There’s a hot new werewolf on the scene!

Taylor Lautner may be PEOPLE’s most wanted star in 2010, but True Blood fans will have something to growl about now that the show has cast Joe Manganiello as Alcide Herveaux, who will appear in season 3 as a love interest for Sookie Stackhouse.

In the books by Charlaine Harris that HBO’s hit is based on, the werewolf Alcide helps Sookie (played by Anna Paquin on the show) search for her missing vampire beau Bill Compton (played by Stephen Moyer).

According to EW.com, which first reported the casting news, producers were looking for a “good-looking, rough-around-the-edges, articulate, heroic, and decent” man for the role.
They found their guy in Manganiello, who is best known for playing bartender Owen on One Tree Hill and his recurring role as Brad on How I Met Your Mother.
In another bit of casting news, Emmy-winner Alfre Woodard will guest star on True Blood, according to The Hollywood Reporter, as the mother of Lafayette (Nelsan Ellis), Merlotte’s short-order cook who illegally sold vampire blood.