Also, Joe will be interviewed by AP on Monday, August 2nd, at 3 pm est.

Will you be listening?

~M.

Click on the image to see the video…

EW also has a series of portraits of the cast:

This last pic of Joe Manganiello, reminds me of Harry Potter. Just sayin’.

And here’s one more of Kristin and Joe…

Joe Manganiello and the rest of the cast hanging out with the man that knows all the inside scoop on TV, Michael Ausiello, @ San Diego Comic-Con.

The happy couple check out the DSi.

Deborah Ann Woll

e DSi.

Joe Manganiello has apparently impressed the producers of the popular HBO series so much that they’ve decided to keep him around a bit longer than expected!!!

Hopefully, we’ll get more info at this afternoon’s SDCC panel.

Thanks to Chris for the info!

~M.

P.S. Knowing that Joe will be back next year… what do you think this means for the next season, story wise?

E! - Joe Manganiello (seriously, is that body even human?!), just told us some very alarming news about upcoming deaths that you will abbbs-olutely (sorry, lost my train of thought there) want to know…

There will be blood…on True Blood.

OK, not exactly a jaw-dropping shocker, right? Well, what if we told you this is “important” plasma being spilled?

We first spoke with director Scott Winant, who said of the current season: “The fewest actors die. I killed my share, but compared to season two, not as many.”

But according to True Blood’s new werewolf Joe Manganiello, it’s the quality of the deaths, not the quantity. Translation: There are some biggies up ahead!

“Maybe the least amount, but definitely important ones,” teased Joe. “There are some scripts that I read where I was shocked and went, ‘No way!’”

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Who do you think will die this season?

I have my thoughts, but I want to hear from you and we’ll talk about it on the next podcast.

~M.

Yea…. I know…

~M.

Tim Hayne of Parade Magazine

In the third season of True Blood, Sookie Stackhouse gets some supernatural protection — and a possible new love interest — from the burly, sexy Alcide Herveaux, played by actor Joe Manganiello.

Manganiello told Parade.com why Alcide and Sookie are a good match, what it takes to meet fans’ soaring expectations and his thoughts on the complicated etiquette of “werewolf dating.”

Jumping on the True Blood bandwagon.
“I watched the pilot episode and it made me really upset after I watched it. That was probably because everyone looked like they were having so much fun and I was really jealous. It was basically like a giant Halloween party. And I got bummed out.”

The blog-filled road to Alcide.
“A few months after the pilot came out, a friend sent me a Web link to a blog where fans of the books – I didn’t realize the series was based on a set of books – were speculating on, ‘When the characters in the books appear on the show, who should play them?’ And all these fans were blogging and posting pictures of me, saying there’s a werewolf that appears in book three and suggesting that I play him. So, from there, I ordered the books on Amazon and started reading and, sure enough, the character was described as looking like me, physically. And I got super excited, because ever since I was a little kid I’d wanted to play a werewolf or some kind of supernatural monster and made sure I watched every single episode [of True Blood].”

Meeting the fans’ high 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.”

About those fans…
“The fan support for my character, even before I had shown up on the show, was completely overwhelming. Fan-dedicated Web sites and even people stopping me at the gym and saying, ‘You’re the werewolf dude, right? I can’t wait to see you.’ Which, of course, adds more pressure and you just hope everybody’s going to be happy with your portrayal and what you’re doing. In a way it’s almost like – you’re almost playing a historical character for some people. This character from these books that fans have known and loved, and you’re bringing that to life, so you really want to make sure that everyone is happy. But the fans, it seems like, have been really excited. I’m down here in Anaheim for the All Star weekend for the [Major League Baseball] All Star Game, and people come up to me and seem genuinely excited about the show and about my character. I guess, mission accomplished.”

What it takes to play a believable werewolf.
“I didn’t want to watch anyone else’s version of what a wolf-man was. I actually went to the primary source; I went straight to wolves. So I actually got to hang out with wolves and wolf trainers and speak to them about wolf habits, wolf behavior. And then I got a bunch of wolf videos and read wolf books, and really got down with the animal.”

The unique challenge of playing a werewolf.
“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.”

Like superheroes, werewolves have secret identities.
“Alcide acts a certain way when he’s dealing with Sookie and, when he’s around other werewolves, there’s another side of him that comes out. I’m kind of the civilized werewolf as you can see from my first two episodes. The rest of them are kind of a rough bunch, a little more animalistic. For me, there’s a side of him that he is when he’s away from [the other werewolves] and one when he gets around them. It’s kind of like having a secret identity. He’s kind of like Superman, in the way that Superman is this super-powered being from another planet and he has to figure out what human is. His secret identity is kind of a comment on what being a human is, and Alcide is very much that way. He has this secret identity where he has to hide his superpowers and, basically, pretend that he’s weaker than he is.”

Sookie playing nurse to the wounded werewolf.
“There’s definitely a Florence Nightingale complex in there somewhere. Things have gone sideways with Bill – and there’s Alcide.”

The complicated etiquette of “werewolf dating.”
“It’s funny, we had conversations on the set about werewolf dating and what conversations you need to have on what date. At what time does Alcide tell the girl he’s dating that, ‘Hey, so, I have a time of the month, too. This is what’s going to happen, and I’m going to run around and kill small animals. And you’re going to want to get out of my way when it happens.’ At what date do you reveal all of this stuff?”

Alcide, unlucky in love.
I’ve had conversations with Alan and some of the writers about this, that it would be very difficult to be in Alcide’s position, meeting somebody, which makes it a lot harder when Debbie leaves. The werewolves are kind of a rough bunch; to find anyone who looks halfway decent in that crowd is probably like finding a needle in a haystack. The fact that he did find somebody and then she takes off is an even bigger heartbreak. I think finding someone like Sookie, who also has abilities, I think it’s probably easier for him to open up. And I think opening up is something very difficult for him to do.”

Where werewolves have vampires beat in the dating game.
“Alcide can offer a lot of things that the vampires can’t, such as a brunch date. He can take her out to brunch.”

The many sides of Alcide.
“There are definitely other sides to Alcide. He chooses to fight that beast inside of him, whereas the other werewolves choose to indulge in it a little more. I think that makes him really interesting. Sookie brings him out of his shell and forces him to get involved in this unfolding plot, how the werewolves are all addicted to V and they’re under the control of a vampire. Obviously, the enslavement of his people is something that’s weighing very heavily on him. And so we watch his arc as he goes from this construction worker who just wants to be left alone and live his life into fighting for his pack’s survival. 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.”

Giving his toned physique a vacation.
“I’m on the off-season now. I just had some beignets for breakfast. I’m going to have a couple of hotdogs at the stadium. It’s definitely my off-season eating program right now.”

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NYP – Joe Manganiello, “I remember thinking, ‘OMG! That’s Sookie Stackhouse!’