Joe Manganiello interview

“I have those shoes,” Joe Manganiello remarks and gestures to the pair of high-top sneakers I have on. “Supras, right?” After gushing over just how comfortable Supra high-tops are, we started the interview.

            True Blood was first up and Joe was asked about that one time when he was on MTV News, supposedly in the process of writing an Alcide Herveaux spin-off.  

            “It [the news] was really blown out of proportion, I think. Everyone was like, "He has a script and he’s developing that!” and I’m not.“

         He did, however, have a story-arc developed for Alcide for the IDW True Blood comic books, which were unfortunately discontinued after a three-year run. He’s not giving up though as he tells me that ultimately, somewhere down the line, he will find a way to revisit the character.

         To his amusement, I pointed out two recurring themes in the characters he has portrayed: getting shot in the head and not wanting to have any babies.

         Alcide exited True Blood by getting shot in the head by someone waiting in the bushes while in Sabotage, his character Grinder was taken out by two bullets to the head. On True Blood, Alcide didn’t want any kids with his ex, Debbie Pelt, for fear of passing on the Were genes whereas, on One Tree Hill, Owen Morello ran off when Brooke decided that she wanted to adopt a child.

         "I don’t know what’s up with that,” Joe assures with a laugh that playing characters with similar themes was not a conscious decision.

         While still on the topic of characters, I ask him if he would be interested in auditioning for the parts of Shadow in Neil Gaiman’s American Gods TV adaptation and Joel in the movie adaptation of The Last of Us video game (Spider-Man director Sam Raimi is said to be producing).  Joe had been photographed holding onto a copy of American Gods, prompting fans to wonder if he was preparing for an audition as the lead character, Shadow. He admits that he thought it would be a logical role to take after True Blood but HBO had decided to pass on the project.