Who is Joe Manganiello? The Vital Stats:

• Name: Joseph Michael Manganiello
• Nicknames: Joe
• Height: 6’5″
• Age: 34
• Born: December 28, 1976 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
• Profession: Actor
• Status: Engaged to actress Audra Marie
• Filmography (year, title, role):

1999: Out of Courage 2: Out for Vengeance (Ruslan Zmeyev) – student film
2002: Spider-Man (Flash Thompson) – feature film
2006: A.K.A. (Brian) – made for TV movie
2006: Jake in Progress (Rick Cavanaugh) – television series, episode Notting Hell
2006: CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (Tom Harper) – television series, episode Daddy’s Little Girl
2006: Las Vegas (Carson Stuart) – television series, episode Urban Legend
2006: Close to Home (James Miller) – television series, episode Escape
2006: So Notorious (Scott) – television series, 2 episodes
2006-2009: How I Met Your Mother (Brad) – television series, 5 episodes (recurring role)
2007: Spider-Man 3 (Flash Thompson) – feature film
2007: Scrubs (Chad Miller) – television series, episode My No Good Reason
2007: American Heiress (Solomon Cortez) television series, 65 episodes
2007: E.R. (Officer Litchman) television series, 4 episodes
2008: Impact Point (Matt Cooper) – feature film
2008: Wounded (Patient) – short film
2008: ‘Til Death (Stu) – television series, 2 episodes
2008-2010: One Tree Hill (Owen Morello) television series, 13 episodes
2009: Not Evelyn Cho (Ryan) – short film
2009: Behind Enemy Lines: Colombia (Lt. Sean Macklin) feature film
2009: Irene in Time (Charlie) – short film
2009: CSI: Miami (Tony Ramirez) – television series, episode Target Especific
2009: Medium (Angelo Filipelli) – television series, episode Once in a Lifetime
2009: CSI: NY (Rob Meyers) – television series, episode Criminal Justice
2010: 100 Questions (Rick) – television series, episode What Brought You Here?
2010: Livin’ on a Prayer (Doug) – television series, pilot episode
2010-present (continuing): True Blood (Alcide Herveaux) – television series, series regular
2012: White Collar (Ben Ryan) – television series, starting in second half of season 3 (no episode number announced)
2012 (filming): What to Expect When You’re Inspecting (Davis)

I’m not a big True Blood fan, so I was sadly quite unaware of how incredibly beautiful Joe Manganiello is until preparing the photos for this profile. My friends have been after me to watch the show for a while now and I think Joe has just given me that final push I needed to dig in. This man is gorgeous.  He’s a lot more than a smoking hot body and a gorgeous face, though. He’s a dedicated and accomplished actor who also seems to be a genuinely down to earth, nice guy. You can’t help but respect that.

Before entering the acting field Joe was an accomplished athlete; playing varsity football for the Blue Devils until the tenth grade when a knee injury took him out of the game. That wasn’t the end of his high school athletic career though as following his injury, he went on to letter in volleyball and basketball. While athletics were clearly a big part of Joe’s high school career, so to was acting. He made a movie for extra credit in his chemistry class; a movie he wrote, directed and starred in. He also starred as Jud in his high school’s production of Oklahoma during his senior year. He continued acting and even made money at it when he was paid to dress as Captain Morgan in bars in his hometown of Pittsburgh.

Music has also been a major driving force in Joe Manganiello’s life. He traveled the world with rock band, Goldfinger, as a roadie and security. His involvement with music, however, extends beyond using his muscle. He has lent his vocal talents to two different bands on two separate occasions, first to Goldfinger for their song Wasted from the 2005 album Disconnection Notice and then again in 2007 to The Used for their song Hospital from the album Lies for Liars. He also performed spoken word for the band D.R.U.G.S  which appeared at the end of their self titled album released in 2011.

In preparation for his role as Alcide on HBO’s True Blood, Joe trained for five months to get the kind of body he felt Alcide should have based on the description of the character from Charlaine Harris’ novels. This certainly wasn’t Joe’s first time facing grueling physical challenges. Before hitting the big time as an actor, Joe worked as a laborer – shoveling dirt and sand off the backs of trucks. In addition, he was part of a demolition crew that did demolitions for a construction company. Joe also trained as a boxer with the NHL’s Brantt Myhres as a sparring partner. To top all of that off, Joe has been skydiving with The Golden Knights, the Army’s parachute team.

Preparing for the role of Alcide was also not the first time he’d undertaken a demanding routine to get ready for a role. He trained for months on end to prepare for his role in Behind Enemy Lines: Colombia; working with a former Navy SEAL to get in shape. He paid for that Navy SEAL to travel to Puerto Rico where the movie was filming and even paid for the SEAL’s accommodations when he learned the producers of the film had no intention of having a SEAL consultant on set. All that considered, it’s little wonder he found nailing Alcide’s southern accent more difficult than actually getting in shape for the role.

So what about awards and recognition from the mainstream media? Joe has plenty of that two. Joe has been named:

• The Best Summer Body of 2001 (Men’s Health Magazine)
• One of the World’s 25 Fittest Guys (2011 – Men’s Fitness Magazine)
• Sharp Dressed Man (2011 – Us Magazine)
• One of The Most Beautiful People in the World (2010 – People Magazine)
• Grand Marshall at the Pittsburgh Macy’s Celebrate the Season Parade (2010)

Joe has also been given a Saturn award for Best Guest Starring Role in Television for his portrayal of Alcide on True Blood and also won the, slightly less prestigious but no less awesome, ‘Cause You’re Hot award at the NewNowNext awards; hosted by gay-lesbian themed network Logo. In addition to all of this, Joe is a vocal supporter of Until There’s a Cure. The charity, dedicated to fighting HIV and AIDS, has filmed public service announcements which Joe has lent his time and voice to. All that, and he’s smoking hot. Could he be any more gorgeous? And to think, Joe nearly lost out in last week’s poll to Charlie Sheen, of all people. So with all that said; let’s get to the reason you’re all here – the pictures! And hey – don’t forget to vote in the poll. Your favorite guy could be next week’s Man Candy.

Who do you want to see profiled for next week’s Man Candy Monday? Send your suggestions via Twitter or e-mail or do it the easy way and vote! Don’t like the choices? Click ‘other’ and tell me who you’d rather see! The winner will get his own Man Candy Monday profile next week and the popular runners up/write in votes will make up next week’s poll. You can vote as many times as you want. Just close the poll window to return here and click the link again. Simple and one hundred percent free! Vote in the poll by clicking the big ass link below:

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Want more Man Candy? Check out my previous Man Candy Monday profiles:

• Man Candy Monday: Charlie Hunnam
• Man Candy Monday: Ian Somerhalder
• Man Candy Monday: Jensen Ackles
• Man Candy Monday: Jake Gyllenhaal

And make sure you come back next Monday for even more Man Candy goodness! And remember, you can watch Joe Manganiello on HBO’s True Blood which is airing now.