Fans of the villain-slash-occasional antihero Deathstroke are in for a treat when they catch
him in Justice League in theaters.
Joe Manganiello, who plays Deathstroke, has put together a pretty respectable résumé
over his roughly two decades in the film business, but he's not quite a household name just yet.
Here are a few reasons he looks so familiar.
Spider-Man
In 2002's Spider-Man, Manganiello played infamous bully Eugene "Flash" Thompson.
He's horrible to Peter Parker at every opportunity, to the point where you can't help but cheer
when he finally gets what's coming to him in the form of Peter's first spider-powered
beatdown.
"I like you so much I wish you had landed that punch on Tobey Maguire."
How I Met Your Mother
The years after Spider-Man were pretty lean for Manganiello, who's been open about the
difficulties that followed his first big break.
But eventually he landed a recurring role on the hit sitcom How I Met Your Mother, joining
the cast in 2006 as Brad, an old law school friend of Jason Segel's character Marshall.
Brad appeared in seven episodes, and took on a slightly more antagonistic role in later
seasons, causing drama with both Marshall and Neil Patrick Harris' character Barney.
One Tree Hill
Between 2008 and 2010, CW melodrama One Tree Hill gave Manganiello his most significant
TV role up to that point.
He joined the show as Owen, a bar manager who strikes up a romance with series star
Sophia Bush's character Brooke, and appeared in twelve episodes over the course of three
seasons.
True Blood
Manganiello next appeared as Alcide, a hunky werewolf who showed up in the third season
of HBO's vampire drama True Blood.
Alcide is a fan-favorite character from the books that inspired the show, and Manganiello
nailed it in 42 episodes, thanks to his natural nice-guy charm and, well, what he looks like
without a shirt.
"Yes.
This is not news to anyone."
White Collar
Season three of the USA Network's White Collar saw Manganiello sign on for a one-episode
guest appearance, which features him in an antagonistic role as Ben, the neighbor of
series regular Tiffani Thiessen's character Elizabeth.
It was the first time in a while Manganiello played a full-fledged villain — experience
that would come in handy a few years later when he landed the role of Deathstroke.
Magic Mike
Manganiello's combination of charm and killer physique clearly got him the right kind of
attention from director Steven Soderbergh, who cast him in a memorable supporting role
in his 2012 smash hit dramedy Magic Mike.
Manganiello appears in the film as a heartthrob dancer with… a memorable name.
His go-to costume?
A classic fireman getup.
Funny enough, he almost didn't take the role — and it was Chris Rock, of all people,
who convinced him to do it.
"And I turned to Chris and I said, 'If I don't get a shirt on soon, every guy in the world's
gonna hate my guts.'
And Chris said, 'Man, they're gonna hate your guts anyway."
Sabotage
End of Watch director David Ayer cast Manganiello in Sabotage, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Manganiello plays Grinder, a character mostly recognizable due to his distinct cornrows.
Sabotage didn't go over too well with critics and was ultimately a box office failure, but
it does feature some killer action sequences and lots of big guys blowing stuff up — which
is kind of all you want from a movie like this.
Magic Mike XXL
Richie returned in the 2015 followup to Magic Mike, coyly titled Magic Mike XXL.
With the original film's Alex Pettyfer and Matthew McConaughey not returning for the
sequel, Manganiello saw a significantly larger amount of screen time in this one.
Richie is also the centerpiece of what is almost indisputably the highlight of the film,
when he performs an impromptu striptease set to "I Want it That Way" by the Backstreet
Boys right in the middle of the empty minimart.
"How much for the Cheetos and water?"
Pee-wee's Big Holiday
Manganiello appeared in another hilarious role soon after the Magic Mike sequel, playing
a fictionalized version of himself in 2016's Pee-wee's Big Holiday.
Unlike many cameo roles in which celebs play themselves, Manganiello is actually a pretty
central character over the course of the movie.
Manganiello plays himself as a perfect caricature—over-the-top macho but quietly still a goofy little kid
at heart.
"Thanks, I appreciate that."
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