Sexiest Man Alive 2012

Bradley Cooper Is PEOPLE's Sexiest Man Alive!

By Alexis Chiu and Charlotte Triggs

UPDATED 11/16/2011 at 10:30 AM EST • Originally published 11/16/2011 at 08:00 AM EST

Bradley Cooper

Sure, he's easy on the eyes, but there's more to 2011's Sexiest Man Alive Bradley Cooper than dazzling baby blues and a killer smile.

Ladies, take note: this Georgetown grad can whip up dinner, take you for a spin on his motorcycle and whisper sweet nothings in French (he's fluent!). Just don't try convincing him what a catch he is.

"I think it's really cool that a guy who doesn't look like a model can have this [title]," says the Hangover actor, 36. "I think I'm a decent-looking guy. Sometimes I can look great, and other times I look horrifying."

Another reason to love him? Cooper, whose father Charles passed away in January, is especially close with his mom, Gloria. When he learned he'd been crowned Sexiest Man Alive, the "first thing I thought," he says, "was, 'My mother is going to be so happy.' "

PHOTOS: See Who Else Made the 2011 Sexiest Man Alive List!

So what's the truth about his dating status?

Cooper, who was with Renée Zellweger for two years until their split in March and has been spotted out with Jennifer Lopez in recent months, says he's a "single 36-year-old male."

"If you're a single man and you happen to be in this business," he says, "you're deemed a player. But I don't see myself as a ladies' man."

For more on Cooper – and more than 100 of the sexiest men around – pick up this week's issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday