Joe Manganiello

Biography:

Joseph Michael Manganiello (born December 28, 1976) is an American actor. He began his film career playing Flash Thompson in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man, and later rose to prominence for his role as the werewolf Alcide Herveaux in five seasons of HBO’s True Blood.

He has also appeared in films such as Magic Mike, Magic Mike XXL, Pee-wee’s Big Holiday, What to Expect When You’re Expecting, Sabotage, and Rampage. In 2013, he became a published author with his book Evolution, released by Simon & Schuster. The following year, he made his directorial debut with the documentary La Bare, which he also produced and financed. He is additionally known for playing Brad Morris in How I Met Your Mother. Manganiello is involved in charitable work, particularly with UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, where he serves on the board. In 2016, he was cast as Slade Wilson/Deathstroke in the DC Extended Universe, first appearing in Justice League (2017).

He was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to Susan and Charles Manganiello, and has a younger brother named Nicholas. His mother has Armenian, Croatian, and German ancestry, while his father was born in Massachusetts. Raised in Mt. Lebanon, a suburb of Pittsburgh, he grew up in a Catholic household and attended St. Bernard School before graduating with honors from Mt. Lebanon High School in 1995, later receiving the school’s Great Alumni Award in 2011.

During his school years, he was highly athletic, captaining football, basketball, and volleyball teams, and competing at the varsity level in all three. He also developed an interest in acting, performing as Jud Fry in his school’s production of Oklahoma! and working with the school’s TV studio, where he began creating short films with friends.

After suffering multiple sports injuries in high school, including a torn ligament during a football game, he reconsidered his career path and decided to pursue acting. He initially applied to Carnegie Mellon School of Drama but was not accepted, so he attended the University of Pittsburgh and continued working in theatre. He later reapplied, earned a scholarship, and was admitted to Carnegie Mellon, where he graduated in 2000 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in acting. During his time there, he participated in stage productions and created a student film titled Out of Courage 2: Out for Vengeance. After graduation, he traveled to New York and Los Angeles for auditions, eventually securing industry connections and a screen test for Spider-Man.

Manganiello’s early career included television appearances in shows like So Notorious, Las Vegas, Jake in Progress, Close to Home, Scrubs, American Heiress, and ER. He also performed on stage in productions such as Skirts & Flirts and A Streetcar Named Desire. In 2009, he appeared in Behind Enemy Lines: Colombia as a Navy SEAL and trained extensively for the role.

He continued to build his career with roles in One Tree Hill, ’Til Death, and CSI series, along with independent films and commercials. Beyond acting, he directed and produced the documentary DieHardz about Pittsburgh Steelers fans and has remained a devoted supporter of both the Steelers and the Pittsburgh Penguins, even hosting NHL events in 2017.

Earlier in his life, he worked as a roadie for the band Goldfinger and toured with them as part of their security team.

Manganiello became engaged to actress Sofía Vergara in 2014, and the couple married in 2015. They announced their separation in July 2023, and their divorce was finalized in February 2024. Since September 2023, he has been in a relationship with Caitlin O’Connor, and in 2025, they relocated to Pittsburgh.

He practices Transcendental Meditation and learned it through the David Lynch Foundation. In 2022, he obtained Italian citizenship through his Sicilian heritage. He is also an advocate for Armenian causes, serving on the board of the Children of Armenia Fund and participating in advocacy events, including speaking at a U.S. Congress commemoration of the Armenian Genocide.

In an interview on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Manganiello mentioned that a former NASA-affiliated phlebotomist advised him to include aspartame and red meat as part of his fitness routine.