Joe Manganiello Talks about Werewolves and Sookie

Joe Manganiello has graced our t.v. screens for the last two Sundays on True Blood, where he plays Alcide Herveaux. Alcide is Sookie's new werewolf body guard in her attempts to search Mississippi for her vampire Bill. So how did Joe become Alcide? He watched the first episode and was jealous because it seemed like everyone was having fun. He has said in many interviews that it was the fans idea for him pursuing True Blood. Joe was reading fan blogs and they had named him to play Alcide, he contacted his agent and they began contacting the show. The rest is as they say...history. Joe says that he doesn't want to let any of fans down and he began right away and wanted to make sure he was meeting those expectations.

"Once I got cast, I went to work. Obviously, there are fans and they have expectations and they're excited about you, and you want to meet those expectations the best you can. So I really got into the footwork and the gym time and the dialect coach and the whole deal and just really worked my a-- off prepping for the role."

In order to prep for the show and playing a werewolf, Joe said that he learned as much as he could about wolves. He told parade.com that he talked the wolves' trainers and watched the wolves themselves to see how they acted. When asked about playing a werewolf, Joe stated,

"It adds an extra layer of complexity. You know, you watch the show and the actors on the show are so damn good that they make it look so easy. Alan Ball's writing is so complex and so nuanced and so deep, and you work on the dialogue forever. There are so many different layers and so many different ways you can play things. And then, on top of it, you're a supernatural creature. The other side of it too is that I was being trusted with creating the behavioral patterns for a new race. I was flattered that they trusted me as much as they did, but you just kind of get in there and let your instincts take over."

While Joe doesn't say very much about his character's relationship with Sookie he does say that Sookie brings out a different side of Alcide. Dating is very hard for werewolves because of the different questions that have to be answered, such as when is the appropriate time to tell the date. He does say that Alcide probably finds it easier to open up to Sookie because of her telepathy. Alcide is also a very intense character who has a lot of depth, the battles he must fight inside himself with losing Debbie, and then his community being destroyed by crazed werewolves on V.

"He's right in the middle of it. There are a lot of his kind that obviously aren't fighting against the vampires and aren't fighting against Russell. And so, you're going to see how he handles that and I think that's his arc. In the books, he winds up pack leader. So you go from this reluctant hero to a leader."

Can't wait to see more Joe Manganiello playing Alcide, tune in this and every Sunday for HBO's True Blood. Source: www.parade.com (Photo credit: HBO Inc.)

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