"As soon as someone tells me: 'You're rather sexy,' I wish I could disappear. If somebody says: 'You were voted the world's sexiest man,' I have no idea what that means. How do I respond? 'Thank you' is the best you can do. George Clooney is the world's sexiest man, anyway"
About this Quote
Craig’s refusal to bask in “sexy” isn’t coy humility so much as a rejection of the whole transactional economy of celebrity desirability. He treats the compliment like an awkward misfire: someone has handed him a role he didn’t audition for, and now he’s stuck performing gratitude on cue. The line “I wish I could disappear” lands because it’s visceral and unglamorous; it punctures the fantasy that stars live for attention. He’s admitting that the gaze - especially the sexualizing gaze - can feel less like praise than like a kind of social spotlight you can’t control.
The “world’s sexiest man” bit is Craig zooming in on how absurdly bureaucratic attraction becomes when media turns it into a title. Sexiness, in this framing, is a brand metric: global, ranked, and somehow official. His deadpan “How do I respond?” is the key: he’s exposing the script. The only acceptable line is “Thank you,” because the system doesn’t actually want a human reaction; it wants compliance.
Then comes the punchline: “George Clooney is the world’s sexiest man, anyway.” That deflection is doing double duty. It’s funny, sure, but it’s also strategic. By naming Clooney, Craig relocates the “sexiest” crown onto a safer, established archetype - the charming, unthreatening gentleman - while distancing himself from being consumed as a product. Coming from an actor whose Bond era made him a body, a suit, and a symbol, the joke reads like self-defense disguised as banter.
The “world’s sexiest man” bit is Craig zooming in on how absurdly bureaucratic attraction becomes when media turns it into a title. Sexiness, in this framing, is a brand metric: global, ranked, and somehow official. His deadpan “How do I respond?” is the key: he’s exposing the script. The only acceptable line is “Thank you,” because the system doesn’t actually want a human reaction; it wants compliance.
Then comes the punchline: “George Clooney is the world’s sexiest man, anyway.” That deflection is doing double duty. It’s funny, sure, but it’s also strategic. By naming Clooney, Craig relocates the “sexiest” crown onto a safer, established archetype - the charming, unthreatening gentleman - while distancing himself from being consumed as a product. Coming from an actor whose Bond era made him a body, a suit, and a symbol, the joke reads like self-defense disguised as banter.
Quote Details
| Topic | Witty One-Liners |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
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