Lucca Comics & Games has been ongoing this week, and there has been no shortage of fantasy content. This includes numerous appearances by Lucca’s 2023 Ambassador, Joe Manganiello, while he prepares his new Dungeons & Dragons documentary and discusses all things fantasy and tabletop.
CGMagazine was lucky enough to take part in a roundtable with other international journalists at Lucca Comics & Games to talk a bit about what he thinks about the gradual increase in popularity of Dungeons & Dragons, his history with gaming, and just what makes D&D so special. Below is CGMs Q&A with the True Blood actor and tabletop enthusiast.
Joe Manganiello: I was saying this earlier: I think of it as an art form rather than a game, especially as an adult. I just finished directing and producing the 50th-anniversary official Dungeons & Dragons documentary, and I went around and interviewed famous directors, actors, showrunners, producers, professional wrestlers, rock stars, deejays, and talk show hosts that all—every single one of them—claims that it was Dungeons & Dragons as a kid that taught them their form of artistry.
Whether you were a famous visual artist like Shepard Fairey or David Cho, they started drawing characters when they were kids. They were the ones in the group that were drawing. Or Shepard Fairey learned how the horizon bends because he was drawing castles and landscapes and things like that for his Dungeons & Dragons games. A lot of actors, including Vince Vaughn, for example, he was talking about how when he got cast in Jurassic Park Part Two, he had to run from the Tyrannosaurus rex. Well, it’s the same dragon he imagined running from in his mind as a kid, you know?
Dan Weiss and David Benioff, who created Game of Thrones, they were Dungeon Masters as kids, and they said that creating, writing, running and directing Game of Thrones was the same thing as dungeon mastering as kids. The Duffer Brothers, who created Stranger Things, they were dungeon masters as kids.
Even rockstars like Tom Morello, for example, from Rage Against the Machine, he told the story about how he integrated his town. He was the first kid of African descent, of clearly African descent, to grow up in his town. He said that he was forced to go around and knock on doors to make sure that the neighbours were okay with him living there. This is the way the United States was at that time.
He said he never experienced any of that inside of his Dungeons & Dragons group because you’re playing a dwarf or you’re playing an elf; no matter who you are, it makes you curious about other people. So it developed these anonymous kids growing up in all different parts of the world. It developed them in a multitude of different ways.
We couldn’t see the results until now because we were all kids. We were being told, “You shouldn’t be doing this thing. You should be outside playing, go outside, stop playing this satanic, nerdy, goofy thing that any girl is going to think you’re sick if you play”, you know?
So you wanted to give it up. You were like, “I need to get as far away from it as I can.” But what we all realized was it was training us to become the artists, thinkers, and adults that we are today. Every single person I interviewed said that. And I’m no different, you know, what do I do? I produce. I write. I direct. I just turned in a pilot for a TV series, which is ongoing and episodic. What’s a D&D game? An ongoing, episodic television series, but you get to star in it.
So, all of those skills I developed for that. What am I probably most famous for? Playing a guy who turns into a werewolf on a fantasy show [True Blood] with a bunch of fairies and vampires. It’s the same thing. I was in Ravenloft, you know what I mean. So all of that, it trained your imagination. It just grew us all.
And now, especially the documentary, it was really, for me, an exploration and to show the world. We know because we’re playing. I’m excited to present it to the world because I don’t think the world knows how much has been influenced by this stupid little war game that was created in 1974 in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, by these weird guys. But it was. It changed the world. It’s an art form. It changed the world.
Nice to meet you. My first question is, what is this adorable little baby’s name? (Referring to the small chihuahua wrapped in his arms)
Joe Manganiello: This is Bubbles. And she is wearing her little baby dragon.
We have to document this for our Lucca Comics & Games Cosplay article. Sorry, you’re now the second star in the room.
Joe Manganiello: She’s very sleepy. She’s jetlagged.
I’m curious about how you feel as a celebrity into Dungeons & Dragons and Magic: The Gathering, with all these things becoming more popular and mainstream now. Do you feel like you’re a positive influence, or do you feel like you’re kind of on a pedestal and under a microscope?
Joe Manganiello: Well, I’m going to back up a minute, and I’m just going to throw everything to the wind here and speak my mind. I think I had a lot to do with that. So I went on Stephen Colbert a few years back, and I wasn’t there to promote a movie. I wasn’t there to promote a TV show. I went on Stephen Colbert and was the first guest, which is the slot you want to get. That’s the main slot. And all we did was talk about Dungeons & Dragons for 14 minutes.
Now, nine of those minutes were on TV, but there’s more. We sat up there, and I think it’s even in the interview. No one was making a sound in the crowd, and he said, “They have no idea what we’re talking about.” And I said, “No, they don’t.” He goes, “But it’s great, let’s go.” And we just went harder. I rolled a natural 20 on air. The crowd was silent because they didn’t know what that meant. But people who know what that is were screaming at home.
“I’m no different, you know, what do I do? I produce. I write. I direct. I just turned in a pilot for a TV series, which is ongoing and episodic. What’s a D&D game? An ongoing, episodic television series, but you get to star in it.”
This is, I don’t know, nine years ago? [Dungeons & Dragons] Fifth Edition hadn’t hit the way that it had. it still had a lot of stigma to it. And I remember turning to the marketing director in my kitchen, and I said, “No kid is ever going to get beat up for playing Dungeons & Dragons again. Give me a year watch.” And I think me “coming out of the closet” as a Dungeons & Dragons player allowed then the other people in the entertainment industry to think it was okay.
For example, in my Friday night group, there’s a rock star, famous actors, famous showrunners, and a famous professional wrestler. People started coming over to my house. I think it made it okay because it was kind of it was me saying, “Look, you have all these thoughts about what a Dungeons & Dragons player is, or what a tabletop role-player is, or what a nerd is. Okay, what are you going to say about me? Go ahead.” It was a moment in my life when my shoulders were never going to be bigger. Let’s take this on.
But it’s also genuine. It’s just who I am. And I was sick of people making fun of it. Now, as soon as I came out and said that I was [a D&D player], I mean, I’ve spent the last however many years going, “Shut up. It’s cool. You don’t know what you’re talking about.” And now it’s “Can I come over and play?”
I’m curious how you found your love of gaming and if tabletop or RPGs are your poison or if you explore other mediums.
Joe Manganiello: Yes, I explore other mediums. I have a couple of [Magic: The Gathering] Commander decks in my bag that I brought, just in case. I mean, one of them is a Tiamat deck, so it is on brand, and the other one is like a Halloween-themed deck with vampires, werewolves, zombies, etc. So, I mean, I am what I am.
I definitely get into video games. I’m not as hardcore as some of my friends are with video games. Like, I’m not live streaming and playing those games that give you motion sickness. I’m just not at that level. But I play all the story-based games that come out because I’m just a huge fan of story. I just love story.
I even watch…oh, God, I can’t do it anymore…but I was. I stopped watching all the Star Wars stuff, but there was a period where I was like, “Alright, I’ll watch this thing just to see what they did with the characters and how they destroyed Luke Skywalker. I’ll watch this.” I can’t do it anymore, but I’m just curious about story.
“I went on Stephen Colbert and was the first guest, which is the slot you want to get. That’s the main slot. And all we did was talk about Dungeons & Dragons for 14 minutes.”
As a kid, I had a Hobbit picture book, you know, with the record that made the chime when you turn the page, and I realized, “Oh, this is a cartoon. Okay, I’ll watch the cartoon. Oh, wait, this is a book. Wait, the book doesn’t have pictures. Oh, wait, I’m not a good enough reader yet.” I just started training myself to become a better reader until I finally picked up The Hobbit at eight [years old].
That was kind of the kid that I was. So I think finding role-playing games, finding tabletop, it was just natural because then it was like, “Wait, I can write my own stories and run my friends through my stories.” I was such a little control freak, to begin with. So it just kind of like lit all those lights for me.
And does that affect your acting and your love of acting?
Joe Manganiello: Well, I don’t know that acting was ever my love, to be honest with you. I think I loved storytelling, and I thought I could make money as an actor. I thought I could probably pay bills doing this, you know? And I mean not to trivialize it. I went to one of the best classical training programs in the world for acting.
You have to love it to be there, but it was part of a bigger picture, I think, and the prize was kind of what I’m doing now. I just turned in a pilot. I developed a series based on my favourite series of fantasy novels growing up. You know, I get to produce. I get to write. I’m in the process of starting up another book. I’m going to write a second book. So, you know, acting opened all the doors to allow me to scratch whatever itch I wanted.
And now you’re here at Lucca Comics & Games. How does it compare to other conventions, especially those in North America?
Joe Manganiello: This is the best convention in the world. This crushes. Sorry, but it just destroys any convention in the US. It destroys. I mean, the sheer number of people that are here. But it’s not Comic-Con.
I think Comic-Con is too close to LA in the entertainment industry. You know, when you’re walking around looking at some sort of booth that’s representing some sitcom on a network, you’re like, “What the hell does this have to do with fantasy, science fiction, and comic books?” Nothing. It became dominated by a bunch of people who don’t understand fantasy, who don’t understand sci-fi, who don’t have it in their bones. They’re just marketing people who saw it as an opportunity to peddle their wares.
And you come here, and there’s no convention hall, really. I mean, there’s a gaming hall, which also has some amazing artisans over there and sculptors and painters and things, which is so cool to walk through. But the convention center is this medieval Italian city with Michelin-star restaurants. It’s not San Diego Comic-Con at all.
And everybody here…I wear a lot of different hats as a person. I think I have a lot of different sides to me, and I find that that’s the way the Italians and the Europeans are. Everybody has different interests in different ways. And I’m constantly shocked by that. “Wait, you’re in the Dungeons & Dragons?”
I’m always surprised because it’s like you think of the coolest-looking person in your high school, and they’re at Lucca [Comics & Games]. Everybody’s cool, you know? Also, I’m coming back this year for the first time as an Italian citizen. I just became a citizen last year. So I’m like, “Hey, I got to find a place to live at some point.”
In Lucca, right?
Joe Manganiello: Someone just offered me an apartment. I got to look at it first, but. Sure. All right, let’s take a look.
We’ve been talking about Dungeon Masters and celebrities. There’s a secret group of you, like The Stonecutters from The Simpsons. Do you guys have a secret lair?
Joe Manganiello: That’s what I’m trying to say. People weren’t playing again until I started playing. I remember going out to lunch with James Gunn, and I’m like, “You play Dungeons & Dragons?” and he’s like, “Of course.” Then, “When’s the last time you played?” He’s like, “As a kid? And I’m like, “Come over.”
Tom Morello, same thing. And his wife was like, “Go! Go make friends!” So he came over and saw just how seriously I took it, how we all took it, you know? Everyone was so hardcore. I had a sculptor on hand for whatever character you made. It went immediately to the sculptor, who started sculpting the proprietary mini. Then I have a painter in Utah, and it goes to the painter, then comes back. I had another painter in Tennessee, so if he was busy.
What I’m hearing is you’re acting only to fund this habit.
Joe Manganiello: That’s funny because, The Big Show, he said, “I walked into your dungeon, and I was like, ‘I’ve been spending my money all wrong.’” But what’s funny about it is that there are so many cool things, kinds of projects and team-ups that came out of my dungeon, if you will.
But it’s just a group of friends, and everybody kind of puts aside what’s going on. I remember the Game of Thrones guys had some troubles during the last season. I think it got a little bit rough, and it became a haven for them because they were responsible for creating maybe the greatest show in history. This thing that inspired all of us. And I had a whole bunch of Game of Thrones minis painted up that I then started trying to kill them with. I had the Funko Pops in honour of them up on top of the shelf.
So I think coming to a haven, this friendly place, no matter what’s going on outside in the world, you could come here and play and have a great time. We were at the heart of it. We’re friends. We were just anonymous kids who love this game, so it’s not even like we think of each other in that way until I’m playing my NPC shopkeeper and Vince Vaughn is trying to haggle me for a magic carpet.
He wants the large six-person magic carpet for the four-person magic carpet price. And that isn’t going to happen. I do all the accents, and we’re going for like ten minutes haggling over this fucking carpet, and then you’re like, “Oh, this is Vince Vaughn from Swingers.” Like he’s playing him, basically. Stuff like that happens.
Speaking of the lair, you’ve been working on that for years. Is it at the point where you’re happy with it? Or is there still something you still wish you could have?
Joe Manganiello: No, I mean, I’ve got everything I could ever possibly want in there. I mean, I think the big the big question recently was, do I get an all-black deer antler chandelier over the table and then the sound system? I think I really want some form of lighting system that can project thunderstorms and things like that. So, I’m kind of working on that right now. It’s kind of like we’ve gotten to like the sound and lighting. I mean, as a dungeon master, it’s like, “How many ‘oh shit’ moments can I pack into an adventure” is really what it is.
Like, you bring that giant tea mat down. “Oh, shit!” You know, you unveil the dwarven forge crate temple. “Oh, shit!” Everybody, the cameras come out. Even here. I’m wandering the halls looking at painted minis, going, what’s going to make an “Oh shit!” moment? What can I carry home in my carry-on through three airports to get home?
Lucca Comics & Games will be held in Lucca, Tuscany, from November 1 to November 5, 2023. Check back for more coverage from Lucca and CGMagazine.
