Health · Mental Health · 11 hrs ago
Joe Manganiello discusses a decade living with a dangerous autoimmune illness
Actor Joe Manganiello says he lived with a dangerous autoimmune illness while continuing his career in public.
He says he kept the illness private for about ten years and often felt he had to pretend to be someone else.
He is now sharing his experience on the debut episode of Super Good, a filmed podcast hosted by Rich Dorment, and in his memoir, Bloodlines.
The illness also affected his preparation for the role of Deathstroke in Ben Affleck’s planned film The Batman.
The Batman project was later abandoned, despite Manganiello having filmed a scene that appeared in Justice League.
He says the cancellation forced him to confront the effects the illness had had on his life.
The podcast’s next episode is available by subscribing to Men’s Health on YouTube.
Joe Manganiello says he lived privately with a dangerous autoimmune illness for about ten years.
He shared his experience in the debut episode of Men’s Health’s filmed podcast Super Good.
Manganiello said the illness put his life in danger and affected his preparation for the role of Deathstroke.
He also discussed the collapse of a Batman project in which he had expected to appear.
His memoir, Bloodlines, is also discussed in the episode.
- Who
- Actor and author Joe Manganiello.
- What
- He discussed living with a dangerous autoimmune illness for about ten years and sharing his story publicly.
- When
- The article was published on October 18, 2026. He said he had lived with the illness privately for about ten years.
- Where
- In the debut episode of Men’s Health’s filmed podcast Super Good. A physical location is not stated.
- Why
- He said he wanted to be able to leave home without pretending to be somebody else.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Manganiello said he lived privately with the illness.
He said he looked in the mirror, saw the scars and recognized the effects of what had happened to him.
Men’s Health published its article about Manganiello sharing his story in Super Good’s debut episode.
- Illness
- Dangerous autoimmune disease
- Private period
- About ten years
- Podcast
- Super Good
- Host
- Rich Dorment, editorial director of Men’s Health and Women’s Health
- Memoir
- Bloodlines
What people are saying
I had lived a closeted existence with this illness for, like, ten years
Any time I left my house, I was pretending to be somebody else.
I just longed for the day when I could leave my house and know that the story was out there…that I don’t have to pretend to be somebody else anymore.
When I got the call that Batman was over, it was like the brakes got slammed and everything flew into the windshield