As the HBO vampire drama comes to an end, the actor prepares for the next phase of his career — one he’s been building toward for more than a decade.
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Joe Manganiello has made a career out of being ogled. Audiences have stared at his abs on True Blood since 2010, swooned over his biceps in What To Expect When You're Expecting, and drooled over Big Dick Richie's shadowy silhouette in Magic Mike.
But the 37-year-old trained actor doesn't mind. Because to him, it all comes down to an appreciation of his most prized asset: his discipline. "The fitness side of my career is truly an extension of my work ethic," Manganiello told BuzzFeed inside his publicist's sun-soaked office in L.A. "There are few things in life you truly have control over and, as an actor, there's even less in your control. But the one thing I do have in my control is how hard I work. So when someone looks at me, they can see I'm the kind of person who puts in the effort because of how I look... I didn't start working out for True Blood to get a book deal or have a fitness website and become the 'in shape' guy," all of which he has achieved. "I just wanted to do the most I could with that opportunity — and everything that's happened has been a result of that."
Unlike countless other celebrities who have gone to great lengths to distance themselves from the skin-baring roles that placed them on the path to stardom, Manganiello happily embraces every flesh-baring frame. "I spent 10 years acting in things that only my mom was watching. Then I did this one fun, crazy, provocative show and I was on the map," he said of True Blood. "All of a sudden I started getting calls for all the shirtless roles. So it was like, OK, let's do more of those!"
Manganiello landed the part of Alcide Herveaux, True Blood's werewolf love interest for Sookie Stackhouse (Anna Paquin), in December 2009 for the show's third season and immediately went to work on getting ready for the constant nudity that the HBO gothic soap had become famous for.
"I had a conversation with Ron Mathews, my trainer, early on where he told me to make a decision: Did I want to be in 100% shape every time I took my shirt off or not? I had to decide because otherwise, there would be photos of me at all various types of body definition," he recalled. "So I decided to shoot for the moon."
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