“Girlfriends” Star Reggie Hayes Jokes About Being PEOPLE’s 2007 'Sexiest Nerd Alive'

Angela AndaloroTue, June 23, 2026 at 5:32 PM UTC

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Reggie Hayes in 2007 (left) and todayCredit: M. Caulfield/WireImage; Reggie Hayes/Instagram -

Reggie Hayes is enjoying a special gift that speaks to his inner nerd

The Girlfriends actor, 56, wore his present from his nephew as he reminisced on being named one of PEOPLE's sexiest nerds alive in 2007

Hayes played William Dent from 2000 to 2008

Reggie Hayes is proud to have been one of PEOPLE's sexiest nerds!

The Girlfriends actor, 56, shared a photo on Instagram sporting a Devo energy dome hat, sharing that it was a gift 3-D printed for him by his nephew.

"WELL HAPPY FATHERS DAY TO ME. look what my brilliant nephew made for me on his 3-D printer," he began the caption.

"See you young people won't know anything about this so watch yourself lessen' you get hurt. This is real nerdy stuff going on here. Talking DEEP geek stuff. As you all know 2007 PEOPLE magazine said I was the sexiest nerd alive or one of them and they weren't lying," he joked.

"So happy Father's Day everybody. thanks, Max."

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Hayes is best known for his time as William Dent on the UPN series, which aired for eight seasons from 2000 to 2008. In 2007, he was featured as part of PEOPLE's annual Sexiest Man Alive feature, part of the "Year of the Nerd" celebration that also included Rainn Wilson and Zachary Levi.

In 2020, he opened up to the Chicago Tribune about being "desperate" when he auditioned for his Girlfriends role.

"I was desperate for that job. I didn't have next month's rent and I owed a couple thousand dollars on my American Express card. I was scared to death," he admitted.

"I was in very, very bad shape. And this job came and rescued me and turned everything around. William was described as a straightforward, educated guy and I remember I was like, 'That's me!' And luckily I had gone out and bought a suit — my dad said I should always have a suit in case someone died, so I had spent my last money on this suit — and I was looking really good when I came in for the audition."

Hayes enjoyed playing William Dent, noting, "He's like 90% me."

"I'm a lot like that; very shy, kinda geeky. So they would put things about me and my life into the character. When I bought a house in real life, I bought a house on the show. Little things like that. I had an episode where I donated sperm to my sister's partner on the show and my sister in real life was having a baby at the same time — but her husband didn't need me at all for that (laughs)!"

on People

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”