Brad Pitt crowns pal George Clooney 'the Sexiest Man Still Alive'

It's a Sexiest Man Alive -off.

In a recent interview with PEOPLE , longtime pals Brad Pitt and George Clooney went back and forth about their famous good looks. Both actors have been honored with the coveted title twice in the past, and when asked who should get the glory in 2024, Pitt quipped, "This is the Sexiest Man Still Alive" about Clooney.

"Yes, exactly. That's going to be starting now," Clooney shot back. "I tried to get AARP to do that for [Pitt,] Sexiest Man Still Alive. I have the T-shirt, by the way. Somebody else got it. Yeah, all I got was a T-shirt."

Pitt was the first of the two to grace PEOPLE's Sexiest Man Alive cover, in 1995. Clooney took honors in 1997 and 2000, then Pitt staged a comeback in 2006.

In a recent memoir, filmmaker Edward Zwick — who directed Pitt in Legends of the Fall the year before his first Sexiest Man win — recalled that Pitt was "unhappy when PEOPLE named him 'Sexiest Man of the Year' — something for which I take neither credit nor blame." Zwick described Pitt's on-set temperament as "volatile" and "edgy," insinuating that the honor bestowed upon his looks didn't help matters.

In his 2006 Sexiest Man Alive cover story , Clooney answered questions about his love life amiably, but hinted at a less than chummy relationship with his own notoriety, describing his perfect first date as "not getting your picture in the paper."

"The second date, take your hits," he continued. "But it would be nice to see if you have anything in common before it's in the paper.

Richard Gere and Johnny Depp are the only other Sexiest Men Alive who've earned the title twice. Last year's cover star was Patrick Dempsey, and the actor to inaugurate the very first issue was Mel Gibson, in 1985.

PEOPLE is currently conducting a reader poll to determine the 2024 honoree, and nominees include newcomers Nicholas Galatzine and Manny Jacinto, and veterans like Ryan Reynolds (2010's pick) and Hugh Jackman (2008's pick).

Pitt and Clooney have starred in eight films and plays together, dating back to their first collaboration, 2001's Ocean's Eleven. They're currently on the road promoting Wolfs, their new action-comedy about two lone-wolf fixers who are called in to clean up a political mess caused by a New York D.A. ( Amy Ryan ).