From the Magazine Sexiest Man Alive Sexy Photos of Former Sexiest Man Alive, Idris Elba Our 2018 Sexiest Man Alive has a long history of dazzling the cameras — let's celebrate him on his 51st birthday! By Lydia Price Lydia Price Lydia Price is a former platforms editor at PEOPLE. She left PEOPLE in 2022. People Editorial Guidelines Updated on September 6, 2023 11:34AM EDT Photo: Idris Elba/Instagram Celebrating Idris Elba's 51st birthday on Sept. 6, 2023, is actually like giving a gift to ourselves. The actor —who was PEOPLE's Sexiest Man Alive in 2018 — has had many sexy moments in his 51 years, so to mark his latest milestone, we're looking at them! 01 of 51 EXTRA, EXTRA! READ ALL ABOUT IT David Burton It's Idris Elba, a.k.a. PEOPLE's 2018 Sexiest Man Alive's birthday! 02 of 51 IT'S LIT, FAM Joseph Okpako/WireImage Elba brings the party wherever he goes. 03 of 51 DROPPING THE BEAT Ollie Millington/Redferns Those arms were made for deejaying. 04 of 51 GRAB THE MIC Emma McIntyre/Getty We'd listen to him talk to us in that gorgeous British accent all day. 05 of 51 GREEN WITH ENVY Trae Patton/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank; Inset: Kevork Djansezian/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank And we're not talking about being jealous of his wife, Sabrina. We're talking about the tux that he wore to the 2019 Golden Globes ... although we are jealous of Sabrina. 06 of 51 WINNER, WINNER Todd Williamson/Getty Images What? Like it's hard? 07 of 51 IS IT HOT IN HERE? Beretta/Sims/Shutterstock Or is it just Elba in an oversized jacket? 08 of 51 HIPSTER HAT Dan Wooller/Shutterstock We would move to Brooklyn if it meant all the hipsters dressed like this. 09 of 51 CAT ATTACK Universal Pictures Elba played Macavity in the CATS movie! He was purrrrrfect for the role. 10 of 51 A POP OF COLOR Paul Zimmerman/WWD/Shutterstock Elba's not afraid to stand out. And thank goodness for that! 11 of 51 ALL SMILES Chelsea Lauren/Variety/REX/Shutterstock Nothing like that smile! 12 of 51 TURN UP CHARLIE His Netflix film, Turn Up Charlie, showed off both his DJ skills and his hot dad skills. 13 of 51 THIS IS A CASE FOR THE FBI Steffan Hill/BBC America Elba played detective John Luther in the British crime drama, Luther. 14 of 51 JUST KIDDING, LUTHER'S ON IT BBC AMERICA And it doesn't take a detective to figure out that he always looked amazing while doing it. 15 of 51 LOUNGING AROUND David Burton Imagine a lazy Saturday on the couch with PEOPLE's 2018 Sexiest Man Alive. 16 of 51 CALM, COOL AND CRAZY GOOD LOOKING David Burton That's Elba in a nutshell. 17 of 51 CLASS ACT Larry Busacca/Getty Idris in a tux might be the best thing the Met Gala ever gave us. 18 of 51 FLOWER POWER Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Although the Met Gala also gave us Idris in front of a wall of roses, too. 19 of 51 CAMPY AF Dia Dipasupil/FilmMagic And it gave us Idris in a floral jacket — something we didn't know we needed. 20 of 51 FLEX ZONE Idris Elba/Instagram Did we mention that Elba is a dedicatedkickboxer? 21 of 51 READY TO RUMBLE Discovery Networks International The 2017 docu-series Idris Elba: Fighter chronicled his journey totaking on a professional fighter in the ring. 22 of 51 WEDDING BELLS Ian West/PA Wire Because we weren't already overwhelmed with emotion during Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's wedding, Idris had to show up looking impossibly dapper with then-fiancée Sabrina Dhowre. 23 of 51 FEEL THE LOVE REX/Shutterstock Wedding attire definitely suits him well. 24 of 51 CERTIFIED ZADDY Dave Benett/Getty The actor is dad to son Winston and daughter Isan. 25 of 51 SAFETY SEAT Dave Benett/Getty He gave Winston a (simulated) driving lesson at a Formula E event in Paris, and the pictures are almost too cute to handle. 26 of 51 MUSIC MAN Dave Benett/Getty He also happens to be a talented DJ, and even took over the music at Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's wedding reception. 27 of 51 DANCING KING Idris Elba Instagram And he's a pretty great dancer, too. 28 of 51 CANDLELIT LOVE Sabrina Dhowre/Instagram Once again, we're living vicariously through Idris's ladylove. 29 of 51 EYE TO EYE Jenny Gage + Tom Betterton Stare into our souls, Idris. 30 of 51 HE'S AS COOL AS ICE David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty Images But sweet enough to bring home to Mom. 31 of 51 GENTLE TOUCH Saty + Pratha When you're feeling sad, think about that time Idris and The Mountain Between Us director Hanny Abu-Assad played with a puppy. 32 of 51 CARE TO SHARE? Zacharie Scheurer/Getty We're always down for a drink with Idris. 33 of 51 WE ACCEPT Idris Elba Instagram To support W.E. Can Lead, a non-profit that promotes girls' education in Africa, Elba fulfilled his followers' dream of receiving a date invitation. 34 of 51 MAMA'S BOY Idris Elba Twitter Because he's also a caring son, Idris took his mom along when he was invited to an event at Buckingham Palace. Swoon. 35 of 51 ROYAL READY Idris Elba Twitter And he looked very "proppa" at that royal event. 36 of 51 LAUGHING MATTERS Dave Benett/Getty A sense of humor? Check. 37 of 51 HIGHWAY HOTTIE David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty Images We have a need for speed — and Idris. 38 of 51 BOOK IT Idris Elba Instagram Head over to Project Literacy to listen to Idris reading a children's book. You're welcome. 39 of 51 HITTING THE PAVEMENT FameFlynet Just imagine Idris running by you on your way to work. 40 of 51 ONLY HAVE EYES FOR YOU Dave Benett/Getty Idris and Sabrina gave us #couplegoals at the Burberry London Fashion Week Show. 41 of 51 HOLIDAY HEAT Dave Benett/Getty And they also made us blush at a 2017 Christmas party. 42 of 51 FITNESS FIRST Can one ever have enough workout pics? 43 of 51 POWERFUL IN PINK John Phillips/Getty Images Honestly, his T-shirt style is almost as drool-worthy as his formal looks. 44 of 51 UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL Idris Elba/Instagram His eyes might actually have hypnotic powers. 45 of 51 GETTING CHEEKY Dave J Hogan/Getty These two really make that whole "don't get jealous of other people's relationships" thing a challenge. 46 of 51 HE'S GOT THE LOOK Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images Seriously, is there anything more powerful than Idris and his eye contact? 47 of 51 HAPPY DAYS Stefanie Keenan/Getty Images Oh, right, his smile is also an incredible force. 48 of 51 SQUAD GOALS Warner Bros. Pictures/™ & © DC Comics Elba most recently joined the cast of Suicide Squad, bringing his charm to the crew. 49 of 51 MAN OF EVERY YEAR Samir Hussein/Wireimage Days before his 49th birthday, got all dressed up for the GQ Men of the Year Awards in London. 50 of 51 MORNING GLORY Ken McKay/ITV/Shutterstock When Elba sat down for a chat on The Morning in London last year, it was a good morning, indeed. 51 of 51 LOVE ALL Karwai Tang/WireImage He likes tennis (he and Sabrina went to Wimbledon in the summer of 2023) so now we do, too. Happy 51st birthday to one of our favorites! Close