Spider-Man’s Joe Manganiello had mystery seven-year illness that resulted in 'amputation'
The actor Joe Manganiello, who played Flash Thompson in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man, is releasing a memoir where he opens up about his serious health issues that resulted in him having an organ removed.
If you've seen the classic superhero movie he played the high-school bully who picks on Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) and then gets humiliated when Peter gets his superpowers.
His book Bloodlines is releasing in October this year and it says it will delve into 'a previously undisclosed health ordeal' the actor went through, explaining that the 49-year-old suffered 'multiple near-death experiences and medical crises'.
Manganiello explained that his health issues 'led him beyond medicine and into a remarkable, globe-spanning quest that revealed answers about his ancestry, inherited trauma, and the deeper histories we carry', or so the promotion for Bloodlines says.
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The upcoming book described how for seven years he was 'plagued by chronic pain' which resulted in him needing a 'life-saving organ amputation'.
Amputation is not typically the term used for organ removal but it's the one Manganiello used, as he explained that he suffered a 'a cascade of autoimmune-related illnesses attacked his skin, thyroid, eyes, lungs, and digestive system'.
The actor said it all happened 'without warning' and triggered an 'existential crisis, and a prolonged fight for survival that left doctors with few answers and no clear explanation'.
Speaking to People ahead of the book's release, the actor said: "It was the most brutally difficult time of my life, one I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy, but also my greatest adventure.
"I hope that what I went through on this journey can give readers hope that answers and healing may lie for them on the other side of whatever they are fighting through.
"The process of writing this book gave me the gift of perspective that helped me to see that my suffering was a cocoon from which I would emerge forever changed."
The book has not released yet and the information put out does not specify exactly what illness he had or which organ was removed.
He does say that in his efforts to find treatment he went through 'shamans, pagan rituals, ancient myths, long-lost family records and the rebirth of his own spirituality'.
Elsewhere in his career Manganiello has appeared in True Blood, the Magic Mike movies and the Netflix adaptation of One Piece.
He's also presented Deal or No Deal Island where he witnessed someone win the biggest prize in US TV history.
Joe Harker