He may have cemented his status as a Hollywood heart-throb long ago, but Patrick Dempsey has admitted he “was completely shocked” when he learned that he had been crowned this year’s Sexiest Man Alive. “I’ve always been the bridesmaid!” the 57-year-old joked to People magazine of finally scooping up the publication’s coveted accolade after many years of making the shortlist.

Despite poking fun at his new title – joking that he’s already “got the bumper stickers, T-shirts, posters” – Dempsey shared that it had come at the right time. “I’m glad it’s happening at this point in my life,” the actor said. “It’s nice to have the recognition, and certainly my ego takes a little bump, but it gives me the platform to use it for something positive.”

That endearing nature is part of the reason why millions have fallen in love with the actor over the last three decades – his strikingly handsome looks coming in a close second. The actor first captured hearts in his breakout role in 1987’s Can’t Buy Me Love and worked steadily for almost two decades before landing the role of neurosurgeon Derek ‘McDreamy’ Shepherd on Grey’s Anatomy.