Joe Manganiello is best known for acting in movies and TV shows. He starred in True Blood for five seasons and now hosts Deal or No Deal Island, a game show with a Survivor-style twist. He’s also preparing to play the villain Crocodile in Season 2 of Netflix’s live-action One Piece. But his biggest contribution to entertainment might be what he’s done for Dungeons & Dragons (D&D). Joe has been a host, ambassador, writer, and game designer for the game. His work helped D&D become more popular and widely accepted, both among celebrities and the public.
In a chat with Steve Weintraub from Collider—just before the release of his new movie Nonnas—Joe talked about how D&D has grown. He said it used to be played secretly in basements, but now it’s being played at kitchen tables, streamed online, and even turned into shows and movies like Critical Role, The Legend of Vox Machina, and Honor Among Thieves. Joe pointed out that he didn’t just love the game—he actively worked to make it more accepted. While he became known for hosting games with celebrities like Tom Morello, D.B. Weiss, and Vince Vaughn, Joe said his biggest contribution was working behind the scenes as a paid consultant and creator for D&D.
He realized how far the game had come when he launched his fashion brand Death Saves in 2017, which mixes fantasy and heavy metal styles. One key moment was when he talked about D&D on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. After that appearance, the company behind D&D, Wizards of the Coast, was thrilled. That was one of the first times D&D got big mainstream attention, thanks to Joe connecting the game to his fashion line.
Advertisement Well, I had a big hand in that. It’s not that I’m a huge fan; I worked for the company. I was put on payroll for years. I worked with the marketing department on making sure that the nerd stigma was detached and that the mainstream was more aware. When I did Colbert seven years ago, D&D had never been a topical conversation on a talk show, not as a first guest, and I came on there to advertise a streetwear line that was fantasy-heavy metal themed. That had never happened before. So, that was a big deal. The next day, Watsi had a companywide meeting where they stopped work, and everyone came in and watched that episode of Colbert because they were so excited that it was on a talk show.
Joe Manganiello has worked on many Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) projects, and the list is quite impressive. He says his home games with celebrities helped make more people positively talk about D&D again. But the most significant change, he feels, came from the many hours he spent working on other major projects. That includes co-writing a possible Dragonlance adaptation with John Cassel and directing and producing the 50th anniversary D&D documentary with Kyle Newman.
Read More: Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves Continues to Find Success on Streaming
They collected hundreds of hours of footage, featuring interviews with celebrities from different fields. To Joe, this was proof of how much D&D has grown and how he’s helped improve its public image. Even though he’s no longer working directly with the company—and he mentions that “some shareholders are the ones making money from it now”—he still feels proud of all his hard work.
All the celebrities you see who came back and started playing again, those people came out of my home game. I was hired to write Dragonlance as a series. I was put on payroll. I was hired as a showrunner to do that. I was hired as a director and a producer to direct the 50th anniversary documentary. I spent five years on it. I collected 400 hours of footage. I unified all of the footage of all of the deceased creators. I then shot another 150 hours with a bunch of rock stars, talk show hosts, actors, directors, and showrunners who had never spoken about it publicly. They spoke about it because of me. Now, I sit on the outside of the company.
Joe Manganiello’s next project is Nonnas, where he plays Bruno, the best friend of Vince Vaughn’s character, Joe. Bruno stands by Joe as he starts a new journey—opening a restaurant. This heartwarming comedy follows Joe as he puts everything on the line to honor his late mother by opening an Italian restaurant, even though the task might be more than he can handle.
To give the restaurant a real, homey feel, Joe hires a team of nonnas—local grandmothers with a lifetime of cooking experience. The true story of Joe Scaravella inspires the film. It’s directed by Stephen Chbosky, who also made The Perks of Being a Wallflower, and co-written with Liz Maccie. The cast features big names like Susan Sarandon, Lorraine Bracco, Talia Shire, and Brenda Vaccaro.
Source: Collider