In 2002, Joe Manganiello was a brand-new face in Hollywood, His first screen test landed him the role of Flash Thompson in Spider-Man 3 (the biggest film of the year). That’s the kind of thing that never happens. He had all the luck, incredible talent, great looks, and unfortunately, a serious drinking problem.

In a recent interview with Men’s Health’s Molly Knight, Manganiello said;

There was a point where I really thought I was broken beyond the point of being able to be fixed. Drinking was a way for me not to have to deal with me. And I think that acting was a way for me to not have to be me either. So, I could go onstage and not be me, come offstage and go to the bar and not be me. Rinse and repeat. I needed to really look in the mirror and get honest with myself about the man that I wasn’t becoming.

His identity crisis was serious enough that he didn’t act for four years. To earn a living, he took side jobs as a DJ, as a roadie for the band Goldfinger, and on the back of a masonry truck doing deliveries and demolitions. He credits eight hours a day of jackhammering with turning his life around. “Hard physical labor is the best work you can do for your soul, even if it’s gardening.”

When the magazine asked him what being a man meant to him now, his answer is as traditional as it gets. “It’s the same as it’s always been. You protect, number one, and take care of women, children, animals, the planet. You tell the truth. If I hurt somebody, I apologize immediately ... Also, I hold the door open for my wife."

Source:

Knight, Molly, “You Don't Know Joe,” Men’s Health (May 2019)