Joe Manganiello, who plays the sexy werewolf Alcide Herveaux on True Blood cannot be missed–literally. The actor stands at 6’5 and ever since his first appearance on the show last year, he’s made the fans go wild with his looks and his charm. But what about Joe the person? What music does he listen to while working out? What gym habits annoy him and what is it really like to be an actor on one of the hottest TV series on today? GQ UK recently chatted with Manganiello while he was in London about these questions and more.
According to the interviewer, the top search for Joe on Google is, “True Blood Joe” due to Manganiello being a hard name to spell. He admits that when he first got out of drama school, his manager asked him to change it because people were having trouble spelling it. But Manganiello refused saying that they would have to learn. It was a good thing too because his dad later told him that if he had, he wouldn’t have been allowed home!
Playing a tall, good looking werewolf has helped with the spelling issues being on a well known show like True Blood. And yes it is as fun to act on it as it is to watch:
“Yeah, it’s a lot of fun. It’s a bit like being a kid on Halloween every day. I get to play the werewolf and there’s all these vampires, witches, fairies, were-panthers, ghosts and goblins. It’s a ton of fun and aside from that it’s also very fulfilling in an adult way in that the dialog is so rich and so good. Hell, I have a giant wolf that I get to hang out with…”
But it’s not all fun and games! Alcide was originally described as “physically imposing” in the Charlaine Harris book series upon which the show is based. Joe tries to stick to that but it takes lots of work to stay that way including doing pull ups which he loathes. So what music gets him through the workout?
“I have a couple of friends that are really big, world-renowned DJs. There’s a drum and bass DJ named Dieselboy who I know from Pittsburgh, where I’m from. He DJ’d out of there for a while and we went to college together. I listen to some of his mixes. There’s another DJ named Z-Trip and he is credited with inventing the mash-up: he’d take a rock song and seamlessly mash it with a hip-hop song. I listen to their stuff a lot when I’m working out. I kind of put together my own mixes too. I used to DJ a bit in college…”
Since he has to spend lots of time at the gym, what is the habit people do that annoys him most?
“People talking on cellphones. People that decide to go sit on a piece of equipment and camp out. Or people that don’t put their weights back on the rack – that makes me go crazy.”
Speaking of crazy, what about those True Blood fansites? Especially the ones dedicated to him. Joe says it’s creepy and flattering all at the same time. He even checks one occasionally to see what he’s been up to.But how does Joe feel about the fans? He describes True Blood fans as passionate in general and kinky which is good because the show to him is the kinkiest one on TV. But says he can divide them into two camps; those who are obsessed with the show and those who have never seen it. So how did it feel going to Comic Con for the first time and being surrounded by passionate fans?
“We spoke last year in front of 5,000 people and I think they turned down about 5,000 more. So just that level, and fans staying out overnight to try and get into our panel – it’s incredible. We shoot the show and especially going into season three I didn’t know how my character was going to be received. To get out there and have fans screaming… it’s the closest I will ever be to being a Beatle.”
You’re a rock star to us Joe! To read more about Joe Manganiello and his hair removal routine, click here to read the entire interview.
Source: GQ-Magazine.co.uk- “GQ&A: Joe Manganiello”
Image Credit: HBO, Inc.
