Joseph Michael "Joe" Manganiello (/ˌmæŋɡəˈnɛloʊ/ MANG-gə-NEL-oh; Italian pronunciation: [maŋɡaˈnjɛllo]; born December 28, 1976) is an American actor, director, producer, and author. He played Flash Thompson in the Sam Raimi directed Spider-Man trilogy and had various recurring roles in television on ER, How I Met Your Mother, and One Tree Hill, before landing his breakout role as werewolf Alcide Herveaux on the HBO television series True Blood.