‘Deal or No Deal Island’s Joe Manganiello Teases Season 2’s Final Tension-Filled Episodes

It’s not easy being the host of a TV show — unless you’re Joe Manganiello (above right, with contestant “Dr. Will” Kirby). “I didn’t have to try to have fun,” insists the actor and host of Deal or No Deal Island, adding that the enthusiasm he displays each week on the reality competition series, now in its second season, comes naturally and can be traced back to a childhood spent playing cards with adults, learning chess as a 6-year-old and winning poker tournaments at a young age.

Despite being best known to audiences as a werewolf on the popular HBO series True Blood and a bighearted stripper in Channing Tatum‘s Magic Mike films, it’s reality shows that are one of Manganiello’s true loves. “I know almost every episode of Survivor, ever,” he admits. “When I got offered this job, I was that close to asking my agents, ‘I kind of want to go shadow the directors on a Survivor season’ — just see how the sausage is made.”

Monty Brinton/NBC

Now he gets to see the reality-show process up close. “I think the first season was more like figuring out how the bike worked,” he says. “The second season is like, ‘Oh, great! Now I know this thing backward and forward!’ It’s second nature.”

Money — the largest prize in the show’s history — may be the endgame for the contestants, but for Manganiello, the thrill that drives him is more personal. “I love the social aspect of it,” he says. “I love reading people. You kind of wring your hands out watching people deal with the stress.” Take the March 18th penultimate episode, for example: In it, the final three players grapple with the consequences of their past choices during gameplay.

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“I really do think that where we’re at right now is like a roller coaster coming down the hill,” Manganiello offers ahead of the season finale. “It’s just a run to the finish. The strategy, the drama, the tension levels, it’s at an all-time high. I thought it was impossible to do what happens at the end of this season. And I’ve got to say that it’s one of the most insane things I have ever seen happen in my entire life.”

Deal or No Deal Island, Tuesday, March 18, 9/8c, NBC

From TV Guide Magazine

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