The budding Saratoga-based model and actor has been named one of the sexiest men in America, according to the soap opera All My Children.

As part of the nationwide "All My Children's Search for the Sexiest Man in America" contest, Heinrich was chosen with 24 other men as a semi-finalist and recently made it to the top five.

Heinrich might defy the model-actor stereotype with his genuine laugh and a degree in accounting, but surely has all-American sex appeal.

"Tim has a great look," says Kristen Usich, co-owner of Boom! Models & Talent in San Francisco, which represents Heinrich. "He's not too high fashion or unbelievable. He can play your best friend, the studly guy or the young approachable dad. He is also a motivated guy, who treats the business like a business. He doesn't just sit back and say 'I'm great looking, make a career for me.' "

A graduate of Westmont High School, West Valley College, and San Diego State University, Heinrich was not always set on looking good as a career.

"I grew up really introverted, and when I got compliments on how I looked, I appreciated it, but I didn't know how to accept it," he says. "Now I can take it for what it is."

Urged by a close friend, Heinrich struck up his modeling career while attending San Diego State, providing him a very different experience from his accounting classes. "In retrospect, accounting is not what I should have majored in. The material is dry and I'm not," Heinrich says. "I liked accounting in school and I'm good at it, but it's not important to me to make money but be miserable."

Heinrich says he was always interested in acting, and took up modeling as a starting-off point.

"Acting was in the back of my mind for many years," he says. "But as a kid, I always had that complex of thinking there was no way to make it. But once I started modeling and was successful at that, the only thing stopping me from acting was me."

Most of the contestants were selected as a part of a 10-city tour by the judging panel, which held competitions in public venues. Heinrich was one of a select few to be chosen from a videotape entry.

"I honestly didn't think I'd hear back from them. I was very happy when they called me," he says. "It's pretty cool, but I don't let it go to my head. I'm a pretty grounded person. The way I look at it, I didn't get to where I am by being absorbed or pushing people around. I just take what comes to me."

Killer bodies and swooning smiles aside, the judges of the Sexiest Man contest were actually looking at each contestant's personality.

"We wanted the entire package of what is considered sexy," says ABC representative Mike Cohen. "Personality, charm, brains, ambition, confidence—we looked for myriad things above and beneath the surface."

ABC was flooded with thousands of submissions, which were picked through by a team of executive producers and programming staff. The team selected the 25 contestants, and now it is up to the public to vote for their favorites week by week.

Cohen says the network decided to host the contest because "we thought reality-based programming would be a great thing to try out for daytime," he says. "And it has been quite successful."

To weave in the real-life contest with All My Children, two characters that own a cosmetics company, Fusion, are hosting their own contest for the next face of their ad campaign. The top five finalists will appear on the show as finalists for Fusion's contest, with the winner announced during the taping of the show.

Since being selected, Heinrich has received numerous emails from former classmates. "It's weird. I've gotten a lot of email from people in my past. But it makes me feel good, especially that people remember me in a good way," he says.

The only element of his life that hasn't been affected, surprisingly, is his dating life. "It hasn't made any difference yet," he says. "I don't know how many girls my age watch All My Children. But it is a cool thing to use in conversation."

If Heinrich wins the All My Children contest, his future plans explain themselves. But if he doesn't, he would like to parlay that attention into his film career. "Acting is really fun. I used to think you have to work to make money to have fun. But with this, I can have fun and make money. And to portray a character that people connect with is just an awesome feeling. You can only connect so much through a photograph."

For more information about The Sexiest Man in America contest, visit http://amc.tcsinteractive.com/phase3/index.cfm. For more information on Timothy Heinrich, visit http://www.timothyheinrich.com.