Dreams of were wolves

Joe Manganiello

Sookie Stackhouse, played by actress Anna Paquin (left)

Joe Manganiello

Alcide Herveaux, the werewolf in True Blood

Twenty-five years ago, a little boy was so obsessed with wolves that he got down on his knees and prayed that he could turn into a werewolf.

Well, that didnt happen.

Now that Joe Manganiello is grown up, he finally gets his wish. Well almost.

The film and theatre actor plays werewolf Alcide Herveaux in the award winning HBO Original Series, True Blood. For the uninitiated, the series is based on The Southern Vampire Mysteries series of novels by Charlaine Harris, detailing the co-existence of vampires and humans in Bon Temps, a fictional, small town in the state of Louisiana.

The series revolves around the adventures of a telepathic waitress, Sookie Stackhouse, played by actress Anna Paquin.

Looking back, Manganiello, 34, marvels at how things have turned out perfectly for him, even though it has taken more than two decades.

Wolves have been my favouri! te anima l since I was a kid and, for the longest time, I wanted to be a werewolf. I went to a Catholic school and the nuns told me that if I prayed hard enough, whatever I asked for would come true. So I prayed. Maybe my wish didnt happen overnight but look at me now, I am playing a werewolf every day. I suppose the universe works at its own time, he said.

I remember one time when my acting teacher asked me to do a scene and told me to stop being wolfy. I have always been accused of being wolf-like... growling when I dont want to do something. Theres a line in Season 3 where I put my arm around Sookie and she told me how warm I was. And I said, oh yeah, its a werewolf thing... we run on hot.

Its like this even in real life. Besides being accused of feeling like a furnace in bed, I eat a lot of meat and I hate using a fork.

Manganiello was spilling his heart to the media in Hong Kong recently on a maiden visit to Asia.

The actor who played Flash Thompson in the Spider-Man film series, and had recurring roles in TV on ER, How I Met Your Mother and One Tree Hill, was there to promote Season 4 of True Blood (currently airing on Astro channel 411 every Thursday at 10pm).

In the series, he plays the reclusive werewolf from Mississippi, who has racked up some unfortunate debts to vampire Eric Northman (Alexander Skarsgard). Though he is doing his best to pay up through legitimate contracting work, he is, occasionally, required to perform favours for the Nordic vampire.

There is no denying that True Blood has dramatically turned his life upside down, but in the best possible way. Never mind his now super tight schedule he is thankful that the series has opened a lot of doors, including an opportunity to see the world.

Its incredible when people come up to me and say they watch me on the show. True Blood is popular everywhere. And it goes to show that its not just about being on an American series, but being on one that really speaks about being a human. Its bigger than just vam! pires an d werewolves.

The role has also led to many opportunities for him since. In the past year, Manganiello has acted in two feature films, playing alongside Hollywood A-listers like Cameron Diaz, Jennifer Lopez, Chris Rock and Matthew McConaughey.

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Initially, Manganiello joined True Blood, Season 3 for only a six-episode stint but, with his He-Man physique, he garnered such a big female fan base that producers at HBO decided to sign him on as a series regular!

Of Sicilian, Austrian, German and Armenian descent, he stands at 198cm tall, towering over everyone else in the exclusive room in Hong Kongs Mandarin Oriental hotel and looking ruggedly manly in a crisp black tailored suit.

As a werewolf, Manganiello has to flex his muscles and show off his perfect abs on camera, much to the glee of his female fans. And since he spends most of his screen time with his shirt off, he views workouts as a necessity.

This is why I work out so hard... twice a day, six days a week. And I am supervised by celebrity trainer Ron Matthews who has worked with Hugh Jackman for X-Men and Jennifer Garner for Alias. Hes the best, said Manganiello, who was captain of the basketball, football and volleyball teams in high school.

For the series, Manganiello also worked with real wolves. They are as big as I am! It was intimidating at first but it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Wolves are amazing and intimidating at the same time. Getting to spend time with them is great.

He identifies with Alcide in a lot of ways and he even puts a little bit of his personality into the character. Its the sensitivity and vulnerability trapped inside this giant monster (Alcide) that I identify with a lot.

He may have an athletic built, but Manganiellos artistic side was a subject of constant ridicule when he was! in scho ol. As a kid, I was a sensitive, artistic soul. Where I grew up (Pittsburgh), men were not allowed to be that way, especially if they were as big and athletic as I was. You were supposed to play football. So I played football.

But there was always that artistic, sensitive side of me struggling to get out. I think theres a lot of that in Alcide too. Hes a werewolf, a monster but he doesnt really identify with that side of him. He really does have a big heart and thats why theres something loveable about him.

Did he get into trouble growing up as a sensitive child?

Quite a bit, he said. Always picked on by older kids, he once reacted by hitting the kid back and ended up in the principals office.

I started crying and, looking back, I felt bad that I hurt the kid. At the same time, I was scared at how strong I could become. I mean thats completely Alcide, who is also scared of hurting people and scared of being hurt at the same time.

His engineer father didnt approve of him becoming an actor. He wanted Manganiello be successful in a real job.

It was very difficult. My dad really had a tough time with it. He saw me as having more than he had and he had wanted me to succeed in ways that he couldnt. But years later, my father, who had never shown any signs of being artistic, wrote a poem about werewolves which he gave to me after my first episode of True Blood was aired. So now I know he is proud of me.

On the other hand, his mother was very supportive. She would take him to art classes and the theatre.

She loved dressing me up for Halloween. She dressed me as a vampire once when I was 3. It seemed that I was ready to live with the monsters!

Manganiello said he is an obsessed fan of True Blood himself, even before he signed on to the show. Now, hes a big fan of Charlaine Harris and they have met several times.

You know, shes this sweet Southern woman who writes the dirtiest stuff. I cant believe it. Every time Im sitting with her, Id think, Oh my God, ! you wrot e that scene in the shower?.

In the book, theres a description of my character that goes: Sookie opens the door and looks up and up again and see these massive biceps that she can do pull-ups on and this barrel of chest that looked like he could be working on a construction site.

So I thought, Ill be just that, and mix it with that southern gentleman personality, which is missing on the show, he said.

Initially, Manganiello did not know how the rest of the cast would react to him. He had been on several TV shows where he sensed a bit of alpha-male situation taking place.

However, he finds none of that on the set of True Blood. The cast was completely welcoming. Anna was so friendly and I think a lot of them were excited to see who Alcide was going to be. People are excited to see these characters when they show up in real life. And now that I am on, Im excited to see who the new person is going to be. Its all very exciting, he said.

Naming Clint Eastwood and Harrison Ford as his favourite actors, Manganiello said he loves epic action films like Indiana Jones or Gladiator.

I love a genre that can be historically and educationally fun. I especially love stories about one man fighting the world. Being able to do something like that will be great!

So, will Alcide and Sookie ever hook up?

Thats the million dollar question. All I can say is that you are going to see a continuation. Hes definitely pretty crazy about her. But his love life gets much more complicated this season, he said.

In real life, Manganiello views himself as a loyal guy. When I am in a relationship, I only have my eyes for my partner.

Oh, and he is still very single.

-Joseph Michael ManganielloDate of birth: Dec 28, 1976Place of birth: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Among his awards and achievements are Scream Award 2011s Breakout Award (Male), Saturn Award 2011s Best Guest Starring Role in TV, named one of People magazines sexiest men alive last year, ranked No. 1 on Mens H! ealth ma gazines Best Summer Bodies of 2011, named one of the Worlds 25 Fittest Guys by Mens Fitness magazine, winner of US Weeklys 2011 Sharp Dressed Man award and 2011s Hottest Supernatural Being (Male) by Entertainment Weekly.