JOE MANGANIELLO
Date of Birth: December 28, 1976
Despite being the captain of his football, basketball, and volleyball teams in high school and playing at the varsity level in all three sports, Joe Manganiello decided not to pursue a career as a professional athlete, surprising his parents by focusing instead on acting. Following high school, he went on to earn a BFA in acting from the Carnegie Mellon University School of Drama.
His athleticism came in handy when he tried out for a role in the 1999 short film Out of Courage 2: Out for Vengeance. He was given the role in part because he was able to do his own stunt fighting. He would go on to do his own stunts and/or stunt fighting in six more productions over the next eight years.
Joe's first role in a major motion picture came shortly after, when he played Peter Parker's nemesis, Flash Thompson in Spider-Man, directed by Sam Raimi. He went on to recreate the role in the final movie of the trilogy, Spider-Man 3 (2007).
His career really heated up in 2006, when he landed a regular role on the sitcom How I Met Your Mother. Joe stayed with the series for three seasons, during which time he also made guest appearances on TV shows such as Jake in Progress, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Scrubs, Medium and CSI: Miami. In 2008, he landed a regular role on CW's teen drama series One Tree Hill as Owen Morello, and stayed with the show for three seasons until he was cast in a starring role on the critically-acclaimed and highly-popular HBO series True Blood, playing fan-favorite Alcide Herveaux, a loyal, no-nonsense werewolf.
In 2012, his feature film career also began to take off, with a role in the character-driven What to Expect When You're Expecting, alongside the likes of Cameron Diaz, Jennifer Lopez, Elizabeth Banks, Chace Crawford and Anna Kendrick.
Having made his film debut in 2002 playing a character named "Black Dildo" in The Ketchup King, Joe was given ironically given a role as "Big Dick Richie" in the 2012 comedy/drama male stripper movie Magic Mike, starring Channing Tatum. Other feature film credits include the starring role of Lt. Sean Macklin in Behind Enemy Lines and the independent film Irene in Time, directed by Henry Jaglom.
Joe, who was named one of People magazine's Sexiest Men Alive in 2010, is single, having broken off his engagement to actress Audra Marie in October 2011.
Filmography:
Magic Mike(2012)
What to Expect When You're Expecting(2012)
Irene in Time (2009)
Impact Point (2008)
Spider-Man 3(2007)