There are so many fantastic things that fans could associate with Joe Manganiello. It may be his abundance of charity work, his role as the protective but kindly werewolf in True Blood, or maybe it's for shaking his groove thing in Magic Mike. One thing they might not be so quick to assume about the hunky actor is that he is also a loud and proud nerd - the best type of nerd to be - and an avid Dungeons and Dragons player.
Acting professionally for over 20 years, Manganiello has had significant recurring guest roles in popular television such as One Tree Hill and How I Met Your Mother. Go through his filmography and fans may be able to spot a theme, with his number of characters and films inspired by comic books, superheroes, and other fantasy tales.
Star Wars Resistance (Ax Tagrin) - 4.9
Disney wasted no time in cashing in on the popularity of the sequel franchise. Star Wars Resistance premiered in 2018 and takes place 6 months prior to The Force Awakens, exploring a young pilot's journey into the Resistance during the rise of the sinister First Order.
Manganiello plays "Ax Tagrin", a bounty hunter hired by the First Order. Fitted with custom armor and wielding blasters and a menacing vibro ax, the Iktotchi mercenary is a force to be reckoned with when it comes to getting his paycheck. A play on the phrase "having an ax to grind", Tagrin first appeared in season 2 episode 12, "The Missing Agent".
Archenemy (Max Fist) - 5.0
A superhero movie with a plot that sounds like it's straight out of a graphic novel, Archenemy is a great watch for fans of the genre who prefer something more gritty than most of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Archenemy tells the action-packed story of a teenager (Skylan Brooks) who teams up with the town drunk (Manganiello) to clean up the streets of crime and violence. Manganiello stars as Max Fist, a man who claims to be from another dimension and to have lost his superpowers.
Jay and Silent Bob Reboot (Bailiff) - 5.7
Anything having to do with Kevin Smith is going to be at least a little bit of geeky fun. One of the kings of fanboy culture himself, Kevin Smith has been involved with several shows that explore the world of everything comics, movies, and fan culture, such as Comic Book Men (set in Smith's own comic store), Geeking Out, and Spoilers With Kevin Smith.
Manganiello plays a small part in the Jay And Silent Bob Reboot as the bailiff in a courtroom scene. His part was originally much more significant but was cut due to a lack of time to fully flesh out the context of his role.
Rampage (Burke) - 6.1
Based on a series of video games originally released in the 1980s, Rampage allowed players to take control of a human that has transformed into a monstrous creature. The 2018 movie takes a different approach and makes it wild animals such as wolves and gorillas that have been exposed to a secret pathogen.
He plays the small but exciting role of Burke, a leader of a special military force hired by the Wydens to retrieve the company's dangerous pathogen. His mission is cut off when one of the creatures affected attacks his crew.
Justice League (Mr. Wilson/Deathstroke) - 6.3
DC's Justice League teased the eventual inclusion of the much-awaited supervillain, Deathstroke. Though Manganiello only appeared for a moment in the movie, his character is rumored to be more prominent in Justice League Part Two, Zack Snyder's Justice League mini-series, as well as in his own Deathstroke film.
First making his comic debut in 1980 in The New Teen Titans, Deathstroke aka Slade Wilson is Dick Grayson's archenemy. The character has also been featured in other comics such as The CW's Arrow.
Spider-Man (Flash Thompson) - 7.3
One of Joe Manganiello's earliest film roles is in Sam Raimi's Spiderman franchise. He plays Flash Thompson, the high school football star and Peter Parker's school bully. The role is fairly small in the movies but is heavily expanded on in the comics.
Flash Thompson is a character created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko for the Spiderman universe in 1962. Though he began as Peter Parker's school bully, he went on to be one of several of the hosts for the Venom symbiote.
True Blood (Alcide Herveaux) - 7.8
True Blood might not seem overtly geeky at first glance, but it's full of enough mythical creatures to entice most fantasy enthusiasts. Vampires, werewolves, fairies, maenads, and shapeshifters, there is a little bit of everything for fans of classic monsters to Dungeons and Dragons.
Joe Manganiello starred in 4 seasons of the popular HBO series as Alcide Herveaux, a werewolf and a love interest of Sookie Stackhouse. Loyal and kindhearted, Alcide preferred to be around humans as opposed to other werewolves, that were often vicious and refused to control their wolf natures.
The Big Bang Theory (Joe Manganiello) - 8.1
After accidentally throwing up on William Shatner, Sheldon attempts to apologize to Wil Wheaton, and finds out that Wil hosts celebrity Dungeons and Dragons game nights.
Another fun-filled cameo, Manganiello played himself in the star-studded Big Bang Theory episode titled "The D&D Vortex". Featured alongside Wil Wheaton, Kevin Smith, William Shatner, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the episode is less about advancing any plot points and more about the gang's fanboy antics and D&D references.
Critical Role (Arkhan) - 9.3
Critical Role is a highly popular webseries led by professional voice actor Matthew Mercer, and an assortment of other voice actor friends, following them through their weekly Dungeons and Dragons sessions. Plenty of other celebrity guests have joined in on the occasional session including Deborah Ann Woll (True Blood, Daredevil), Felicia Day (The Guild, Supernatural), Chris Hardwick (The Talking Dead), and Khary Payton (The Walking Dead, Teen Titans).
Joe Manganiello has joined the show twice as "Arkhan The Cruel". The original character has also been featured in the animated short, Stream Of Many Eyes.