Certain roles often inspire actors to continue to explore the source material even after the film finishes. In 2012, True Blood star Joe Manganiello played stripper Big Dick Richie in Magic Mike. Apparently that role inspired him to research strip clubs’ grittier sides.

Recently, Manganiello spent some time at the La Bare strip clubs, an iconic chain in Dallas, Texas. Manganiello told EW that his role in Magic Mike sparked his interest in the strip club lifestyle. A friend of his once mumbled a reveal that he stripped in the 90s. At the time Manganiello didn’t pry. While researching the role of Richie, he called his friend for more information. Manganiello was shocked by his friend’s stripping stories. They made the rock star and stripper lifestyles seem very similar. “When I sat down with him, the stories that he told were nothing of what I expected, and really just mind-blowing. It was sex, drugs, and rock ‘n roll,” Manganiello told Entertainment Weekly.

Once Magic Mike finished filming, Manganiello went to Dallas, along with his producing partner and brother Nick, to shoot footage from La Bare clubs. Their original intention was to create a reality show based around the strip clubs. After talking to Steven Soderbergh, Magic Mike director, Manganiello decided to tell a deeper story with a documentary. The La Bare documentary shows both the fun and dark side of the male stripper world. It premieres at Slamdance this Sunday, January 19, 2014.

Now Manganiello is considering investing in one of the La Bare strip clubs.

“The owner [of La Bare] has asked me if I want to go in with him on a new club. We’re talking about it. I never in a million years thought this is the way my career would be going, but here we are,” Manganiello told E! online.

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