The desire to depict the ideal man has persisted since ancient times.
Knowledge together with a healthy body was a symbol of perfection according to the Greeks while the Romans favoured political power over physical perfection.
However, according to today’s ideals, it is Scots actor Richard Madden who has the most desirable attributes.
The Game of Thrones star, who has emerged as a front-runner to replace Daniel Craig as James Bond, is in the running to be crowned Scotland’s Sexiest Man Alive.
A study collated the physical features and lifestyle attributes of the celebrities who have topped People magazine's world's sexiest man list to try to predict this year's winners and found that the dark-haired, brooding Elderslie-born actor is a near-perfect fit.
Bafta award-winner David Tennant and Glasgow-born James McAvoy are also said to possess most of the ideal attributes.
The data reveals that the perfect man has short tousled dark-brown hair and brown eyes, is exactly 6ft in height, has an athletic build and short brown facial hair. Men are said to be most desirable at 36, while having tattoos and being unavailable upped the attractiveness.
There was a near 90% difference in the allure of a man with short hair as opposed to one with a shaved head.
Madden has dark brown hair, is just over 5ft 9 inches in height, has an athletic physique and sports either a short brown beard or stubble, making him a near-perfect match according to the analysis, aside from his blue eyes.
According to Casino Guardian which analysed the data, actors nominated tend to hold a prolific career. In the past 48 hours, Madden has shot up in the odds as the Scottish actor most likely to play James Bond, according to bookies William Hill.
The 35-year-old has been been a front-runner to play the new 007 ever since Daniel Craig’s retirement from the role was announced, as his odds are now placed at 10-1.
The annual Sexiest Man Alive awards use reader votes to determine the men deemed most desirable and are set to be announced in November with Madden predicted to be among the Scottish finalists.
The fact that Madden sports facial hair will work in his favour as men with a beard were found to be 62% more attractive than those without.
Also in the running is Bathgate’s David Tennant, who does have brown eyes, but is older than the ideal age and James McAvoy, who is also held back by his baby blues.
Previous Scottish champs include Outlander star Sam Heughan, who won over 57% of the vote.
Interestingly, men are more likely to win the award when they’re in a relationship or married, which is said to suggest that female voters appear to find commitment attractive.
Men who have appeared multiple times in world's sexiest lists include High School Musical star Zac Efron, Canadian singer Shawn Mendes, and Wolverine actor Hugh Jackman.
The most attractive star signs are said to be Leo, Cancer and and Pisces with Geminis and Scorpios deemed the least fanciable.
Hollywood comedy actor Paul Rudd was named Sexiest Man Alive by People magazine last year.
The 52-year-old Ant-man star revealed that his wife of 18 years, Julie, was the only person he told in advance of the big reveal and she was "stupefied."
He said: "But you know she was very sweet about it. After some giggling and shock, she said, ‘Oh, they got it right.’ And that was very sweet. She was probably not telling the truth, but what’s she going to say?"
After landing a few acting gigs in the early ‘90s, Rudd impressed audiences in his breakout role as Josh in the romantic-comedy "Clueless." He then racked up acting credits, appearing in Baz Luhrmann’s take on "Romeo + Juliet."
Rudd landed what was originally a guest role as Mike Hannigan on NBC's classic sitcom, "Friends." He was so popular with the fans that the writers kept him on and his character ended up marrying Phoebe.
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