Johnny Depp, Brad Pitt and Ryan Gosling must be weeping into their pillows at news that Benedict Cumberbatch has been voted the sexiest male movie star in the world by Empire magazine readers.

Benedict CumberbatchBenedict Cumberbatch Is The Sexiest Movie Star On The Planet

Emma Watson took the honors for being the sexiest female movie star in the planet, beating out the likes of Jennifer Lawrence, Kristen Stewart, Anne Hathaway, Emma Stone and Mila Kunis.

But it was Benedict who landed the shock result, fending off competition from his fellow Brit Tom Hiddleston as well as Superman Henry Cavill, Iron Man Robert Downey Jr, Rush star Chris Hemsworth and good old Gosling.

"It's a great result for British stars, but what's clear is that it's less important to have lots of casual fans and better to have a dedicated hard-core," said James Dyer, editor of Empireonline.com. 

"The Cumberbabes, Hiddlestoners, Twi-hards and Cavilliers all made their opinions heard! This list also reflects the continuing popularity of superhero movies: six of the top ten men have played superheroes and five of the top ten women have appeared in comic-book movies," he added. Cumberbabes just sounds a bit weird doesn't it?

Benedict Cumberbatch Fifth EstateBenedict Cumberbatch [L] Played WikiLeaks Founder Julian Assange In 'The Fifth Estate;

Cumberbatch has starred in 12 Years a Slave, The Fifth Estate and August: Osage County in recent months, though is still probably best known for his turn in the BBC's Sherlock series. He has no less than seven movies currently in some form of production, including a role as English mathematician and logician Alan Turing in The Imitation Game, with Keira Knightley.

Watch Benedict Cumberbatch in the 12 Years a Slave trailer: