From the Magazine Sexiest Man Alive Sexiest Man Dead! See 9 Former Sexiest Men Alive Who Played Ghosts, Vampires and More Alive or undead, they're still some of the hottest men in Hollywood By John Russell John Russell John Russell is a Writer/Reporter at PEOPLE. He joined the PEOPLE team in 2024. His work has previously appeared on VanityFair.com, Slate.com, Billboard.com and in Out Magazine. People Editorial Guidelines Updated on November 13, 2024 05:18PM EST Comments Denzel Washington, Brad Pitt and Dwayne Johnson. Photo: TOUCHSTONE PICTURES / Album; Photo by Geffen/Kobal/Shutterstock; Photo by Moviestore/Shutterstock Since 1985, PEOPLE has been singling out the hottest living men in Hollywood. Everyone from Mel Gibson to Patrick Dempsey has graced the cover of our annual Sexiest Man Alive issue, but only a select few have had the charisma to outlast this mortal coil! With Halloween upon us, we're celebrating Spooky Season by looking back at nine of our Sexiest Man Alive alumni who have played devilishly handsome ghosts, vampires and other varieties of undead characters. Needless to say, these guys all looked ghoulishly good doing it. 01 of 10 Harry Hamlin Harry Hamlin on the cover of PEOPLE in 1987 and in 'Anne Rice's Mayfair Witches'. People; Album / Alamy Stock Photo No. 1 on our list is a bit of a fudge, but hey, you take the tricks with the treats this time of year, right? In AMC's Mayfair Witches, based on Anne Rice's novels, Sexiest Man Alive 1987 Harry Hamlin plays the dastardly Cortland Mayfair. Spoiler alert: In the show's first season finale he is turned to stone for his sins, meaning he's technically not alive. But with the actor set to return in season 2, premiering in January, it seems likely that Cortland will rise again. 02 of 10 Tom Cruise Tom Cruise on the cover of PEOPLE in 1990 and in 'Interview with the Vampire'. People; Photo by Francois Duhamel/Geffen/Kobal/Shutterstock 1990's Sexist Man Alive Tom Cruise played OG Lestat, the Brat Prince of the undead, in the 1994 film adaptation of Anne Rice's Interview with the Vampire. It's hard to imagine a character who relished being dead as much as Cruise's, and the actor brought plenty of over-the-top panache to the role. 03 of 10 Patrick Swayze Patrick Swayze on the cover of PEOPLE in 1991 and in 'Ghost'. People; Photo by Moviestore/Shutterstock Not all ghosts are scary! The late Patrick Swayze, PEOPLE's Sexiest Man Alive in 1991, played a hunky, lovelorn spirit in 1990's Ghost. At the time, the Dirty Dancing star said he knew the part would be "one of those roles of a lifetime." 04 of 10 Brad Pitt Brad Pitt on the cover of PEOPLE in 1995 and in 'Interview with the Vampire'. People; Photo by Geffen/Kobal/Shutterstock If Tom Cruise's Lestat loved being undead in Interview with the Vampire, the character's fledgeling and reluctant companion Louis, played by two-time Sexiest Man Alive Brad Pitt, loathed it. Similarly, Pitt reportedly found playing the tortured blood-sucker draining. “I don’t like when a movie messes with your day,” he told PEOPLE in 1995. “Right now I’d like to play a guy who just wants to [make love to] everybody so I can have a damn good time." 05 of 10 Denzel Washington Denzel Washington on the cover of PEOPLE in 1996 and in 'The Preacher's Wife'. People; TOUCHSTONE PICTURES / Album Here's something to think about: Are angels just ghosts with better PR? Others may quibble over the various categories of the dearly departed, but if it means getting Sexiest Man Alive 1996 Denzel Washington on this list, we're definitely counting his role as Dudley the angel in 1996's The Preacher's Wife. 06 of 10 Johnny Depp Johnny Depp on the cover of PEOPLE in 2009 and in 'Dark Shadows'. People; Photo by Warner Bros/Kobal/Shutterstock After being named Sexiest Man Alive twice — first in 2003 and again in 2009 — Johnny Depp crept from the crypt in 2012's Dark Shadows. The film, based on the 1960s soap opera, found him re-teaming with frequent collaborator Tim Burton to play dashing vampire Barnabas Collins. 07 of 10 Jude Law Jude Law on the cover of PEOPLE in 2004 and in 'The Wisdom of Crocodiles'. People; Photo by Moviestore/Shutterstock Years before he was named PEOPLE's Sexiest Man Alive in 2004, Jude Law starred as a sexily sinister vampire in the 1998 British thriller The Wisdom of Crocodiles (also released as Immortality). The film's twist: Law's undead Steven Grlscz can only drain the blood of victims who are in love with him. 08 of 10 Ryan Reynolds Ryan Reynolds on the cover of PEOPLE in 2013 and in 'R.I.P.D.'. People; Cinematic / Alamy Stock Photo Ryan Reynolds' 2013 movie R.I.P.D. is a little bit Ghost, a little bit Men in Black. The film saw 2010's Sexiest Man Alive playing a murdered detective who returns from the afterlife to hunt down fugitive ghosts as part of a special investigative unit from the great beyond. 09 of 10 Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson Dwayne Johnson on the cover of PEOPLE in 2016 and in 'The Mummy Returns'. People; Photo by Moviestore/Shutterstock For his 2001 film debut, Dwayne Johnson burst onto the silver screen in The Mummy Returns as an ancient warlord cursed by the god of the dead and later resurrected as a fearsome scorpion monster. PEOPLE's Sexiest Man Alive 2016 returned to the role in a 2002 prequel, The Scorpion King — though that movie found the character very much alive. 10 of 10 John Krasinski People; NBCUniversal The 2024 Sexiest Man Alive never actually played a vampire, but after a bat was found in the Dunder Mifflin offices, his Office character Jim Halpert began acting a little strange — avoiding sunlight, getting "burned" by garlic bread — the perfect prank to pull on his nemesis Dwight Schrute, who sharpened a stake in preparation. Close