Any day we get to chat with "True Blood" star Joe Manganiello is a good day. So imagine our delight when we heard that the tall, dark and handsome man would like to venture outside the generic interview box and take us on a little tour of one of his favorite places in Los Angeles—the city's "graffiti hall of fame."
File this one under interesting and educational. Click play on the video below to see the very pretty and very knowledgeable Mr. Manganiello in his artsy element. If you've not considered walking through street art exhibits before, we guarantee that Joe's expertise and impressive tour guide skills will pique your curiosity.
Joe explained that his love for the art form is due in part to his Pittsburgh, PA, roots and the fact that a lot of his friends growing up were into tagging. He and his buddies randomly stumbled upon the downtown artwork 10 years ago and have been regularly coming back to view it ever since.
Joe walked us through a few of his favorite pieces, including one featuring a pack of wolves (naturally) and an entire wall full of work by Mister Cartoon.
"[Mister Cartoon's] story was very interesting to me," he said. "Being an artist, being sensitive, it's not looked upon in a positive way, so it was kind of tough for him to break out and choose the path of the artist," Joe explained.
"One of the exciting things about street art is that it's for everyone," Joe continued. "It's usually only for a limited time. That's why I love this neighborhood so much, and over the past 10 years I've always come down here whenever I have free time to see what's going up and what the new pieces are."
It's also a great idea for a first date.
"On one of my first dates with my fiancée, we got out of a movie, it wasn't too late yet, and I was trying to extend the date a bit longer and took her down here and drove around in my car and turned on the headlights," he recalled with a smile.
Are you hot for street art now? Tell us in the comments or on Twitter!
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