Did Paul Rudd Nearly Fail 'Sexiest Man Alive' Audition, 'Weird Foot' and All?

A [spoiler] on his left foot nearly cost Paul Rudd this year’s “Sexiest Man Alive” title, it can now be revealed.

On Tuesday night’s installment of CBS’ The Late Show With Stephen Colbert (which apparently has been doing a days-long walk-up to the reveal of People’s annual “SMA”), Colbert took us behind the scenes of the audition process (starting at 1:30 in the clip above), in which the contenders first place their left hand on a photo of themselves and pledge to give sexy answers, “be a man” and “stay alive.”

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Rudd — who wound up claiming this year’s title (and who conveniently happens to be headlining Apple TV’s about-to-premiere The Shrink Next Door; read our review) — deftly fields Colbert’s interview questions, sharing how as a baby he first realized his sexiness. Things almost take a turn, though, when Rudd’s confession and subsequent reveal of a “weird foot” triggers dry heaving from Colbert.

Press play above to get a gander at Rudd’s “weird foot,” and see how the rest of his try-out plays out.

People’s annual “Sexiest Man Alive” anointment kicked off in the mid-1980s with Mel Gibson, Mark Harmon and Harry Hamlin copping the first three sexy crowns. In more recent years, the title has been bestowed on Michael B. Jordan, John Legend, Idris Elba, Blake Shelton and Dwayne Johnson.

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