There's no denying that Joe Manganiello has the the right amount of gruff, passion and ripped muscles to tackle Stanley Kowalski in Tennessee Williams' Pulitzer Prize-winning classic A Streetcar Named Desire. The True Blood star, who will play the brutish auto-parts salesman through October 12 at Yale Repertory Theatre in New Haven, CT, seems thrilled to be returning to his stage roots (he studied drama at Carnegie Mellon) and delivering a knockout performance. On September 28, Broadway.com photographer Bruce Glikas swung by the theater to snap a few shots of the star backstage. Manganiello also posed with his gorgeous mother (so that's where he gets his winning smile), who came to see her talented son deliver the iconic, "Stellaaaa!" Check out our exclusive Hot Shots, and head to New Haven to see Manganiello in A Streetcar Named Desire!