‘True Blood’s’ newest hunk makes debut Sunday

‘True Blood’s’ newest hunk makes debut Sunday



For a man, it must be hard not to judge “True Blood’s” newest hunk, Joe Manganiello.

Towering 6’5” into the skies, he has the body of a Greek god, his torso a symmetrically perfect series of heavenly-blessed abs and pecs. He has the smooth, olive tan of a Portuguese soccer player and the square cut jaw line of an all-American hero. And then there are those eyes — a bewitching shade of brown that can flicker with hints of wonderment and magic or, in an instant, can turn steely, dark and brooding.

The “True Blood” newcomer — and AccessHollywood.com’s newest Rising Star — looks like the kind of guy who every gent in the bar wants to be, and every girl wants to be with — but that would be too easy, and simple is everything Manganiello is not.

He’s the latest major casting choice in season three of HBO’s “True Blood,” making his debut in the franchise Sunday as Alcide Herveaux, a beloved character from Charlaine Harris’ “Sookie Stackhouse” novels, but had he been a little more average and a little less inspired, Manganiello would today most likely be nearing the end of a career in professional athletics.

“My last high school football game, I ended up tearing (a ligament in my knee) against Joe Montana’s old high school,” he told Access from the “True Blood” set. “I could’ve continued on, but there were a couple of different factors.”

The “different factors” were actually two roads for the then sophomore: One, he could opt to join some of his fellow Pittsburgh teen pals in using steroids and carry on on the gridiron. Or Two, he could explore less charted territory that involved “messing around with cameras” and acting, something he had been experiencing a mild flirtation with.