True Blood - Joe Manganiello Interview
Alcide is about to put a major kink in True Blood’s polarizing Eric/Sookie/Bill triangle. At least that’s the word from the werewolf’s portrayer, Joe Manganiello, who makes a strong case for an Alcide/Sookie pairing in part 2 of our exclusive Q&A. (You can read Part 1 here.) The 33-year-old actor also weighs in on the length of his commitment to the show and why he isn’t afraid of those crazy Team Bill and Team Eric fans.
Will your Alcide be different from the Alcide in the books?
JOE MANGANIELLO: Alan Ball and I had a conversation about that at one of my auditions. I think it’s up in the air. I know that, at least initially, fans of the book will be pleased with my character.
What’s your take on Alcide?
MANGANIELLO: He’s really big. He’s giant. When Sookie first meets him, she opens the door and looks up, and then has to look up some more. So there’s this giant presence standing in the doorway with dark hair and dark features. He’s strong and protective. He comes from a construction background; his father is in the construction business. He’s heroic and romantic. I don’t think it’s a secret that he has a broken heart when he shows up. He had a really rough go of this relationship with Debbie Pelt, so there’s a lot of friction there. Debbie’s doing a lot of things to get back at Alcide.
How long are you committed to the show for?
MANGANIELLO: Right now we’ve just talked about this season.
What can Alcide offer Sookie that Bill and Eric can’t?
MANGANIELLO: Warm flesh and blood. That’s the neat thing about my character: Although he’s not entirely human, he is flesh and blood. He has a lifespan. In the books he hugs Sookie and she feels his skin and it’s just radiating heat. So I think the fact that he has some kind of sun burnt heat-radiating skin is just completely different. It’s [similar to when] she met Bill and what a relief it was for her to not to be able to hear his thoughts.
Are you ready to be thrust into the Eric/Sookie/Bill fan frenzy?
MANGANIELLO: For me it’s fun. I could see how if I was a 100-pound Hollywood actress it would probably be pretty scary, but I’m a big guy, so people don’t necessarily scare me in that way. With that said, I’ve had to go to the police a couple of times for stalkers.
Really?
MANGANIELLO: They were really big… I don’t know how I want to describe it but they were guys. I’ve had two guy stalkers that I’ve had to go to the cops about. But other than that I think it’s a blast. It’s so fun to get caught up in that. It’s so fun to have fans care that much. It’s that whole Comic-Con, fanboy crowd. I love that. I started my career in Spider-Man, so I’m completely familiar with them and I love that kind of stuff. And you hear about love triangles all of the time, it’s going to be interesting to see how the love square works out.
Source: EW
Will your Alcide be different from the Alcide in the books?
JOE MANGANIELLO: Alan Ball and I had a conversation about that at one of my auditions. I think it’s up in the air. I know that, at least initially, fans of the book will be pleased with my character.
What’s your take on Alcide?
MANGANIELLO: He’s really big. He’s giant. When Sookie first meets him, she opens the door and looks up, and then has to look up some more. So there’s this giant presence standing in the doorway with dark hair and dark features. He’s strong and protective. He comes from a construction background; his father is in the construction business. He’s heroic and romantic. I don’t think it’s a secret that he has a broken heart when he shows up. He had a really rough go of this relationship with Debbie Pelt, so there’s a lot of friction there. Debbie’s doing a lot of things to get back at Alcide.
How long are you committed to the show for?
MANGANIELLO: Right now we’ve just talked about this season.
What can Alcide offer Sookie that Bill and Eric can’t?
MANGANIELLO: Warm flesh and blood. That’s the neat thing about my character: Although he’s not entirely human, he is flesh and blood. He has a lifespan. In the books he hugs Sookie and she feels his skin and it’s just radiating heat. So I think the fact that he has some kind of sun burnt heat-radiating skin is just completely different. It’s [similar to when] she met Bill and what a relief it was for her to not to be able to hear his thoughts.
Are you ready to be thrust into the Eric/Sookie/Bill fan frenzy?
MANGANIELLO: For me it’s fun. I could see how if I was a 100-pound Hollywood actress it would probably be pretty scary, but I’m a big guy, so people don’t necessarily scare me in that way. With that said, I’ve had to go to the police a couple of times for stalkers.
Really?
MANGANIELLO: They were really big… I don’t know how I want to describe it but they were guys. I’ve had two guy stalkers that I’ve had to go to the cops about. But other than that I think it’s a blast. It’s so fun to get caught up in that. It’s so fun to have fans care that much. It’s that whole Comic-Con, fanboy crowd. I love that. I started my career in Spider-Man, so I’m completely familiar with them and I love that kind of stuff. And you hear about love triangles all of the time, it’s going to be interesting to see how the love square works out.
Source: EW
If you enjoy this site and want to help support in it's continued running, there are a number of ways that you can help: