In August 2016, Ben Affleck shared cryptic footage of Joe Manganiello as Deathstroke. We would later find out that he had a cameo in Justice League to set up being the main villain in Ben Affleck's Batman movie, which he was set to direct, write, and star in. But the journey for Manganiello to get to that role was more intense than anyone could have imagined.

In his new book, "Bloodlines: A Memoir", Joe Manganiello reveals he had a near-fatal medical crisis involving a ruptured intestine and emergency surgery. The Hollywood Reporter published an exclusive excerpt which details the struggles Manganiello went through to land, and keep, the role of Deathstroke.

Sofia Vergara, his wife at the time and next of kin, "made the brutal but lifesaving decision" to allow his large intestine to be removed. A hole to be cut into his abdomen to divert his small intestine into an ostomy bag. Manganiello's weight had dropped from 235 pounds of muscle to 176, a weight he says he hadn't been since middle school.

As Manganiello was starting to recover from the life-saving surgery, he got a call from his agent that Ben Affleck wanted to meet him to discuss playing Deathstroke in his Batman movie.

During the meeting, Manganiello hid his medical condition from Affleck and ended up landing the role. Manganiello said he used it as motivation to get back in shape and to prepare his body for the grueling six month Batman movie shoot that was scheduled to take place in a year.

Now that he had the role, Manganiello had to go to the UK for Deathstroke suit fittings. To prevent the ostomy bag from leaking or bursting under the extreme compression of the Deathstroke suit, Manganiello fasted for 18 hours before his fitting to ensure his digestive system was completely empty.

At the fitting in London, he had to politely ask the wardrobe team to step out so he could change without revealing his surgical scars or the ostomy bag, maintaining his privacy. Manganiello thought he had reached the end of his fitting appointment, but there was one last step.

To construct a custom mannequin for tailoring the Deathstroke suit over the following month, the crew needed to run a 3D scan using 256 cameras. The process hit a snag when technicians informed him that the cameras couldn't scan his black underwear and handed him tiny, bright blue briefs -- leaving him in a panic over how to cover his body and hide the ostomy bag.

And that was where the excerpt of his book that The Hollywood Reporter published ends. You'll have to buy it when it goes on sale on October 13th to find out what happens next.

What a crazy story to hear, and it makes it even more unfortunate that Manganiello never got to star as Deathstroke in that Ben Affleck Batman movie. There is a silver lining, however, the role gave him the motivation he needed to get healthy after a near-death experience.

You can read the full excerpt, as well as listen to Manganiello narrate it, at the source link below.

SOURCE: The Hollywood Reporter