Here’s Joe Manganiello at an event in Florida over the weekend. I first saw these photos over at Buzzfeed, where they ask if it’s too “beardy.” Unlike Kaiser, beards don’t really do it for me, although I live in the same area as she does and there are tons of guys with beards in this neck of the woods, with some of them of course being hot regardless. I’m always wondering what’s under the beard, like I don’t find a beard attractive for its own sake. I like goatees and cultivated scruff, not full beards and especially not really overgrown beards. I know they’re rising in popularity, but to me they just make a guy look depressed. An unkempt beard gives the impression that a guy can’t be bothered or lives so far away from civilization he doesn’t need to adhere to its standards.

Joe personally has never done it for me. His acting on True Blood is lousy and his personality leaves a lot to be desired, but some of you find him hot and I respect that. He’s certainly got a smoking body. For those of you who have the hots for Joe – is is still doing it for you here? Like even with the messy beard and the greasy-looking hair? I don’t mean to sound conceited, but if he wasn’t famous I wouldn’t give him a second look. He just looks like a tired dude who needs to go to the barber.

That said, he kind of looks like Keanu Reeves here right? Except Keanu has it way over Joe, in every way I can imagine. Even acting. Woah.

In June with a shorter beard and fluffier hair. Still not doing it for me.

Photo credit: Jlnphotography/WENN.com

A year and a half ago, there were lots of rumors floating around about the Zack Snyder reboot of Superman, Man of Steel. Lists were made, candidates were discussed and dissected by fanboys and fangirls alike. The list seemed to come down to Henry Cavill, Jon Hamm (??), Matt Bomer and Joe Manganiello. Lots of people thought Big Joe had it in the bag – that the modern Superman was going to be a hairy, caveman-esque beefcake, grunting his lines. Considering Superman is pretty dull on a good day, I was fine with the idea of Joe in the role. Unfortunately for him, the role ended up going to Henry Cavill.

I never really heard that much from Joe about losing the role to Cavill… until now. Joe sat down for an interview with Ain’t It Cool News – the piece was supposed to be promoting Magic Mike, but they ended up discussing Superman and comic book movies for a while. You can read the whole piece here. While I understand what Joe is saying IN CONTEXT and I like that he’s being so honest about how much he wanted the part, I also think he’s being incredibly rude about Cavill’s casting, making it sound like Cavill only got the part because he (Joe) had a commitment to True Blood. That’s not all, though. Joe also really wants to play Batman. For real.

Joe on auditioning for the Superman reboot, Man of Steel: “Well, I mean, the thing about Superman was it… I mean, I know the right one is out there for me… there wasn’t anything I could do with Superman. There was interest from every single possible angle on that project, and the reason they were interested was because of TRUE BLOOD. From the director, to casting, to the producers involved, it was all because of TRUE BLOOD, that was why I was in the running. And at the end of the day, it was TRUE BLOOD’s schedule that kept me from doing it. There’s just no human way possible I could be in two places at once when I’m contracted to be on TRUE BLOOD. So it’s the thing that brought me… got me the notice is also the thing that… But with that said, you know, it’s not really a bridesmaids situation, because I play a superhero on TV.”

Joe on the hopes of being called in to audition for an eventual Batman reboot: “From your mouth to God’s ears, man. I mean of course, I grew up, as a kid, I read comic books, and I watched every single comic book movie that ever… You know, I was a big sci-fi fan, I was just that kid. I’m a fanboy at heart. So, yeah, that is on my radar, and I think in the back of my mind, even going getting classical theatre training to the way that I work out at the gym, all of it in the back of my mind has been to build this thing, this career in order to play… To play a superhero the way I would have liked to see it as a kid. And I think that was the really disappointing thing about the Superman situation was that I think that I know comic books really well, and I had a really fresh take on the character and I really think I… I was excited to share a take on where to take him and give him a little more edge.

Joe on Marvel versus DC characters: “The Marvel characters are really human, and I think that they get hurt, and they fall in love and there’s a whole side of that, to those Marvel characters, that I grew up with, to those X-Men characters. I think that’s what resonates. I was interested in taking that approach… There’s a series of comics called Supreme Power where they deconstruct the DC characters and I was looking at those thinking, “That’s the take.” There’s this baby that falls to Earth in a meteor, and why fight for America? Why fight for anything? Why choose them, and not them? How do you save this person’s life knowing that one dies if you save them? How do you make those choices? Feeling alone, being an alien. You know, there’s a whole side of that that I was interested in the human aspect of this alien living on the planet. That’s what really hooked me about the character and, you know, I had a long talk with Zack Snyder about it, and I was really excited. I got really excited about it. But at the end of the day, that wasn’t mine… That just wasn’t meant to be. You know Alcide is where my energy is right now as far as superheroes go. That’s where my energy is being channeled, and past that, I know there will be a superhero for me, I’m just not sure what it is. We’ll figure that out when it comes out… But Batman? Come on, man. Yeah. Okay. We’ll cross that bridge if and when it comes up.”

[Via Ain’t It Cool News]

See? I’m going back and forth on it in my mind. I think he’s showing some vulnerability (however unintentional) by discussing how emotionally involved he was when he thought he was going to get to play Superman, and how that casting choice is still a sore subject. And maybe his version is the truth – maybe Snyder really, really wanted him and they just couldn’t work out the schedule with True Blood. But even if all of that is true, it’s still a bitchy thing to say in an interview, and Joe has just publicly undercut Henry Cavill and now everyone thinks Cavill was the second choice. As for Batman… ugh. I really hope they don’t reboot that, like, next year. I like Batman as a character, but there should be a “rest” period between franchises. CoughSpidermancough.

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet and WENN.

Here are a few photos of Magic Mike actor Alex Pettyfer during his visit to “Jimmy Kimmel Live” to promote the male stripper film that comes out this weekend. Throughout this press tour, Alex has been a very good boy (with a sexy accent), and Kaiser has noted that Alex is playing it pretty safe as opposed to the douchetastic things he usually says during interviews for his other movies. This time around, however, is all about impressing the public (after a few box-office disasters, namely I Am Number Four and Beastly) and staying in good graces with director Steven Soderbergh. So for now, we shall attempt to forget that Alex has a “Thank You” tattoo above his crotch and just focus on the words … maybe. Well now Alex is telling us that he wants to be objectified. Should we humor him, or is our collective lust genuine?

Oh, Magic Mike — we just can’t seem to get enough info about this surprisingly complex comedy about male strippers.

The R-rated film is loosely based on star Channing Tatum’s real-life stripper past, was directed by Oscar-winner Steven Soderbergh and features a very attractive ensemble cast including “True Blood” werewolf Joe Manganiello, “White Collar” star Matt Bomer, Alex Pettyfer and leading lady Cody Horn.

When MTV News caught up with the cast recently, we asked them to address the subject of male objectification and whether the guys felt any discomfort in playing sex objects or from all the screams and cat calls from the female extras in the audience for their stripping scenes.

“There’s no such thing as male objectification, and I think that’s what we’re exposing with this movie,” Manganiello said. “It doesn’t exist. We really don’t care. I think for the most part, it’s just about having fun. It’s like, ‘Leave all that outside.’ ” “It’s an interesting story to be a part of with an amazing director and a great cast that I’ve wanted to work with for a long time,” Bomer added. “However that’s going to be marketed and perceived is sort of out of our hands. We just had a great time telling the story.”

“I want to be objectified, but I don’t feel it,” Pettyfer said.

Somehow, in the midst of all that unabashed admiration for their stripping, the guys just can’t come to terms with any of that enthusiasm being negative, and we are almost inclined to agree. Relative newcomer Cody Horn, who plays Tatum’s love interest and Pettyfer’s sister in the film, offered an insightful perspective on the subject.

“They are objectified as a whole, as a group, but it was fun. It was fun as a girl to be a part of something that objectifies men,” Horn said. “Because whether they know it or not, maybe that’s just a testament to that they have no idea what it feels like. … I think they had such fun doing it that it doesn’t feel the same as when a woman is objectified.”

“I don’t think anyone gets tired of screaming girls,” Pettyfer pointed out.

“It’s high time that those tables be turned!” Bomer said.

[From MTV News]

Yes, it’s all well and good that Pettyfer wants everyone to drool over him during his inaugural stage performance — stripping to “Like a Virgin” — but I think many of us are prone to be distracted to Matt Bomer’s presence within that interview. Yes, let’s turn those tables, Bomer. Now bend over.

In the meantime, Collider has a fetching video compilation of of 12 new Magic Mike clips that just might satisfy curiosity until the movie comes out in two days. Do I sound like a PR agent for this movie? Sorry. My excitement cannot be helped. If anyone is in need of a cold shower, however, Joe Manganiello is happy to supply the goods:

The “True Blood” cast and crew are used to Joe Manganiello strutting around without much clothing on.

Even so, they weren’t about to let his role as Big D*ck Richie in Magic Mike go unnoticed.

In fact, Anna Paquin, Stephen Moyer and Alexander Skarsgård got in on some of the stripping fun…

“They knew what I did on my hiatus so as soon as I showed up back on set, they were all pointing and doing the body rolling,” Manganiello, 35, tells me. “There was a week on set where Steven, Anna and Alex and I were working together and we were humping chairs, humping the trashcans. We were humping everything in sight on set. It become a huge joke to the point that I was skipping onto the set and saying, ‘Did somebody order a werewolf?’”

We could only imagine what they’ll do once they see the scene in which Manganiello is shown, um, fluffing himself with a plastic p-nis pump.

“It’s like a medieval torture device,” he said. “I tell everyone that we were such a low-budget film we couldn’t afford fluffers so they were like, ‘Here ya go.’”

Manganiello imagines the day he dies and he’s included in the Oscars’ in memoriam package. “I want the frosted clouds around the edge of the screen and then you just see me pumping,” Manganiello cracked.

Even with all the big-screen nakedness, Manganiello also said, “Honestly, between that and what I do this season on True Blood, I don’t know what’s worse.”

Oh?

“If I wasn’t on Cinemax’s radar yet, I should be now,” he laughed. “I’ll have a very impressive soft-core porn reel by the end of the summer.”

[From E! Online]

Yuck. I’m usually all about the physical hotness of Joe Manganiello (and the return of “The Man”), but I have to admit that the thought of him humping a trash can really kills the latent desire. Were these used trash cans or brand new ones? My OCD demands an answer. No matter what, this interview just qualified Manganiello as a candidate for the Douche Club.

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet

These are some new photos of Joe Manganiello at the LA Film Festival premiere of Magic Mike last night. His suit is incredibly shiny. And it looks… tight. He’s a really big guy, so I’m thinking that he has some tailoring issues. Either that, or he just loves a slim-cut suit. Anyway, last week, random tabloid sources claimed that Joe was “helping Demi Moore get her groove back”. I said at the time that it sounded like Demi’s horribly ineffective publicity team was attempting to make her sound sexy and desirable to yet another younger man. And of course Joe had to come out and deny it:

Joe Manganiello is single . . . and happily so! The Magic Mike stud, 35, was first linked to Demi Moore, 49, in early June after witnesses spotted them chatting and during the That’s My Boy after party in L.A. But in an interview on Ryan Seacrest’s KIIS-FM radio show Thursday, Manganiello assured women everywhere that “there is 100 percent zero truth” to relationship rumors.

(Moore split with Ashton Kutcher, 34, in November 2011 after six years of marriage; he had been unfaithful to her on numerous occasions, most notably with party girl Sara Leal on their sixth wedding anniversary.)

At the Samsung Galaxy S III launch in Beverly Hills later that night, Manganiello admitted to Us Weekly that he typically doesn’t “care to talk about his personal life, unless it is to shoot down rumors that I’m dating someone — like what showed up on the internet this week.”

Though he was hesitant to say much more about his personal life, Manganiello — whose engagement to model Audra Marie ended in 2011 — was delighted to talk about his role as an exotic dancer in Magic Mike.

“You have no idea what you are in for! You are going to be speechless,” he promised. “It’s really to an honor to be a part of the movie, and when I found out Steven Soderbergh was directing, I was all in.”

To prep for his role as Big Dick Richie, Manganiello consulted “a really good friend who was a male stripper in Dallas in the ’90s” and enrolled in “stripper boot camp” with costars Channing Tatum, Alex Pettyfer, Matt Bomer and Matthew McConaughey.

“It consisted of doing body and hip rolls in the mirror for hours on end,” he laughed to Us. “Funny, but I’m serious.”

[From Us Weekly]

But! It seems like Joe might not be completely single – he’s just NOT dating Demi Moore. People Magazine notes that Joe was seen with a “tall, leggy blonde” last Thursday and that he and the blonde were “canoodling and definitely getting cozy.”

Page Six also has a little piece about Joe this morning – they discuss, in somewhat graphic terms, Joe’s role in Magic Mike and how BIG certain things are. You can read that piece here.

Photos courtesy of WENN, Fame/Flynet.

I pretty much think Joe Manganiello is a dumb beefcake. And I pretty much think Demi Moore is just dumb. So would a possible pairing of these brain-cell-impaired people bring me joy? Not so much. British tabloids are claiming that Demi and Big Joe are possibly in the middle of something. Allegedly, Demi and Big Joe met a few weeks ago, and… that’s basically it. They met at a party. They talked for a while. Demi flirted and invited Joe back to her home to enjoy some Whip-Its. And the rest is history…

She’s had a very difficult year after splitting from Ashton Kutcher and being admitted to rehab for ‘eating disorder and addiction issues’. But now Demi Moore is getting her life back on track, and has apparently hit it off with a new man – True Blood star Joe Manganiello.

According to reports, Demi, 49, and Joe, 35, were spotted enjoying each others company at the after-party following the premiere of the actor’s new movie That’s My Boy at Los Angeles’ Napa Valley Grille earlier this month.

A source told heat magazine: ‘They looked amazing together. Demi was getting a lot more attention than a lot of the younger girls in the room, and Joe was seen waiting for her before they went off and hung out together at the party. They had amazing chemistry.’

The pair first met when they both signed up to appear in the movie Magic Mike, in which Joe stars as stripper Big Dick Richie. And despite Demi pulling out of the film following her breakdown, the pair have reportedly kept in touch.

The source added: ‘Demi has finally got her groove back – and it’s all thanks to meeting Joe. She’s feeling confident again and, more importantly, sexy.’

However, it remains to be seen what Demi’s ex Ashton Kutcher makes of her new relationship, as he actually starred alongside Joe in an episode of sitcom Two And A Half Men last year.

Meanwhile, it has also been claimed that Demi has gained nearly a stone after sticking to a new healthy eating regime. The actress had sparked concern with her worryingly thin frame when she dropped to less than seven stone ahead of being admitted to rehab. But now Demi, who was spotted at her daughter Tallulah’s graduation on June 7th, is looking much healthier after adopting a new eating plan.

An insider told heat: ‘Back then Demi was basically living on Red Bull but now she’s eating balanced meals that include protein, complex carbs and organic vegetables. She’s also been swimming and doing yoga every day and has gained just over a stone.’

[From The Mail]

“She’s feeling confident again and, more importantly, sexy.” UH. Why is the idea of Demi “feeling sexy” the most important thing? Demi had to go to rehab and her recovery is still fragile, but YES. The most important thing is that Demi feels sexy.

So… is there any truth to this report? Eh. It feels like a plant from Team Demi, and I say that because Team Demi is where PR goes to die. They don’t know what to do with her, so they’re just throwing her (fictitiously) at random, young beefcake. The fact that she goes for consistently younger men is only a symptom of a larger problem I have with Demi. That larger problem? Demi thinks that if she acts 22 years old, dates young dudes, and goes under the knife in a vain attempt to look 22 years old, that somehow she’ll be 22 and it just doesn’t work that way.

Photos courtesy of WENN, EW.

I’ve been disappointed that our last few stories about Magic Mike haven’t seen much of a response, but I’m hoping that it’s only because perhaps ladies are tired of Matthew McConaughey even though he doesn’t need a stunt butt to fill out his assless chaps. After all, the film’s trailer went over fairly well. Also, this story is about Joe Manganiello, who was quite popular last time we covered him for a discussion of his wolfie butt cheeks, and I nearly swooned when he appeared in fireman gear and carried Elizabeth Banks offstage at the MTV Movie Awards last week. So bring it this time, ladies.

Now on with the show. Manganiello covers the July issue of Men’s Health UK to promote his role as stripper “Big D*ck Richie” in Magic Mike. Naturally, there are several pictures in the magazine that show Joe sweating and grunting through various workout moves. I’m not complaining at all about these photos. Here are some interview excerpts:

On the return of men with real muscle: “[It's] a recent trend. I got to LA in 2000, when we were coming off the ’90s: women looked like men and the men all looked like women. I was constantly being told, “You’re too healthy.’ So there were four years where I essentially didn’t work as an actor. I left the business and worked in construction for a masonry company: getting up at 6am, shovelling sand and mixing cement till 4pm in the back of a truck with four guys. And I got ‘hillbilly’ strong. I was staying at my friend Armie Hammer’s house and his mother wouldn’t stop feeding me. We just ate and ate and went to the gym to lift these massive weights. Every time we went to the gym it seemed like I had gained 5lb. I just said ‘to hell with it’ and I got huge.”

On how things have changed: “In a couple of years I’ve gone from not working to a point where people are writing roles for bigger guys. I think we’re seeing a return to ‘the Man.’ People come up to me and say they miss having those silent tough guys such as Clint Eastwood and Steve McQueen. You’ve still got to be able to act and emote but you also have to fit the role physically, and that physique is now lean and muscular. Think about ancient Greece: equal part athletics, equal part philosophy. I think we’re getting there: the best of both worlds.”

On Magic Mike: “The tone is very similar to Boogie Nights, so it’s like a fraternity of scumbags who are having fun. We all knew that something special was happening when we made this film, it was so hysterical. We were rolling around on the ground laughing trying to crack each other up, man-handling groups of 200 female extras every day. There are guys who are going to divorce their wives after they see what they did as extrs in this movie.”

Was there competition from his co-stars to look good: “Not really — it was more the fact that we all had to be shirtless pretty much every day for two weeks, which gets to be tricky. When you’re shirtless one or two days a week — which is how it works with ‘True Blood’ — you can ramp up and ranp down the intensity of training. when you’re shirtless every day, there’s no let up. We basically spent every day working out for two weeks in a row. But it was worth it. It was the most fun I’ve ever had in my life. One hundred per cent.”

[From Men's Health UK]

So one gets the impression that there are no spray-on abs to be found in this movie, right? I sure hope not. At the very least, I am certain that none of the primary cast members — including Manganiello, Channing Tatum, Matthew McConaughey, and (ick) Alex Pettyfer — have resorted to ab implants like a certain other movie star. As far as this interview goes, Manganiello seems to be humble as hell and very grateful to be successful in Hollywood, and he also seems like he’d be a lot of fun, if you know what I mean.

And yes, he’s very correct about the return of ‘the Man.” Thank goodness.

Photos courtesy of Men’s Health UK

At last night’s MTV Movie Awards, Emma Stone won the inaugural Trailblazer Award, which I think is the equivalent of a “Face of the Future” declaration but in edgier MTV terms. She gave a tearful acceptance speech (which MTV hasn’t put online yet) after a glaringly unfunny tribute video featuring Jim Carrey, Anna Faris, and Mila Kunis failed to explain exactly how awesome Emma really is. Because you know, she is pretty damn awesome.

Emma’s dress was a bit fancy for MTV standards, but she pulled it off well. She wore a black-and-white Martin Grant dress (with matching Brian Atwood pumps) that paired an architectural (for lack of a better word) top and a surprisingly cute white bubble skirt. Who else could have pulled off that skirt without looking like she had a huge butt? Even as a blonde, Emma is the picture of poise and offbeat classic beauty. I love the slightly messy updo, which shows off her gorgeous face and the lone bit of color on her lips really pops.

Elizabeth Banks won the Golden Popcorn award for Best Transformation as Effie Trinket in The Hunger Games, and she clearly had a great time during her acceptance speech onstage with the Magic Mike guys — Channing Tatum, Matthew McConaughey, and Joe “Big D*ck Richie” Manganiello. In an amusing move, Joe even picked up Elizabeth and carried her offstage.

As for Elizabeth’s outfit, this black Elie Saab was daring in its side-revealing lace panels but also really fug and too severe for the occasion. The Croydon facelift-type bun didn’t help matters either, and Elizabeth’s makeup was too eye-liner heavy and otherwise meh. She usually does so well on the red carpet with a great fashion sense, but I wasn’t a fan of this look at all.

Julianne Hough wore a short, black Sally LaPointe dress on the red carpet, and at least she had the body for the dress even if I wasn’t wild about the look in general. Peplum rarely works, especially in such a kicky outfit such as this one. Perhaps because of its belly baring nature, this dress reminded me of Gwyneth Paltrow’s fug Pucci dress from last year’s Emmys. Julianne’s hair was even flat ironed in the trademark Goop manner as well. Does Julianne secretly want to be Goop? At least her understated makeup seemed appropriate for the occasion.

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet and WENN

I’m excited for the new season of “True Blood,” but honestly not as excited as I was last year. I think that things just got so complicated this last season that I don’t even remember a quarter of what happened. Hopefully they’ll do a decent recap ahead of each episode. (As an aside, kudos to “Game of Thrones” producers for making the recaps very clear and obvious so the plot is easier to follow. I was starting to get lost this season and they pulled me back in with easy to follow recaps.)

Spoilers for True Blood’s upcoming season
TB comes back on June 10th, and from advance details we’ve seen from trailers Russell Edgington is back! They should have shown that evil bastard the true death. I guess Erik and Bill join forces, and a new evil Vampire comes in with Christopher Meloni’s character. This should get interesting.

At the premiere last night, pregnant Anna Paquin wore Rachel Comey. I’m not a fan of the asymmetric neckline, which looks sloppy to me. Coupled with the goofy hemline, it just looks like someone cut out random shapes of striped sequin fabric and then sewed them haphazardly to some polka dot mesh. I’m surprised this isn’t Stella McCartney. It’s like someone got drunk and tried to copy Stella’s design. Anna doesn’t look pregnant from the front at all, but from the side you can see she’s showing. I have mixed feelings about Anna, and wish she would look happier on the red carpet.

Stephen’s hair looks way too dark, right?

Janina Gavankar was ridiculous in this puffy very short tin foil ice skater gown. Look at the ruffled layers on this thing. Janina plays shapeshifter Luna, Sam Merlotte’s love interest. I don’t really like her character and now that I see her taking this dress seriously my impression of her is confirmed. Check out her orange platform pumps. Hideous!

Look at Terry! Todd Lowe is really hot to me. He’s such a good actor. I’m looking forward to seeing more of him.

I also find Chris Bauer, Andy Bellefleur, oddly attractive. He plays bumbling so well, but there’s something sexy about the man. Am I alone in this?

In contrast, Joe Manganiello doesn’t do it for me at all. Check out his man scarf hanging out the bottom of his tiny vest thing. He’s superficially hot, but he seems like such a tool.

Sam Trammell is a cutie though, despite that goofy dot shirt. He needs some more scruff to complete the look, and that hairstyle isn’t doing him any favors. He and his girlfriend had twin boys last August.

Deborah Ann Woll is a great actress and seems like sweet person, but I’ve rarely seen her get her red carpet style spot on. She’s so gorgeous too.

Here’s Carrie Preston, Arlene, with her real life husband, Lost actor Michael Emerson. They’re so cute together! I love her on the show.

Nelsan Ellis, that handsome devil. He’s also an incredible actor.

Askars! Can’t wait to hear his sexy voice again.

Kristin Bauer with her squinty husband. Her character Pam is awesome, but she doesn’t look well put together here. It’s the dress in combination with that 70s hair.

And I’ll end with Tara Buck, who plays Ginger, the trashy human who guards Fangtasia during the day. This dress is awesome and hilarious. I just love it.

photo credit: WENN.com

Joe Manganiello covers the March issue of OUT magazine to promote his roles as a werewolf in HBO’s “True Blood” and male exotic dancer in the upcoming Magic Mike. The article is aptly titled “From Wolf to Stripper,” but of course, he takes it off for both roles. While “True Blood” has achieved relative cable longevity (Manganiello was recently signed for five more seasons — probably as an option contract since the show has only truly been confirmed for one more season), I’m not so sure that Magic Mike will even make the slightest impact at theaters. Manganiello plays a dancer named “Big D*ck Richie,” and the rest of the movie (you can see some stills, including Matthew McConaughey as stripper ringleader, here) looks just as ridiculously awful. And not in a good way either. I just don’t see a market for male stripper movies even when they star Channing Tatum.

At any rate, Manganiello comes off pretty well in his OUT interview. He seems rather humble and truly grateful to act for a living:

On showing his butt for “True Blood”: With his brooding romance-novel looks, he became an instant sex symbol when he debuted in 2010 (he has since signed on for five more seasons). The fact that he sheds his clothes to transform into lupine form doesn’t hurt matters. Manganiello views this as pragmatism rather than an extension of creator Alan Ball’s gay sensibility. “As far as the butt cheek stuff goes, it just makes sense. It’s not gratuitous; it’s realistic. If you’re a werewolf and you transform, you lose everything and there are your butt cheeks. The show is a deconstruction of supernatural creatures. It’s not like other werewolf projects, where you magically reappear with tiny jean shorts on.”

On the “True Blood” gig: “I love my job so much. It utilizes each part of my eclectic personality. There’s the kid who loves monsters, and I can be athletic, but I also love history and I can research wolves and Southern dialects. The dialogue is so rich — it’s Tennessee Williams with Chekhovian layers — and that fulfills my bookwormy playwright side. I’m so fortunate. Plus, I get to have a beard all the time.”

He really is a lone wolf: “I travel too much for pets. I used to have two dogs, but, um, the owner of the dogs moved out.” He is chagrined to have revealed any of his private life, but admits, “I’m single. Yeah, I used to not like being alone, but I dig it, man.”

On his musclebound physique: “True Blood” was Manganiello’s big break, but after his first season, he was broke. He spent all of his earnings on a personal trainer (the same one who whipped Hugh Jackman into Wolverine shape) to transform him into an athletic dynamo. “If I was on ‘roids, I would be this monster. That’s not the goal. I like working hard. It’s my letter of gratitude to Alan Ball for giving me this opportunity. Vampires are animated corpses. They can get away with not looking like they go to a gym. I’m a wild animal — that’s how I should look.”

Did he stuff to play Big D*ck Richie? “Um, I’ll let everybody see the movie and they can decide,” he says sheepishly. He insists that no waxing was involved, however. “I don’t have any body hair. It stops at my neck. I’m part Sicilian and Armenian.”

He worked with a former stripper as research: “All the guys he worked with were dead or in rehab, but it was the time of his life — this insanely destructive lifestyle, this club life. It was sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll… and getting paid to take your clothes off and have sex.” Manganiello promises Magic Mike will incorporate all of the complexities of the grind. “There are a lot of drugs, the overdosing, the depraved lifestyle, but on the other side, it’s hilarious.”

[From Out Magazine]

He does have a certain point about werewolf stories these days, and it’s rather ridiculous that the Twilight wolves rip off their shirts before wolfing out, but no one ever sees them in human form when they’re not wearing their jean cutoffs. Then again, there’s age appropriateness to consider, and the Twilight wolves are mostly teenagers. Besides, no one really wants to see Taylor Lautner’s bum, right? But there seems to be quite a hefty audience for Manganiello’s butt cheeks.

As far as the photoshoot goes, OUT readers have already complained about a lack of hotness in these pictures. Still, Manganiello is a (relatively) furry sight to behold:

Photos courtesy of OUT

Kaiser sent me this lead yesterday and I just kind of shrugged and ignored it for a while. Joe Manganiello used to be a crush of mine, until he opened his mouth and words fell out, pretty much. He’s hot enough on True Blood and is super beefy and all, but after reading his “25 Things You Don’t Know About” I was completely over him. If you don’t remember it or missed it, you should read it for a laugh. It was worse than Scott Disick’s 25 Things, truly, and included diddies like “I shaved my head twice and got my front teeth pulled out for stage roles in college,” “I won third place in a chess tournament when I was 6,” and “I made the junior Olympic volleyball team when I was 16.” So after that I found him self-obsessed, braggy and dull. His appearances on True Blood this season kind of brought it home for me, and his “acting” seems wooden and one dimensional.

Anyway Joe broke up with his fiance, and for some of you that might be good news. I don’t care if he’s single, but I wouldn’t want to spent a half hour talking to him either. (Screwing him, maybe, but only if I was very drunk.) Oh and he was spotted out chatting up Rose McGowan. She’s perfect for him.

True Blood’s Joe Mangeniello and fiancee Audra Marie have called it quits, multiple sources confirm to Us Weekly.

“It’s totally over,” one pal says.

Adds another insider: “It was a long time coming. They’ll both be better off for it.”

Manganiello’s rep does not comment on his personal life.

After about a year and a half of dating, the hunky star, 34, and the model-actress announced their engagement in October 2010; he popped the question during a vacation in Italy.

At the time, Manganiello gushed to E! News of his love: “I always dreamed of finding someone who is beautiful and sweet, equal parts. And I did. From there she’s just unbelievably understanding and compassionate and patient from all the craziness that comes from this job and lifestyle.”

But by spring 2011, a source close to the actor noted he “refused” to set a wedding date. “He [went] completely quiet about discussing wedding details,” the source said.

As his then bride-to-be forged ahead with choosing her wedding dress, her bridal party and even her gift registry, “He [was] clearly having reservations.”

Manganellio hasn’t exactly gone into hiding in the wake of the split. On Monday Sept. 12, he hit the W Hotels’ Fashion Next bash for Mercedes Benz Fashion Week — where he and actress Rose McGowan sat and chatted together for a while and sipped champagne.

“I was surprised how long they chatted for,” an onlooker says.

[From US Weekly]

At least he said sweet things about his girlfriend while they were together, that’s something. I used to be a fangirl, judging from this earlier article I wrote about his engagement. So I decided to watch some random interviews with him to see if I was judging him too harshly. In this interview, the one below, he seems decent and funny. In anther interview he’s flirting with the interviewer and seems really full of himself. In the decent interview he’s in his hometown of Pittsburgh with his fiance, Audra. Around 2:30 she comes on and he talks about how he proposed in Italy. She shows her ring around 3:40. She seems to bring out the best in him, so I guess it’s sad. He’s probably thrilled to be able to play the field now though. You know he thinks he’s hot sh*t, unlike Alex Skarsgard, who remains somewhat humble about his ethereally good looks.

Joe and Audra (who just split up) describe how they met around 3:40. It was at the Superbowl in 2009. He actually loved True Blood and werewolves well before he was offered the part of Alcide.

Joe and Audra are shown in the header in April of this year and in the other photos in January. Credit: WENN.com