Joe Manganiello almost began his career in reality TV. The Magic Mike actor told Entertainment Tonight in an interview published Wednesday (February 21st) that he once auditioned for Survivor.

"So, years ago. Long, long, long, long, long time ago I was at some pool party somewhere," he told the outlet. "And I met someone who was casting for Survivor when it first came out. I was like, 'I could win.' And they were like, 'Oh, really? Why don't you make a tape?' And it was summer. I was working construction to pay the bills."

Manganiello said they even “wanted” him to be on the show, but he had already done a pilot for a TV show. "They said you can't be an actor," he explained. "Because there's too many actors in L.A. trying to, [so] we can't."

Out there somewhere, he added, is “a DVD of my Survivor audition as Joe the Construction Worker from Pittsburgh … And it's him jackhammering out there."