Joe Manganiello has had a prosperous career in Hollywood. He has portrayed diverse roles across genres in all sorts of movies. This stems from his versatility and talent as an actor. He never shies away from auditioning for complex roles and playing challenging characters. In an interview, Manganiello revealed that he once auditioned for the role of Spider-Man in the original first live-action 2002 film Spider-Man.
Despite admitting that he won’t bag the role, he still showed up and put on a solid performance. This adds to his credentials as a serious and adventurous actor that loves his work and never shies away from stepping out of his comfort zone. Even though the same role went to Tobey Maguire, Manganiello is rightly proud of giving an incredibly tough audition to bag the coveted role.
Joe Manganiello Reveals That He Auditioned For The Role of Spider-Man
Joe Manganiello is a multifaceted star who has worked tirelessly to establish himself as a leading star in showbiz. Manganiello is one of the most intellectual stars in the current crop of actors in the entertainment industry. His cerebral approach toward acting and films has propelled him to superstardom and earned him international acclaim.
The How I Met Your Mother star has delivered electrifying performances across genre-busting projects and big-banner films by playing significant roles. However, there is cutthroat competition in the industry, and actors often compete against each other to bag movie roles.
The Pennsylvania native star once made a surprising revelation stating that he auditioned to play the titular character in the 2002 Sam Raimi-directed American superhero film, Spider-Man. He further shared that he knew that he wouldn’t get the superhero role, saying,
“You know matter how much of a nerd I am on the inside. I’m never going to get cast as Peter Parker because, you know, I’m six-five, 200, whatever. I just didn’t fit that role. I knew that I’d fit the part of Flash or the bully better, and I actually came prepared. I learned those scenes and was off-book on them when I got there.”
He continued,
“I actually initially auditioned for Peter Parker as well. I wore my glasses, and I had a button-down shirt, and I came in and read for Peter Parker, knowing full well like, who are you gonna get…well if I’m Peter, who’s Flash, like a lineman from the Dallas Cowboys or something.”
While the actor didn’t get to play the role of his choice, Tobey Maguire effectively played the iconic role of Spider-Man/Peter Parker in the flick, and Joe Manganiello played the character of Flash Thompson.
Joe Manganiello Shares How He Nearly Lost His Role in The Film
In a previous interview, the Rampage film star Joe Manganiello opened up about how he nearly lost his role as Flash Thompson in the 2002 Sam Raimi-directed Spider-Man film. The 46-year-old actor claimed that someone from the production team did not want him to play the character, so he had to wait for a month and a half to find out if he got the part. He told THR:
“I won’t name names, but there was someone who didn’t want me as Flash Thompson [in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man]. So for a month and a half, they went ahead and auditioned everybody else in town all over again. Then, on Christmas Eve, I got a call that I got the role back. Well, no, the way it was phrased to me by my agent at the time was, ‘They didn’t find anybody else. The role is yours.’”
The actor delivered a strong performance and made an excellent impression as Flash Thompson. His work in the film left the audience starstruck, and the project became one of the most iconic films based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name. The movie established him as one of the most capable and talented stars in showbiz.
Spider-Man is available for streaming on Netflix.
Source: Late Night with Seth Meyers
