--- ---  # You'll Never Guess Who Convinced Joe Manganiello to Strip for _Magic Mike_ by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Jun 23, 2015 11:55 AM UTC  Actor Joe Manganiello during an interview with Seth Meyers on Late Night on June 22, 2015. Actor Joe Manganiello during an interview with Seth Meyers on Late Night on June 22, 2015.Lloyd Bishop—NBC/Getty Images by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Jun 23, 2015 11:55 AM UTC Joe Manganiello wasn’t always so sure about joining the cast of _Magic Mike_, where he and a band of merry, sweaty men bare it all for raucous crowds. In fact, if it wasn’t for one comedian, the towering star may have never jumped on stage at “Xquisite” — and wouldn’t be appearing in the upcoming sequel _Magic Mike XXL_. The star told Seth Meyers on _Late Night_ on Monday that Chris Rock was the one who ultimately convinced him to take the role. “I’m kind of a guy’s guy and I think guys are going to hate me if I keep doing this,” Manganiello recalls telling Rock. “And he said, ‘Man, guys are going to hate you anyway.'” With that piece of golden advice, the rest was history. Magic Mike XXL's Joe Manganiello Says Chris Rock Told Him to Strip ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3931620/joe-manganiello-magic-mike-xxl/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3931620/joe-manganiello-magic-mike-xxl/"},"headline":"You'll Never Guess Who Convinced Joe Manganiello to Strip for Magic Mike","datePublished":"2015-06-23T11:55:18.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:21:23.513Z","description":"The actor told Seth Meyers he wasn't sure he wanted to be known for baring it all","url":"https://time.com/3931620/joe-manganiello-magic-mike-xxl/","keywords":["Newsfeed","Television","Late Night Highlight","Chris Rock"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0c2c049fd5f553ea/698857e72dce018f1a9e44ff/joe-manganiello.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Maya Rhodan","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0c2c049fd5f553ea/698857e72dce018f1a9e44ff/joe-manganiello.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Joe Manganiello Seth Meyers","caption":"Joe Manganiello Seth Meyers","creditText":"Lloyd Bishop—NBC/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3931620/joe-manganiello-magic-mike-xxl/","name":"You'll Never Guess Who Convinced Joe Manganiello to Strip for Magic Mike"}}]}] ```