The 31-year-old star of Thor and Rush joins the ranks of Mel Gibson who was the first winner of the honour in 1985 and took it in an admirably light-hearted manner. 

Hemsworth, whose brother Liam features in The Hunger Games franchise, was unveiled on the Jimmy Kimmel Live show in the US with a fun game of yes and no questions while his face was concealed. 

He wasn't in a band, over 35 years or hairy, as asked by one audience members - "Just up here," he gestured to his head. 

"If you guess correctly, the sexiest man alive will make love to you, so this is big," teased Kimmel. "I will give you three clues. He is sexy, he is a man, he is alive."

They got there eventually with the guy from Snow White and the Huntsman and the newish Star Trek movies. 

"I like everything there is about being sexy, to pursing the lips the right way to squinting at the essential time," he joked. "This is based on an IQ test, not just the physical appearance," the actor said.

He was then asked if he wanted to thank anyone: "My parents, I guess, for putting this together."

Hemsworth also reckons he'll get a bit of leeway around the house now from his actress wife Elsa Pataky, with whom he has three children. 

In the magazine, Hemsworth said: "I think you've bought me a couple of weeks of bragging rights around the house."

"I can just say to her, 'Now remember, this is what the people think, so I don't need to do the dishes anymore, I don't need to change nappies. I'm above that. I've made it now,'" he says.

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