weapon, Maverick, Braveheart, Conspiracy Theory and The Patriot. As director, he won an Oscar for Braveheart, critical acclaim for Apocalypto and controversy for The Passion Of The Christ.

Relationship Status: Gibson and his wife of 26 years, Robyn, separated in 2006 after he was found to be having an affair with Russian pianist Oksana Grigorieva. He and Grigorieva broke up in 2010, amid allegations of domestic abuse. He sparked dating rumours in October this year after being spotted having an intimate dinner with Hollywood stuntwoman Ashley Cusato.