Idris Elba Is The Sexiest Man Alive & It's About Damn Time

Listen. Those of us who are self-professed connoisseurs of fine have been checkin' for Idris Elba for a super-hot minute now.

Whether he was melting our hearts as a single father in Daddy's Little Girls, lookin' good as a hot fudge sundae (heavy on the chocolate) in his wardrobe in Obsessed, starring as the semi-complex detective on Luther, or we've simply gotten to witness his ooo-baby British accent whenever he's being interviewed—this 46-year-old's (yep, he's good and grown) Godiva skin, unapologetic salt 'n pepper beard and love for the DJ culture (did you know he can also play hockey and rugby too?!) makes him, at the very least, fantasy-worthy. In virtually every room of the house.

That man. Ooo-whee! THAT. MAN.

Hmph. We're glad that FI-N-ALLY, PEOPLE magazine got the memo (i.e., the constant side-eye emails and tweets that were along the lines of "What are you waiting for—eh hem—people?!") because although he's been an honorable mention in their Sexiest Man Alive issue more than once, this year, he officially earned the coveted cover.

When we hopped onto PEOPLE's site to see why they selected this award-winning actor for such a time as this, we really dug that they said every year, they look for someone who is respectful of women. They also shared that they wanted an individual who has a kindness and generosity of spirit.

We also learned his response to hearing the news of being PEOPLE's 33rd Sexiest Man Alive:

"I was like, 'Come on, no way. Really?' Looked in the mirror, I checked myself out. I was like, 'Yeah, you are kind of sexy today.' But to be honest, it was just a nice feeling. It was a nice surprise — an ego boost for sure."

Something else that caught our attention is Idris himself saying that out of all of his accomplishments thus far, being present for the birth of his children (his daughter Isan is 16; his son Winston is 4) easily tops them all. Oh, and it certainly didn't hurt that he also went on record as saying that he has a bit of a "naughty" and "what if?" side to him.

***Church fan, anyone?***

Sure, we know that he's spoken for (le sigh). But honestly, that makes him even sexier. It sends the message that he's not a commitment-phobe. Plus, his fiancee is a sistah (29-year-old model Sabrina Dhowre), and we don't know what's more beautiful than Black Love.

In fact, the only thing that makes all of this news better is the timing. Oh, the timing. Although the announcement was technically made last night on Jimmy Fallon's The Tonight Show, those of us who try and get eight hours of shut eye woke up to news. And what day is today, y'all? ELECTION DAY.

We must give credit to where credit's due and again, the timing is impeccable. Well played, PEOPLE magazine. Well freakin' played. And Idris, many, many, MANY congrats! You already know that we've been givin' you your props for-e-ver but it's always cool when our personal taste goes, umm, mainstream (wink).

Check out some of our favorite reactions to the news below. For more of PEOPLE on Idris, click here. And be sure to pick up your copy available on newstands this Friday.

Featured image by Denis Makarenko / Shutterstock.com