Johnny Depp has been crowned People magazine’s 2009 Sexiest Man Alive — six years after the honor was first bestowed upon him in 2003. The publication’s senior editor explains that Depp has achieved an almost “iconic status in terms of sexiness.”

The magazine said in a statement, “Whether it’s onscreen in roles like Captain Jack Sparrow in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise or at home with his family on their private Bahamian island, the 46-year-old father of two with 25 years in show business still reigns as Hollywood’s most irresistible iconoclast,”

People reports that the only other two-time winners are Brad Pitt and George Clooney. Depp is succeeding 2008′s sexist man, Hugh Jackman.

• Other sexy men recognized by the magazine include Zac Efron, Ryan Reynolds and Rob Pattinson — who many blogs feel was more deserving of the title this year.

More eye make-up for Johnny Depp.

He’s going to do a fourth “Pirates of the Caribbean.”

At a Disney event on Friday, Depp was dressed as Captain Jack Sparrow as he came on stage in a pirate ship.

He put on the Jack Sparrow walk, kind of staggering about. “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides” will be released in the summer of 2011.

Depp also will play Tonto in a new movie version of “The Lone Ranger.”