What was Chris Evans’ first thought when he was named People magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive 2022? How his mom would react.

“What went through my mind? My mom will be so happy,” Chris Evans said after receiving the honor in an interview with PeopleTV. “I mean, she’s proud of everything I do but this is something she can really brag about.”

He wasn’t wrong. A news station in his hometown of Boston called the star’s mother to find out how she felt. “My reaction was, ‘yeah, of course, it’s about time!’,” Lisa Evans told WHDH 7NEWS. “I was bragging when he was potty trained, I was bragging when he was walking, but this is something that everyone will know about. I’m pretty happy about it.”

 “She’s proud of everything I do but this is something she can really brag about,” said Chris Evans. The Captain America and Knives Out star expects a very different reaction from his pals, though.  “Really this will just be a point of bullying to my friends,” he joked to PeopleTV. “My Massachusetts buddies – I mean this is, you know, ripe for harassment.”

Lisa Evans confirmed that her son was in for some razzing. “They will absolutely give him grief about it, but they’re very funny,” she told 7News. But she said he’ll stay humble through this. “He’s always amazed at his own success, he’s amazed at what people think of him,” she said.

Former “Sexiest Man Alive” winners include Hollywood royalty like Idris Elba, George Clooney and Brad Pitt. Evans inherits the honor from fellow Avenger Paul Rudd. Other MCU actors who have worn the crown include Michael B. Jordan, Chris Hemsworth and Ryan Reynolds, who will join the Marvel gang when the next Deadpool movie is released.