It's his second nod, putting him in a rarefied category with those other stubbled studs Brad Pitt and George Clooney.

Depp's selection (his first was in 2003) comes as no surprise here, but there's shock and dismay in some camps that Robert Pattison didn't land on top.

C'mon, even he has admitted in interviews that his appeal in the "Twilight" vampire saga is mostly about his hair.

Johnny's so much more than a 'do.

As people.com put it: "At 46, the father of two still reigns as Hollywood's most irresistible iconoclast; as one-of-a-kind as his beloved 15-year-old boots and as smoldering as his favorite Cuban cigars."

What's more, the actor - nominated for an Oscar for his role in the megahit film "Pirates of the Caribbean," a performance he modeled after Rolling Stone guitarist Keith Richards - loves being dad to Lily-Rose, 10, and Jack, 7. He told the magazine, "I could sit there all day and do nothing but watch them grow. I'm totally inspired by them."

Our area's representation in this year's list: Penn grad John Legend and Jenkintown's Bradley Cooper.

Other picks include Ryan Reynolds, Jake Gyllenhaal, Robert Downey Jr., Idris Elba, David Beckham, Gilles Marini, Nick Cannon, Adam Lambert, John Cho and Chris Daughtry.

BTW, if you have 60 idle seconds today, rev 'em up with the "100 Sexiest Men in 1 Minute" video at people.com. We'd say more, but we've yet to catch our breath.

It Depp-pends

Speaking of Jack Sparrow, Depp told MTV News this week he'd happily reprise the character in a fourth "Pirates of the Caribbean" film.

Maybe.

There would be a change of directors, from Gore Verbinski to Rob Marshall. And Depp's unhappy over the departure of Disney studio chief Dick Cook. (You may recall, "Pirates" got its start as a Disney World attraction.)

"The thing is, I'd love to do it," Depp said Tuesday night at the Museum of Modern Art's Tim Burton retrospective in New York. "If there's a script and a story that is outside of what we've done before and it's worthy of the audience's attention, I would definitely do it."

New granddaughter for Dick

Former Vice President Dick Cheney's daughter Mary is a mom again with her partner of 17 years, Heather Poe. Sarah Lynne Cheney was born yesterday morning in Washington, D.C., weighing 6 pounds and 14 ounces. She is the seventh grandchild of the former vice president and his wife, Lynne. Mary Cheney and Poe had their first child, Samuel David Cheney, in 2007.

Peas forgive him, Perez

The manager of the Black Eyed Peas, Liborio Molina, has apologized for allegedly punching Perez Hilton in a deal that lawyers said would lead to assault charges' being dropped against Molina. He allegedly punched the openly gay celebrity blogger after Hilton called the Black Eyed Peas' will.i.am a "faggot" in a nightclub. Molina's attorney, Mark Sandler, read his client's written apology outside court: "I apologize for what I did on June 22 of 2009, even though you engaged in highly offensive comments . . . I acknowledge that these kinds of issues should not be resolved through a physical response."

Hilton told the Associated Press in an e-mail that he was happy that Molina had accepted responsibility for his actions.

Taylor-made

If you can write a country song, you can pen a greeting-card sentiment. That's the logic, no doubt, in Taylor Swift's getting a deal with American Greetings Corp.

The 19-year-old, who won entertainer of the year at the recent Country Music Association Awards, will also have gift wrap, stationery, online greetings and other products. Come to think of it, though, Swift's graciousness toward Kanye West

after he cut in as she received an MTV Video Music Award on national TV a few months back might have factored in to the deal.

Daily News wire services contributed to this report.

Howard Gensler has the day off.