Idris Elba is PEOPLE's Sexiest Man Alive: His 10 hottest roles

By Seija Rankin
November 06, 2018 at 12:03 AM EST

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Russell 'Stringer' Bell, The Wire

Deadline/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock

Elba first caught our attention back in 2002 thanks to his role as sexy Baltimore drug lord Stringer Bell. It’s no surprise he was the breakout star of the HBO drama!

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DCI John Luther, Luther

Steffan Hill/BBC America

He captivated us once again while playing a brooding detective who hunts down serial killers. Swoon!

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Heimdall, Marvel Cinematic Universe

Jasin Boland/Marvel Studios

Show us another actor who looks this good in a costume that’s basically a pile of rags, and we’ll show you someone who still doesn’t look as good as Idris Elba. Thor isn’t worthy. 

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Charles Miner, The Office

Chris Haston/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images

Elba became the sexiest man in the paper business when he took over as Dunder Mifflin’s vice president of the Northeast region at the end of the show’s fourth season. His good looks were a running gag on the show, with Miner confessing at one point, “I am aware of my effect on women.”

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Dr. Ben Bass, The Mountain Between Us

20th Century Fox

He’s a surgeon, he wears the most well-tailored coat we’ve ever seen, and he (spoiler alert!) saves Kate Winslet and a stranger’s dog after they’re stranded on a mountain. Hello, dream man. 

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Stacker Pentecost, Pacific Rim

Kerry Hayes

It’s the future, there’s a portal in the bottom of the ocean that’s letting monsters into the world, and giant robot killer defenders are everywhere. But never fear, because Idris Elba and his metal suit are here. We know that his armor isn’t actually the same as his pecs and six-pack, but we still don’t hate this view. 

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Stacker Pentecost, Pacific Rim

Legendary Pictures/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock

One more for good measure, because Elba’s Pacific Rim wardrobe was really just a gift to mankind. 

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Commandant, Beasts of No Nation

Moviestore/REX/Shutterstock

Nothing about this role (or movie) was fun — it’s about child soldiers, and Elba plays a battalion leader of an unspecified West African country who brings a young boy into his army — but the sight of him in that beret made it all slightly easier to watch. 

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Derek, Obsessed

Screen Gems/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock

Do not adjust your screens: Idris Elba really did star in a movie opposite Beyoncé. And no, we don’t know how they fit that much attractiveness into 90 minutes. 

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Quentin Whitfield, This Christmas

Suzanne Tenner/Facilitator/Rainforest/Screen Gems/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock

We suggest re-watching this Christmas classic in the following manner: Fast-forward through all of the Chris Brown scenes and hit pause on all of the Idris Elba scenes. He’s the gift that keeps on giving.

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Charlie Jaffey, Molly's Game

Moviestore/REX/Shutterstock

As it turns out, Idris Elba can litigate the crap out of a high-end gambling ring case — and look darn good while doing it. 

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