Over the summer, to celebrate the site’s 20th year in existence (we’re not old enough to drink, too old for Matt Gaetz), we put it to our readers to vote on the Ultimate Pajiba 10. In other words, of all the people who have ever been named to the Pajiba 10, who are the ten Pajiba-10iest.
It’s been six months, but I finally have your results. I’m not going to provide blurbs because it’s Christmas Eve and I don’t feel like it, but also: You know who they are. You know what their appeal is. Not only are all 10 previous entrants, but most are in the Pajiba 10 Hall of Fame — in fact, our number one re-entered the 2023 Pajiba 10 and was inducted into the Hall of Fame and became the winner of the Ultimate Pajiba 10 in 2024.
It is also worth noting that the youngest member is 45 and that the median age of all ten is 55 years old, which probably reflects the reality of our readership here. We’re not attracting a lot of twenty-something readers.
1. David Tennant
2. Keanu Reeves
3. Timothy Olyphant
4. Dolly Parton
5. Gillian Anderson
6. Oscar Isaac
7. Emma Thompson
8. Pedro Pascal
9. Rachel Weisz
10. Idris Elba
I also asked our readers which person we elevated into the Pajiba 10 in the past that we most regretted, and the vote was fairly close between Gina Carano taking first over Chris Pratt, with James Franco right behind. That’s about right.
And with that out of the way, it’s time to look ahead. It’s time to vote for the 2024 list, the 18th Annual Pajiba 10. When Pajiba 10 voting began, Brad and Angelina were still married, Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson were the biggest names in comedy, and Natalie Portman had a shaved head.
For the few of you who may not be familiar, this is a fun exercise we do every year. Our readers vote for our version of the most beautiful person in the world, although our list tends to give equal weight to a person’s intelligence, wit, and general attractiveness. Your outliers might not make the Pajiba 10, but slowly and surely, a consensus builds around ten wonderful people each year, ten celebrities, sports figures, podcasters, or even politicians about whom the Pajiba staff is ultimately compelled to write glowing things. We have not yet named an influencer. Hopefully, we will keep it that way.
Here’s how it works, and please pay attention to the instructions because it makes it much, much easier to tally the votes (no one ever pays attention to the instructions, but I’ll make an effort, anyway). You all will compile your own TEN Freebies lists —- the TEN people with whom your significant other would allow a free pass (if you don’t have a free pass or a significant other, just pretend). Please use the names they go by (instead of nicknames). You will list them in a comment. That’s it!
People who have appeared on the Pajiba 10 three times are in the Pajiba 10 Hall of Fame and are, therefore, no longer eligible. They had their moment. It’s time to let someone else have theirs. Here are the 28 members of the Pajiba Hall of Fame:
Nathan Fillion
Christian Bale
Emma Stone
Chris Hemsworth
Ryan Gosling
Kristen Bell
Robert Downey, Jr.
Alison Brie
Timothy Olyphant
Idris Elba
Mila Kunis
Benedict Cumberbatch
Jennifer Lawrence
Tatiana Maslany
Anna Kendrick
Pedro Pascal
John Oliver
Gillian Anderson
Taika Waititi
Michael B. Jordan
Tessa Thompson
Chris Pratt
Oscar Isaac
Dolly Parton
Rahul Kohli
Lee Pace
To help make voting easier, several members of our staff have also put forward a number of people for your consideration: Josh O’Connor, Dean Winters, Keri Russell, Cillian Murphy, Bowen Yang, Aldis Hodge, and the cast of Doctor Odyssey.
I’ll also note, for the record, that I have been pushing Melanie Lynskey for years (and we ran a second FYC on her in 2023) and you people still haven’t elevated her into the top 10. FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, PLEASE PUT LYNSKEY ON YOUR LIST! Ahem.
Voting continues until Monday.