Oh, thank the Lord. People Magazine has made a real man, a wonderful man, a lovely man as their Sexiest Man Alive 2009. The rumor going into this thing was that Robert Pattinson was a lock, what with New Moon coming out and the general Twihard lunacy. But People Magazine went for maturity instead, and chose Johnny Depp, the actor who used to be a teen sensation, but grew up to be one of Hollywood’s greatest actors. No fears, though – Pattinson was chosen as one of the other “sexiest men” of the year. It’s a list that also includes Jake Gyllenhaal, Ryan Reynolds, Bradley Cooper, Robert Downey Jr., David Beckham, Nick “Personal Assistant” Cannon, the boys from Glee, Adam “Women Are Gross and Dirty” Lambert, and John Legend (a personal favorite of mine) – here’s People’s slideshow of their top guys.

Break out the Bordeaux, the whoopee cushions and the bangin’ Keith Richards guitar solos, because the 2009 Sexiest Man Alive party is officially under way.

Bringing the fun with him wherever he goes – whether it’s onscreen in fizzy roles like Captain Jack Sparrow in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise or at home with his family on their private Bahamian island – is just one reason why Johnny Depp, who also scored the honor in 2003, has joined an elite club of two-time SMA title holders (only Brad Pitt and George Clooney have matched the feat).

At 46, the father of two still reigns as Hollywood’s most irresistible iconoclast; as one-of-a-kind as his beloved 15-year-old boots and as smoldering as his favorite Cuban cigars.

[From People]

Just at first glance through the list of the top 15 sexiest men of the year, there seems to be a lack of previous office holders – no Brad Pitt, no George Clooney, no Hugh Jackman, no Matt Damon. They might be on the list somewhere, but they didn’t get pushed and promoted for the top spot.

Johnny is becoming more and more “establishment” Hollywood by the year, and yet he’s still able to keep his artistic cred, which is cool. Part of the reason may be that he plays the game really well – this year he sat down for an intimate interview with Vanity Fair… and yet, at the end of the day, he didn’t really reveal much. It was also just announced that Johnny Depp is likely the newest highest paid actor in Hollywood. He’s allegedly signed on for the fourth Pirates of the Caribbean film for a paycheck of $30 million. Now, other actors have earned more for films (I’m thinking Tom Cruise, back in the day, or Tom Hanks), but that’s because they’re getting a percentage of the gross, or a “back-end” deal. No mention if Johnny has one of those.

In any case, congratulations to our new reigning Sexiest Man Alive! CB threatened to cut me for taking this story. My bad, once again, CB. You deserve it, Johnny!

People Magazine cover courtesy of CoverAwards. Additional photos of Johnny at the ‘Tribute to Tim Burton’ at The Museum of Modern Art on November 17, 2009, and at the French premiere of ‘Public Enemies’ on July 2, 2009. Credit: WENN