October 13, 2022
Christopher Meloni Still America's 'Zaddy' at Age 61
Kilian Melloy READ TIME: 2 MIN.
"Law and Order" hunk Christopher Meloni may have turned another year older last April, but his status as America's "Zaddy" is the same – and so is the actor's embrace of the title.
UK newspaper the Daily Mail reported that the actor, who covers the new issue of PEOPLE Magazine (on sale Oct. 14), called his celebrated sex symbol status "a second act to a certain degree," and went on to add, "I don't know, has anyone else been crowned Zaddy?"
"Once it's bestowed upon you, you have to just ride that horse as long as you can," the actor, who has not been shy about showing off his muscled frame, went on to say.
Meloni shared that his family have been good sports about it... more or less. "My wife, she's lovely, she gets it," the actor said. "Meaning she's like, 'Eh, whatever.' My kids, on the other hand, invariably once a month, it's 'Really? Really?'" because, he said, "Their friends will send them a meme that's come out or whatever."
Some of those "whatevers" are pretty steamy, like the Peloton ad in which Meloni – who has spoken publicly about liking to work out in the nude – lets his birthday suit double for gym togs. The ad used pixelation to obscure most (but not all) of the actor's well-formed assets.
The furor around Meloni's well-maintained physique kicked into high gear with an article in Men's Health last year in which Meloni boasted that he could "catch flies with my ass cheeks, like a Venus flytrap."
What would you give to be a fly on his home gym wall?
Watch (or re-watch) the actor's Peloton ad below.
Kilian Melloy serves as EDGE Media Network's Associate Arts Editor and Staff Contributor. His professional memberships include the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association, the Boston Online Film Critics Association, The Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association, and the Boston Theater Critics Association's Elliot Norton Awards Committee.
