4. Bradley Cooper
The Amercan actor Bradley Cooper is heat magazine's fourth most hot "hunk" of 2012. Reuters

Bradley Cooper, one of the funny faces of The Hangover movies and the latest Sexiest Man Alive, is 37 years old.

Cooper's big break came when he appeared in the 2005 hit comedy Wedding Crashers, as the sleazy boyfriend of Rachel McAdams' character.

He achieved A-list status after he starred in the 2009 comedy The Hangover. He appeared in the movie's sequel in 2011.

His television work includes a guest spot in the television series Sex and the City and a recurring role in Alias, playing friend to star Jennifer Garner's character.

Cooper has been linked to several Hollywood ladies, including Renée Zellweger and, more recently, actress Zoe Saldana (Avatar, Star Trek). He was married for less than a year to actress Jennifer Esposito.

Cooper was named People magazine's Sexiest Man Alive in November 2011, a move that caused some controversy among Ryan Gosling fans who thought The Notebook actor should have received the honor.

I think it's really cool that a guy who doesn't look like a model can have this, he told People of his new title. I think I'm a decent-looking guy. Sometimes I can look great, and other times I look horrifying.

He commended Gosling on his style, saying that the Ides of March actor often looked like a model coming off of the runway, whereas he himself tended to look more like the neighbor who never really comes out of his house.

See Cooper joke about the Sexiest Man Alive title on The Graham Norton Show.