Joe Manganiello In 'Magic Mike'... The Wait Is Over!

At last! Friday is the long-awaited opening of stripper flick Magic Mike, which has gotten just the kind of press it needs to be a potential box office smash. The media has been having a BIG time with the fact that its A-level cast—Channing Tatum, Matthew McConaughey, Matt Bomer and, of course, Joe Manganiello—is taking it all off, curious about the routines we'll see in the film and giving it props for direction by renowned Hollywood A-lister Steven Soderbergh.

So for Big Dick Mike, the character Joe is playing, we'll see him appear in costume at stripper club Xquisite as a fireman, a gold statue and a businessman. In fact, there is a scene where his winkie swings in full view in silhouette (see gif below the jump).

PopcornBiz offers: "With his sexually charged role in director Steven Soderbergh’s foray into the world of male exotic dancers, Magic Mike, in which he struts on stage in approximately half of a fireman’s uniform and his turn as the strong, sensitive and frequently shirtless werewolf Alcide Herveaux on True Blood, Manganiello has cultivated a legion of admirers who admittedly may be focusing more on his form than his technique. But the 35-year-old actor, who graduated from the prestigious Carnegie Mellon School of Drama, tells PopcornBiz that he’s confident that with each new role audiences will see beyond his six-pack."

Manganiello: "The only hesitation was just that voice in my head that said, 'Okay, everybody makes such a big deal out of you being shirtless on True Blood. Now you're going to be a male stripper.' So there was just a thought about that... but who cares? I'm known for being shirtless in projects helmed by Oscar winners. So what? Fine. I think that if it was a male stripper movie with most anyone else you probably would look at it cross-eyed, but it's Steven. Then you go, 'Okay, it's Steven. It's Channing. It's McConaughey. It's penis pump and it's Fireman. It's Gold Man.'"

Joe also tells the Detroit Free Press about his businessman routine: "I have one that's a silhouette behind a screen that's pretty complex, because, it's a tear-away suit. It's a full suit with suspenders, shirt, tie, shoes, briefcase and it's all tear-away and it all has to be removed to a piece of music without busting through it while you're doing it." Hurrah!

And finally, he shares in Hollywood Reporter: "It’s hard to take yourself seriously with an American flag thong on with a strategically placed sparkler on the end of it. Honestly, the hardest part of this movie was biting the inside of my mouth to keep from laughing, especially watching Matthew in a yellow Spandex top and tiny bike shorts, grinding on Alex Pettyfer in front of the mirror.”

Manganiello says he was almost cast in the role of Superman, but his True Blood schedule prevented it. He says he would love to do a "smart" superhero movie. And how. *