What would you do if you were offered $100 to actually punch the star of the movie you play a small role in? This antagonist of Sam Raimi’s very first Spider-Man did not hesitate… to say no!
In 2002, years before he made a name for himself with his role as Alcide Herveaux, the werewolf on HBO’s True Blood, and before he became one of the stars of Magic Mike, Joe Manganiello starred in Sam Raimi’s very first Spider-Man which then featured Tobey Maguire in the cult role.
He played Flash Thompson, the high school villain, who ends up fighting with Peter Parker in the corridors of the establishment, after the latter accidentally throws a whole tray of food at his back, while he is struggling. to control his budding powers in the cafeteria. Remember, this happens just after the famous scene where Peter catches up with Mary Jane (Kirsten Dunst), and all the contents of her set, in a more than famous sequence without special effects which required more than 16 hours of filming!
And it is dressed in his now stained striped polo shirt that Flash Thompson finds Peter Parker in the corridors of the high school, ready to fight, as you can see in the video below.
But according to Joe Manganiellowhile on set, a crew member offered him $100 to hit Tobey Maguire for real in the face, an anecdote that the actor told in 2014, during the Pete Holmes Show.
“There was a guy on the team who came up to me and said, ‘Listen, I’ll give you a hundred dollars if you actually hit him in the face by accident.’”, he remembered. “A few other guys were there.”
At the time, the 24-year-old did not accept the offer, but did he think about it? This is the question the host asked him.
“I probably would never have worked again“, replied Joe Manganiello.
A wise decision for the actor whose career has since taken off. Some know him as Alcide de True Blood or “Big Dick” Richie from Magic Mike, whose latest installment, Magic Mike: Last Dance, was released last year. Or if you’re a true fan, you also know him as Brad Morris in How I Met Your Mother and of course Slade Wilson, aka Deathstroke from Zack Snyder’s Justice League.
Spider-Man (2002) and Spider-Man 2 (2004) can be seen streaming on Netflix. For Spider-Man (2007), we will have to turn to VOD.
Listen to Joe Manganiello tell his story in the video below:
