Joseph Michael Manganiello (/ˌmæŋɡəˈnɛloʊ/ MANG-gə-NEL-oh; Italian: [maŋɡaˈnjɛllo], Neapolitan: [maŋɡaˈnjellə]; born December 28, 1976) is an American actor, director, and producer. His professional film career began when he played Flash Thompson in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man. His breakout role came in the form of werewolf Alcide Herveaux on five seasons of the HBO series True Blood, for which he was voted "Favorite Pop-Culture Werewolf of All Time" in 2011 by the readers of Entertainment Weekly and one of Men's Health's "100 Fittest Men of All Time".