Joe Manganiello: True Blood's big loved wolf

HONG KONG — Who’s afraid of the wolf? It will be hard to cower in fear if the werewolf happens to be Alcide Herveaux of True Blood. He might be eternally wrestling with the “monster” in him, but Alcide has managed to endear himself to the hardcore fans of the hit HBO urban fantasy series since his introduction in season three, many thanks to the actor fleshing out the character, Joe Manganiello.

For the uninitiated, the crux of the story of True Blood, created and produced by Alan Ball, is the co-existence of vampires and humans in Bon Temps, a fictional, small town in Louisiana. There’s Sookie Stackhouse (played by actress Anna Paquin), a telepathic waitress who falls in love with vampire Bill Compton (Stephen Moyer) and who also shares some romantic tension with fanged hunk Eric Northman (Alexander Skarsgard). The weres, short for werewolves, came into the picture in season three, with Alcide, a reclusive werewolf who performs favors for Eric, making an impact as another love interest of Sookie.

Alcide was already a favorite among fans of the Southern Vampire Mysteries novels of Charlaine Harris, which the deliciously dark TV series is based on. And it helped that Alcide and Joe are a match made in TV heaven.

Joe was flown in from Hollywood by HBO Asia to promote the season four of the series, which premiered last Nov. 3. According to HBO Asia executive Karen Lai, it was the actor’s first time in Asia and that he was such a trooper, devoid of the so-called celebrity airs and was very accommodating, even with requests for picture-taking. He also checked out some tourist spots, including the Giant Buddha at Lantau Island.

Alcide shows off his ripped bod in a scene with Sookie Stackhouse (Anna Paquin) from the show’s latest season

On Joe’s first day last Nov. 1 were roundtable interviews and a presscon at the Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong with the regional media, including The STAR. He talked about his breakout role, how he snagged the part and how he waited for over a decade for a break like this.

“Being Alcide changed my life a lot,” Joe began. “True Blood was my favorite show to watch for its first two seasons. To be added to my favorite show on the third season when it was already a big hit was a bit scary. I didn’t want to screw up my favorite show. But since then I’ve been completely overwhelmed with the response to my character after season three. I could never have prepared how much people would love my character.” 

Joe, himself, is fascinated with Alcide. “The struggle for the werewolf is that inside, there’s this beast, this destructive power, but that side of him is also connected to a great power. Sookie is a catalyst, who forces him to get him into trouble. There’s a hero that emerges when he does that, but there’s also that monster. And that’s very scary for him. It’s a fascinating character for a man to play — a character like that is a homerun.”

He added, “I love my character so much. I wanted people to feel about Alcide how they feel about their pet, a big snuggly dog. You wanna hug them, but you know they will attack someone to defend you.”

Asked why Sookie should go for a wolf rather than a vampire, he said, “Breakfast is my favorite meal. I can take Sookie to brunch, to the beach. Werewolves are all heart; they act now and think later. I think that’s a very endearing trait.”

Joe said that he has the fans of the book series to thank for landing the role. “There were actually fans of the novels who went on the Internet and they kind of (pretend) the cast of the show. Fans of the show I did called One Tree Hill, who also read the novels, were saying that when this (Alcide) werewolf shows up in season three, I should play him, even putting up pictures of me. A friend of mine showed me that website, so I bought the book and the character was described as looking very much like me… that when Sookie opens the door, she would look up, then look up again because the character was this giant werewolf. So, I told my handler, you have to get me an audition if this character comes up. But the first werewolf to show up was Cooter and I auditioned for that first. But what I heard later was that after I left the room, Alan (Ball) told everyone, that’s Alcide. They gave me the part that day.”

It was also easy for Joe to draw parallels between his reel self and real-life persona. The 34-year-old actor, who towers at 6’5”, added, “His being sensitive and vulnerable, and the struggle of being that way internally, when you’re in such a big body is something that I identify with a lot. Where I grew up in Pennsylvania in Pittsburgh is such a big football town, a lot of famous football players come from there, and when you’re my size, you’re supposed to play football and that’s it.”

Left: Oliver Pulumbarit of PDI, this writer, Walden Belen of Manila Bulletin with Dessa Virtusio and Joy Bordador (second from left and far right, respectively) of Virtusio Public Relations at the HBO-hosted Cable & Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia (CASBAA) party. Inset: That’s me with Joe.

He has, however, been always aware that there exists a sensitive side in him, owing to his artistic leanings. “And that was not okay. You’re not allowed to be that way,” he said. “That struggle of being born into such a big physical body and also being sensitive and artistic, there’s a lot of that in Alcide. And that adds to my catharsis in playing him. I get to get a lot of that out.”

And he’s definitely one warm-blooded being. Joe said, “There’s a scene in season three wherein I put my arm around Sookie, and she says, ‘Oh wow, you’re just so warm.’ And I say, ‘It’s a were thing, we run hot.’ And I’ve definitely been accused of being very hot at night, my body is like a furnace at nighttime… and I eat a lot of meat. I also found out that whenever I am asked to do something I don’t want to do, like watching in the middle of a football game on TV, then my girlfriend asks me to clean up the dishes, I go (makes a growling sound).”

Of course, the crazed attention he’s getting is also courtesy of his ripped bod, and much of his scenes get him to flaunt it in all its glory, especially as he transforms into a wolf. Joe, nevertheless, admitted that there are scenes that still make him nervous, including one coming up in season four, wherein he and Eric will have a showdown — naked. “It’s really the sexiest show that I’ve ever made.”

But you can’t accuse him of taking on scenes like that unprepared. And it spelled a lot of hard work. “Alcide was described in the book as having these massive arms, which Sookie can make pull-ups on. So I wanted to make Alcide look like an animal. I worked with celebrity trainer Ron Matthews, who prepared Hugh Jackman for Wolverine. I figured he could do it for me. I was actually heavier before, so what he did was more of sculpting, and with Ron, his goal was to make me more compact and animalistic, really carving the muscle and keeping me flexible. Because the character is not a body-builder, he’s gotta move like an animal.”

Interestingly, being cast as a werewolf is somewhat of a lifelong dream. “I love vampires and werewolves as a kid. I wanted to believe in them as a kid (laughs). I think I was very upset when I found out that they didn’t exist,” he revealed. “You know as a little kid, I’d go to church every morning (since) I went to a Catholic school, and I heard the nuns would say that if you pray to God with all of your heart, he’ll answer you. So, I went to church every morning at 6 and prayed to God that he’ll turn me into a werewolf. For real! And it didn’t happen. So, I didn’t think there was a God because no one was listening to me. Then 25 years later, I’m a ‘werewolf.’ One of the first things I did after I got the part, I went to church.”

His acting journey almost didn’t take off, though. With his build, athletics seemed like the most natural direction. And he did try — he was, after all, team captain of all sorts of sports from basketball to football in high school. Then a series of injuries happened. “It was as if the universe was keeping me from pursuing athletics. During that time, my HS had a TV studio. Me and my friends were obsessed with mafia and martial arts movies. So I would borrow the cameras on weekends, and I would write these scripts and parts for my friends. We would put all these scenes together and put soundtracks. And I realized that I really love it. I would wake up at 6 a.m. to film all day.”

Joe continued, “I had my first acting class in high school senior year. My teacher saw something in me before I even saw it. She kept on pushing me to try out for plays, I thought she was crazy, but I did it anyway. As a result of that, I won a scholarship to study classical acting at an amazing drama school (Carnegie Mellon School of Drama).”

Joe, who is of Italian lineage, is the first in the family to be in the arts. While his mother was very influential in nurturing the creative side of him — she brought him to theater productions as a kid and sat front-row to his every play — being an actor didn’t sit well initially with his father.

“My dad was an engineer, a no-nonsense, real tough, Clint Eastwood-kind-of-guy. So to think that his giant athletic son wanted to be actor, he was not happy. But he’s happy now. As a gift, when my first True Blood episode aired, my dad actually wrote me a poem about werewolves that he had framed and gave it to me. It was the first artistic thing that my dad ever did. That gesture made me cry.”

Joe added with a laugh, “But he wouldn’t talk about the nudity at all. He’s in denial.”

Since he joined True Blood, every door of opportunity has been thrown wide open, including one that allows him to give back. He has since backed an anti-bullying campaign and organized a fundraiser for the children’s hospital of his hometown. The hiatus after season three also saw him doing two movies, Steven Soderbergh’s Magic Mike and Kirk Jones’ What to Expect When You’re Expecting.

He nearly got cast as the enviable Superman in the forthcoming Jack Snyder film, and being a huge comics fan, it could have been another dream come true for him. Joe had to give it up though because the shooting schedule was in conflict with that of the season five of True Blood, for which he signed a six-year contract.

“It was disappointing but once again, it’s because of True Blood that all these doors were opened. After what I’ve heard of what’s going to happen on season five, I’m very happy. It’s gonna be amazing,” he said. 

It’s been a crazy ride, indeed, and Joe will be the last to complain. “It’s like being a surfer on a big wave. You get up on a board, and you go where the wave takes you. I’ve been dreaming of this for the last 15 years now, and the fact that it’s here, it’s so exciting. I’m very grateful.”