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When it comes to acting, actor Joe Manganiello is sort of like a jack of all trades in the field. His resume reads like a casting director’s dream in that he has had a diverse range of experiences playing roles of all genres and depths. Manganiello, who studied at the Carnegie Mellon University School of Drama, spoke with me recently about his various experiences, what you will see him in next, and what he would be doing in another life.
The Examiner
What are you currently working on? Upcoming projects?
Joe-I just shot an episode of ‘CSI N.Y.’ It’s kinda cool, I really feel like I should have some sort of trophy or plaque because I’ve been on all three CSI shows. I think they should have a website or a list of every actor that’s been on all three.
I have an episode of ‘Till Death’ that will be airing soon. I play a recurring character on that. Also, I’m going to be a character on the video game company ‘Rock Star’. I start shooting that in January.
What can you tell us about your upcoming role on ‘CSI N.Y.’?
Joe-I can’t give away too much except that I shot a scene with Gary Sinise and there’s some stunts involved…there’s gonna be some action so that actually called for my stunt man, his name is Oliver Keller and he’s been doubling me for nine years now. So we got to hang out. It was a lot of fun.
You’ve been on a wide variety of shows of all genres, do you have one that just really stands out to you?
Joe-The comedies are a lot of fun. When I say comedy, I mean stuff with a live audience. I just shot a pilot for NBC called ’100 Questions ‘and that was one of the most fun experiences I think I’ve ever had. It’s a sitcom and it’s comedy and it was a really fun part, really great part for me. There’s a live audience there as well so I think the live audience kind of steps it up a lot.
You have also done a great amount of live theater work. How does acting on stage differ for you from acting in front of the camera?
Joe-I think the rehearsal process is a lot longer when you have an audience. Film and TV you generally don’t have a rehearsal process…you show up on set, you maybe run a little rehearsal with blocking…..for the camera people but you’re expected to show up and be ready to go and a lot of times film and TV is kind of a surprise and with a live audience, you rehearse it into the ground before you put it up so I think that’s probably the major difference, the rehearsal process.
Do you have a preference of the two?
Joe-I had a Bulgarian teacher in college from the Moscow Art Theater and he used to say “Out of every actor there are two people; there’s the artist and there’s the bill payer….you gotta make both of them happy”. So film and TV makes the bill payer. You know what I’ve gotten to do some cool stuff in film and TV too that’s been very fulfilling. I gotten to play a Navy Seal a couple years ago in a movie and that was very fulfilling. Then this episode of ‘Medium’ that I just a shot, I had a monologue as a ghost to an infant. I come back as a ghost to my infant son the day that he’s born and it was just tragic but very moving to me when I first read it. So every once in a while you get that part that makes you really excited.
When you have an intense, emotional scene, how do you prepare for that?
Joe-I don’t know it’s kind of hard to talk about, it just kind of happens. Usually the first time I read it is when I’ll usually get choked up with something that really moves me. Just by reading the words, I guess I’m lucky that way.
Your character on ‘One Tree Hill’ was the longest recurring character you’ve ever played; what was that experience like for you to join a cast that has been together for so long?
Joe-You’re like the new kid in school. They’ve all been together you’re just kind of fitting in. I had a great experience. I got along right away with Sophia[Bush]. Got along right away with James[Lafferty]. The three of us hung out a lot. And you know the new cast members, all of us were kind of in the same boat together so we all got along really well. It was a really fun experience. Especially being away from L.A., all of us being in N.C., there’s only so much trouble you can get into out there so we all kind of get into trouble together.
And being from Pittsburgh, and living in Los Angeles, what was it like to live and work in a small town like Wilmington, NC for a while?
Joe-I love Civil War History, there’ just some amazing stuff to go check out in that area. I really enjoy it.
.jpg) Would you like your character Owen to return to ‘One Tree Hill’? Although I must tell you Brooke is no longer available for him.
Joe-Well maybe Milly’s available?(laughs) I’d love to go back, of course. I’ve had several conversations with Mark Schwahn['One Tree Hill' creator] about how that could potentially happen. I think right now it’s probably just a matter of when that’s gonna happen. Owen needs to quit drinking first. Also what about Rachel? I mean I saved her life!
Who is an actor that you would love to work with one day?
Joe-Gary Oldman, he’s my favorite actor. He blows my mind, he’s one of the real reasons why I wanted to become an actor.
What do you think you would be doing had you not pursued acting?
Joe-My father really pushed me into football, so maybe football. Also, I know definitely would have gone on to play college basketball had I not gone into acting.
If you could go back in time and spend a day in someone’s shoes, who would it be?
Joe-You know I always thought I had a Roman Emperor somewhere inside of me. So maybe Julius Ceaser….or Jim Morrison. So either a Roman Emperor or a Rock star.
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