Will Ferrell Says He Is Vying to Be PEOPLE's Sexiest Man Alive 2024: 'Vote for Comedians' (Exclusive)

The star joked at the New York City premiere of 'Despicable Me 4' that he’s “planting the seeds” to land the iconic cover

One of the funniest men alive is vying for a new title: PEOPLE's Sexiest Man Alive!

At the New York City premiere of Despicable Me 4 on Sunday, June 9, Will Ferrell revealed his desire to appear on PEOPLE’s iconic annual issue — and kicked off his campaign.

The actor, 56, said he’s “planting the seeds” to end up on the cover “because you guys never have comedians."

“So get it going internally, all right? Sexiest Man,” he added.

Related: All the Sexiest Man Alive Covers

And Ferrell (who plays Despicable Me franchise newcomer Maxime Le Mal) dressed the part, channeling “a sexy villain” in his premiere outfit with dark sunglasses and an Adidas track jacket — with the collar popped, of course.

Or, more specifically, “a sexy, soccer-playing villain,” Ferrell revised.

Related: The 'Sexy' Degrees of Separation: How We Connected Every Single Past Sexiest Man Alive

After laying more groundwork for his Sexiest Man Alive campaign with some not-so-subtle “subliminal” messaging, the comedian joked that his Mega-Minion superpower would be “to be fluent in every language in the world.”

Well, “and be People Magazine's Sexiest Man of the Year,” he said, adding, “Come on. Vote for comedians."

Related: 'I'm Still the Sexiest': Everything PEOPLE's Past Sexiest Man Alive Winners Have Said About the Title

But a comic actor (and friend of Ferrell’s) has been named PEOPLE's Sexiest Man Alive — none other than his Anchorman (and Shrink Next Door!) costar Paul Rudd.

Rudd — who plays Brian Fantana, part of Ron Burgundy’s news crew in the 2004 film — received the honor in 2021, telling PEOPLE at the time, “I mean I'm going to lean into it hard. I'm going to own this.”

"I'm not going to try to be like 'Oh, I'm so modest,' I'm getting business cards made,” the actor added. “But all of my friends will destroy me and I expect them to. And that's why they're my friends.”

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Despicable Me 4 actually marked a mini Anchorman reunion, as three of its stars, Ferrell, Kristen Wiig and Gru himself, Steve Carell, were all castmates in the beloved franchise. Wiig starred as Carell's love interest in the film's 2013 sequel, Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues.

Two decades after the trio — plus Rudd — starred in the film together, Ferrell is still “so proud” of its legacy, he told PEOPLE on the red carpet.

“And I think at the time, we couldn't believe we were getting to make such a weird, bizarre movie,” he added. “So I'm just so happy that it has kind of stayed in the zeitgeist all these years.”

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