Joe Manganiello, who has since joined the DCEU as Deathstroke, reveals how close he came to being cast as Superman in Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel. Manganiello certainly has the presence of a superhero: Following his auspicious debut in the small but memorable role of Flash Thompson opposite Tobey Maguire in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man in 2002, the actor has come into his own in recent years with roles like the stripper Big Dick Richie in Magic Mike and the werewolf Alcide Herveaux in True Blood.

Manganiello’s says it was his commitment to the HBO vampire series that prevented him from sinking his teeth into an opportunity of a lifetime with the iconic DC superhero role.

In a new interview with MTV’s Happy Sad Confused Podcast, Manganiello notes that he got as far as costume measurements when everything came crashing down. He says:

Manganiello says his agent tried to work out a deal, but to no avail. To cope with the lost opportunity, the actor says he realized he “had to get in a place of gratitude” for his work on True Blood, which was the reason he believes he was “noticed in the first place.” The actor says it took him a long time before he could watch Man of Steel – which, of course, went on to star Henry Cavill in the titular role – and when he did, he only could view it while he was on painkillers following bicep surgery after working on Magic Mike XXL.

“I met with Zack. I had an hour and a half long meeting with Zack, which is what was causing all the trouble. … I went ahead and met with casting, and then they all brought me over to meet Zack. I met the producers, I met with Jon Jashni and Thomas Tull at Legendary, I met everybody – everybody involved – and then finally sat down with Zack for an hour and a half and had a big conversation about the character and where it was going, et cetera. Then they called the True Blood costume shop for my measurements to build my suit and that’s what caused - that’s when it stopped."

Manganiello, who is voicing a role in this week’s animated release Smurfs: The Lost Village, has since joined the DCEU as the villainous Deathstroke, although it’s unclear when he may appear. It was originally thought he would join The Batman opposite Ben Affleck, but cast doubt on the role last month after it was revealed Matt Reeves, who took over directing from Affleck, was making some changes.

With any luck, Reeves will find a way to include Manganiello in the film somehow, since the actor has already been in training for the role. Whatever the case may be, Manganiello has built a high enough profile and shown a tremendous amount of commitment in the last few years to at the very least warrant serious consideration.

Next: Every DCEU Movie Currently in Development

Source: Happy Sad Confused Podcast

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