How did you find out that you won the role?
JOE MANGANIELLO: I had three meetings with Alan Ball. [After the last one], I got a call from my agent and manager. And whenever you get a call from your agent and manager, you have a pretty good idea that something good is about to happen.

What was your reaction when they told you?
MANGANIELLO: I’m not afraid to admit that I started crying. I was just so excited. It’s a dream come true. When I was a little kid, the nun at my elementary school said if you pray for something hard enough, it’ll happen. And I would pray every day with all of my heart that God would turn me into a werewolf. And when it didn’t happen, I kind of thought, “You know what? Maybe this stuff doesn’t work. Maybe I’m getting gypped.” So here it is 25 years later and my prayers got answered and I’m going to be a werewolf.

What was it about being a werewolf that appealed to you?
MANGANIELLO: I just loved Halloween. When I was 4, my mother dressed me up as a vampire and brought me to a haunted house. When I think about it now, bringing a 4-year-old kid to a haunted house is pretty intense. There was a vampire in the haunted house that jumped out of a coffin and I went up and tried to climb into the coffin with him. He wound up picking me up and putting me in the coffin with him and closing the lid. I [just] always liked monsters. There was something interesting about having this thing inside of you that you can’t control that comes out when you get angry. There’s something cathartic about the idea of having a beast inside you.

Are you a fan of the show?
MANGANIELLO: Huge fan. I’ve seen every episode.

Have you met Anna Paquin yet?
MANGANIELLO: Not yet. They wanted me to read with her. That was going to be my final audition, a chemistry read with Anna. But she wasn’t available so they had me come in by myself… I think it’s going to be great. I’ve seen a ton of her movies going all the way back toThe Piano. I’m excited.

When do you start shooting?
MANGANIELLO: Late January, so I’ve got some time. Every day right now is all about the Werewolf Workout. It consists of Krav Maga, which is an Israeli fighting technique, and Cross Fit, which is kind of a gnarly crazy high-intensity workout. And I’m doing a little bit of weights in between.

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 sunburnt 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 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.

Oh my! I do hope that the stalkers do stay away from the cast. For the whole interview click here: For Joe's imdb.com page click here: