show ad

He wasn't always a muscle man! Joe Manganiello reveals he was once a scrawny kid with glasses... as he opens up about his battle with alcoholism

PUBLISHED: 21:51 EST, 3 December 2013 | UPDATED: 21:56 EST, 3 December 2013

View
comments

Joe Manganiello was once a scrawny kid who performed poorly in sports.

The 36-year-old hunk reveals in his new book about fitness that failure as an adolescent taught him important lessons about success.

The muscular actor also writes in the self-help tome about his struggles with alcoholism in his 20s before achieving fame on television shows such as HBO's True Blood.

Flashback: The 36-year-old revealed that he wasn't always so brawny with a snap of himself as a scrawny kid in his new book

Not always so buffed: Joe Manganiello reveals in his new self-help book that he was once a scrawny kid before he built up his body

Joe talked with HuffPost Live on Tuesday about his new book Evolution: The Cutting Edge Guide To Breaking Down Mental Walls And Building The Body You've Always Wanted.

More...

The brawny star shared a flashback memento from his fitness thesis of himself as a skinny kid with glasses wearing a jersey as he awkwardly clutches a basketball.

Using the snap as a reference, the 6ft5in hunk expressed his views on overcoming adversity as an adolescent: 'Failure became a huge part of my success story.

Opening up: Joe has been sober for 11 years, pictured in New York City on Monday

'Now, you hear about these soccer games kids play when goals aren't counted. Everybody gets the orange slice and the pat on the back and everybody says "Good job!" And that wasn't the case for me and I think I benefited from that.'

Adding: 'I'm glad that I lost, I'm glad that I failed, I'm glad that I felt that way and decided to do something about it ... I never wanted to feel that way again and it drove me.'

Joe also described his battle with substance abuse in his 20s: 'There was a period of about four years where I needed to quit drinking. And the drinking got in the way [of my career].

'My life was ruined. I was homeless, careless and broke with no career, so yes, it was worth it [to get sober].'

Star-making role: Joe plays werewolf Alcide Herveaux in HBO's True Blood opposite Anna Paquin

'And I talk about that a lot in the book. It was one of those obstacles that I had to get over and once again I needed to clear the road in order for these things to happen, so it really is an inside job.'

The star has now been 11 years sober.

Joe can be seen as werewolf Alcide Herveaux in HBO's True Blood, which will air its seventh and final season in 2014.

His book Evolution hit bookstores on Tuesday

Joe Manganiello Talks Alcohol Problem, Getting Healthy Again

MOST WATCHED NEWS VIDEOS

Comments (54)

Share what you think

View all

The comments below have not been moderated.

Tough As Nails, Wild Wild West, Germany, 1 month ago

Back then they didn't want him..........................................

Click to rate

Aynsley, Palm Springs, 1 month ago

Breaking News! --- Adult Was Once A Child!

Click to rate

maria, nyc, United States, 1 month ago

he's perfect

Click to rate

steenkash, london, United Kingdom, 1 month ago

Hurray, there is hope for me after all.

Click to rate

mj rooney, Manchester, United Kingdom, 1 month ago

Ladies, dont you find it a turn off that all he does everday is go to a gym and admire himself, how about excercising the brain like moi, I bet hes as thick as 3 short plancs ;>)

Click to rate

2 of 3 repliesSee all replies

April, Alabama, United States, 1 month ago

Nope. It's the exact opposite of a turn off, actually.

Click to rate

outoftowner, chicago, United States, 1 month ago

Might want to exercise that brain a bit more if you're going to critisize someone else. It's planks. Also, for the record, just because someone works on their physique doesn't mean they are daft or that they admire themselves. I work out every damn days for at least an hour and I am quite intellectual, thank you. It's a matter of taking care of ALL parts of you. You're body is just as, if not more important to take care of than being book smart.