Joe Manganiello has been discussing the strict workout regime that has helped him find fame in Magic Mike and True Blood.

The 37-year-old hunk, reportedly dating bombshell actress Sofia Vergara, told Men's Health that he had worked damn hard to get his ripped body.

"I didn't just train after work: I hit the gym like an animal. I pushed myself to the point where people around me were borderline frightened."

And he explained that the prospect of spending most of his time half-naked in Magic Mike was a strong motivation to stick with the programme.

"When you're shirtless every day there's no let up. So we spent a fortnight doing thousands of push-ups, thousands of curls, thousands of lat raises.

"We basically spent every day working out for two weeks in a row."

Manganiello, who plays werewolf Alcide in True Blood, also suggested that some of his fellow actors took shortcuts when they graced magazine covers.

"A lot of the actors who are on the cover of lifestyle magazines look like they've had their waistline airbrushed or they're wearing winter clothes or whatever.

"I see them and think: 'That guy doesn’t work out, I know that guy and he smokes two packs of cigarettes a day and is a complete drunk on the weekends. Now he's putting out an illusion on the cover of a glossy magazine.'

"It's absurd to me. I'm athletic and I'm healthy. I'm like a unicorn in the world of actors."

The full interview appears in the September issue of Men's Health, on sale Friday, 1 August. Also available as a digital edition.

Photography by Patrik Giardino, pictures courtesy of Men's Health.