'True Blood' star Joe Manganiello is happy to bare all for the show.

'True Blood' star Joe Manganiello is happy to bare all for the show.

The 35-year-old star plays werewolf Alcide Herveaux in the HBO series and has no problem with revealing his butt when he transforms from occult animal to human because he thinks it would be unrealistic for his character to magically have clothes.

He said: "As far as the butt cheek stuff goes, it just makes sense. It's not gratuitous; it's realistic. If you're a werewolf and you transform, you lose everything and there are your butt cheeks. The show is a deconstruction of supernatural creatures. It's not like other werewolf projects, where you magically reappear with tiny jean shorts on."

'Magic Mike' star Joe works hard to stay in shape for his role in 'True Blood' and says he feels like he has to look good to play a werewolf.

He explained to Out magazine: "I like working hard. It's my letter of gratitude to Alan Ball for giving me this opportunity. Vampires are animated corpses. They can get away with not looking like they go to a gym. I'm a wild animal -- that's how I should look." - Bang Showbiz

Today's DStv highlights.

l Restoration Home, The Home Channel, 20.00

Presented by Caroline Quentin, this show follows the plight of private owners of crumbling historic buildings as they save them from ruin and restore them into 21st- century homes. With the aid of architectural expert Kieran Long and social historian Dr Kate Williams, Restoration Home turns detective to unravel the properties’ history. As the new owners transform the buildings into their homes, the family trees of these crumbling ruins start to emerge.

l Forrest Gump, Sony Entertainment Television, 20.30

Tom Hanks stars as Forrest, a mentally challenged man with a naïve yet refreshingly simple approach to life. He accidentally finds himself in the middle of key moments in contemporary history, from meeting JFK to fighting in Vietnam, inspiring people such as Corporal Dan along the way. But this remarkable Everyman always comes back to his troubled childhood friend, Jenny, ultimately making selfless love his most extraordinary achievement.

l The Ghost and the Darkness, M-Net Action, 20.30

An engineer and a hunter stalk two lions killing a construction crew in East Africa.

l Rare Anatomy, BBC Knowledge, 22.00

Imagine breaking a rib just by coughing, or having an organ turn to bone. This show explores the science of blood, bone, muscle and skin, using cutting-edge animation to take viewers inside the bodies of people with extraordinary genetic conditions. Delve into the worlds of brittle bone syndrome and a condition that progressively encases a person in a second skeleton.

Loose-lipped Sheen says Ashton Kutcher deserves better

Feel like déjà vu? That’s because we’ve been on the Charlie Sheen backtracking machine before.

According to TMZ.com, Sheen has issued an official apology to the Ashton Kutcher – who has replaced him on hit TV show ‘Two and a Half Men’.

The 46-year-old star held nothing back in his rant to TMZ, saying: “I'm tired of lying...I'm tired of pretending the show doesn't suck...I'm tired of pretending Ashton doesn't suck.”

“It's nothing personal...I just feel bad for him. He's saddled with such bad writing.”

Now, the former ‘Wall Street’ star has backtracked on his cutting remarks in a letter published by the site, which reads:

“Dear Ashton,

My bad.

I was disrespectful to a man doing his best.

I got excited and I threw you into the crossfire, but the rest of my statement I stand behind. You however, deserve better.

Safety in your travels good sir.

CS”.

So, what was the spark that lit the fuse in the first place? Warner Bros. had ordered Sheen to stop using ‘Two and a Half Men’ publicity stills to promote his new show, ‘Anger Management’.

A spokesperson for Warner Bros confirmed that Sheen had been sent a cease and desist letter after he had used the pictures at a recent TV convention. - IOL

Media mogul has a go at fellow Britain’s Got Talent judge

Never one to mince his words, Simon Cowell took a swipe at Alesha Dixon during Britain’s Got Talent auditions, asking his fellow judge “Who are you anyway?”

The remark drew gasps and then boos from the watching audience, and Dixon reportedly “laid into” Cowell behind the scenes.

Cowell’s catty comment was surprising considering that he lured the former Mis-Teeq singer from her judging role on Strictly Come Dancing with a hefty pay packet.

According to the Daily Mail, the spat started when a dance group called Lil’ Diamondz took the stage for their audition. The group had previously won another dance/talent search called Alesha’s Street Dance Stars, hosted by Dixon.

After their performance, the 33-year-old Dixon told the crew that “they hadn’t let her down”, to which Cowell responded: “What a silly comment to make. That’s a silly thing to say, Alesha”.

He then added: “Sorry, who are you, anyway?”

A source close to Dixon explained that the star was “embarrassed” by the incident.

“Alesha obviously felt slighted. Everybody could tell because she clammed up and looked really embarrassed. 'Simon was reclining in his usual manner and didn’t seem bothered that he had just caused so much upset.

“Alesha was determined not to cause a scene in front of the audience but she really let rip behind closed doors.

“It was humiliating for Alesha that Simon suggested she is a nobody. “This is especially the case when only a few months ago she was happily on another judging panel and Simon made it clear he wanted to poach her.

“She told her friends that she felt his dig had been ‘out of order’ and stormed off to her dressing room.

“She is not another Kelly Brook in this situation and knows that what she says on the panel is valid.”

Brook was sensationally axed as a judge after just a week on the show in 2009.

A source close to Cowell, however, dismissed the incident as “harmless banter”.

“He never intended to slight Alesha – it was all harmless banter. He always bickers with his fellow judges. It’s light-hearted fun which is just part of the show.”

Lil Diamondz, incidently, made it through to the next round.

Today's DStv highlights.

l The Unsellables, The Home Channel, 18.30

From dated décor and filthy interiors to cluttered closets and messy bedrooms, this show tackles the most unsightly and unsellable listings on the real estate market. It encourages desperate homeowners to get smart, let go of the past and prepare for a sale. Join property guru Sofie Allsopp and celebrity contractor Anthony Sayers as they coach home sellers through targeted makeovers that will help them seal the deal.

l Maneater Manhunt: Tiger at Large, Nat Geo Wild, 19.00

The tiger: rare, elusive, and beautiful, but sometimes deadly. As their habitat shrinks and their prey declines, the tigers of Chitwan National Park in Nepal are increasingly hunting humans. Over the past 25 years, 88 people have been killed by tigers in and around the park. One tigress, Nangara “The Claw” Pothi, has killed at least 10 people since 2008. Gordon Buchanan travels to Nepal to investigate this serial killer.

l Blue Crush, M-Net Stars, 19.30

Life for Anne Marie has been one long pipe-dream. She’s about to make that dream a reality if she can keep from drowning in her own fear. But more is at stake than the pressure of competing in one of the world’s most dangerous and male-dominated sports.

l Bachelor Pad, Vuzu, 20:30

At a gorgeous mansion, Chris Harrison tells Tenley she is the first guest to step into the Bachelor Pad. Others then filter in. Many of these love-seekers were on their respective Bachelor and Bachelorette seasons together, but others come into the house without any ties… for now.

While some actors have misgivings about taking on gay roles, Sandile Makhoba was far more concerned with doing justice to his homosexual character T-Bos in e.tv’s Rhythm City.

Twenty-seven-year-old Sandile Makhoba has been on Rhythm City for just less than two weeks and already his character, T-Bos, who is modelled on real-life personality DJ Cleo, has fans intrigued.

Introduced as a new artist Thula was hoping to sign on to Hustle, T-Bos is intensely passionate about his music. While he attracts much attention, there are certain things about him that T-Bos would rather have remain out of the public domain.

Before delving into his role and soap debut, Durban-born Makhoba opened up about his journey into showbiz.

A drama graduate from the Durban University of Technology (DUT), he moved to the TV Mecca of SA, Jozi, in 2007. He worked for two education theatre companies where he honed his craft before deciding to spread his wings.

“I got to a point where I had learnt all I could doing children’s theatre. I wanted to do more. Not long after leaving, I got a cameo role in Wild at Heart. I played an event organiser,” he says.

Despite it being a brief stint, the actor says it was interesting for him to get a feel of what it was like to work on a British drama series.

“Thereafter work started pouring in,” he confirms. “I bagged a cameo in SABC1’s Fallen and did a couple of TV commercials. I also started doing voice-over work. And I was the voice for last year’s Samas.”

Interestingly enough, he never auditioned to play T-Bos.

Makhoba recalls: “When they initially held auditions for the character, I couldn’t make it. My grandma had passed on and I was very emotional. I got my agent to ask if, under the circumstances, they could reschedule. They said ‘no’ but if they were auditioning again, they would give me a call. I wasn’t too fazed about it.

“Two weeks after I returned home after my gran’s funeral, I got a call saying they wanted me for the role.”

Basically, the decision makers at Rhythm City watched his auditions for other roles and settled on him being perfect for T-Bos.

“I’d auditioned for similar characters before,” he points out.

Makhoba shot his scenes in October last year. However, his character’s lifespan hinges on the audiences’ reception.

“I won’t lie, my first day on set was overwhelming,” he confesses. “But I also knew I had to come through.

“What’s fun about this job is, aside from playing a character, I also remind myself to have fun and relax.”

In the story, T-Bos tries to keep his sexual orientation to himself. Of course, it isn’t easy when surroun-ded by meddlesome types.

“He has this successful career on one side. But while he wants that respect he also wants to keep his private life secret. So he gets aggro about things when people start showing interest in that part of his life,” explains Makhoba.

That he plays a character who isn’t out of the closet was never something Makhoba approached with caution, especially with him being in the novice phase of his career. Instead, the actor says he relished the idea of playing the character. With him also wanting to, at some point, break into the music industry, this role appealed to him even more.

“I am not the type to dwell on negative aspects. I would rather focus on the positive. The aim was not to look at how T-Bos will be perceived. I wanted to enjoy playing this character and see where I could take the story. Funnily enough, I’m also musically inclined. To get to play someone with a musical bone – it just does something to my soul.”

As for the person behind the persona, Makhoba prefers not to reveal too much. But he certainly maintains a level-headed approach to his career.

“In this industry, you have to be smart. I believe that working hard is important. But you also have to work smart. With this kind of work, you can be employed and then be without money for three to six months.

“A mistake many people have made is not investing in their future,” he says.

To those in his inner-circle, Makhoba is this crazy person who is noisy, enjoys his music and cartoons such as South Park (and a few kiddie toons, too).

“I also don’t think there is a way I can describe the person I am. It is all about what you take from me,” the actor says.

But one thing is certain, the magnet on his fridge, that reads: “It is better to keep silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt” – is no reflection on the well-spoken, calm and charming person I interviewed.

• Rhythm City airs on e.tv at 6.30pm on weekdays.

BET Honors is in it’s fifth year. The awards took place in Washington DC and premiered in SA last night, but will be aired again on TopTV’s BET on Wednesday.

Last week, an icon of r&b music died. Since then, Whitney Houston mixes have clogged up the airwaves, quotes by those close to the star have been misconstrued and there have been thousands of tributes on youtube.

But, as Kanye West so eloquently put it: “If you admire somebody, you should go ahead and tell them. People never get the flowers while they can still smell them.”

It’s with this in mind that Black Entertainment Television has hosted the BET Honors for the past five years.

This year, the awards took place in Washington DC and premiered in SA last night, but will be aired again on TopTV’s BET on Wednes- day. The BET Honors seeks to recognise African-Americans who have left an indelible mark on their communities and, sometimes, the world.

In the past, the BET Honors have put the spotlight on Dr Cornel West, Magic Johnson, Mary J Blige, Cicely Tyson and Herbie Hancock.

It must be said, too, that last year, Houston was one of the award recipients – while she could still smell the flowers.

Seeming to get more serious each year, this year’s do had the cream of the respective spheres on the honour roll. They are Dr Maya Angelou, Spike Lee, Mariah Carey, Stevie Wonder, Beverley Kearney and the Tuskegee Airmen.

For the fourth year in a row, award-winning actress Gabrielle Union was the host. Comedian and actor Cedric The Entertainer hosted the inaugural affair.

What tickled me is that for this year’s ceremony, US journalist and filmmaker, dream hampton, was asked to pen the scripts for Union and the presenters. You may remember hampton as the first female editor of the hip hop bible, The Source, and the woman who wrote Jay-Z’s authorised biography The Black Book, which Mr Carter deemed too personal to publish, and the co-author of Jay-Z’s Decoded which hit book stores last year.

The presenters who read hampton’s work include Michelle Obama, Terrence Howard, Cuba Gooding jr and John Singleton.

What’s an award show without musical performances? A highlight is a rendition of Angelou’s Still I Rise poem, by Queen Latifah, Jill Scott, Willow Smith and Tyson. Kelly Rowland performed a tribute to Carey and Jennifer Hudson and Common and Anthony Hamilton ended things on a high note. After all, as the tag line of the BET Honors says, this is “what extraordinary looks like”.

• The BET Honors, BET (TopTV channel 190), Wednesday, 10pm.

Just when you think you know everything about rap sensation AKA, he proves you wrong. For the next few weeks the award winner will be co-hosting popular gaming show The Verge.

Just when you think you know everything about rap sensation AKA, he proves you wrong. For the next few weeks the award winner will be co-hosting Vuzu’s popular gaming show, The Verge.

The show keeps lovers of video games in the loop of what’s new, what’s hot and what’s not. If you are not a gamer – as they are called – this show might not make much sense to you, but if you do play then you know the importance of a show such as The Verge.

Gamers need constant updates on what’s happening in the gaming industry. Games take years to develop and those who love to play are an impatient bunch who need information on when the next instalment of their favourite game will be released.

After all this is said and done, you then wonder what Mr Victory Lap, AKA, is doing on a show such as this. Looking at his hip hop persona you’d never take him for a gamer, so you could be forgiven for thinking the pretty-boy rapper got the job because he is the current the “It” guy. In fact, AKA is a serious gamer who plays whenever he has a chance.

“I have always been a gamer, since I was eight,” said AKA.

“Back then I owned what was known as a Sega 8-bit system that kept me busy with game titles such as Mortal Combat, Sonic and so on,” he explained.

He went on to talk about his love for gaming and said he even reached a point where he thought a career might be an option. We need to thank our lucky stars that was not meant to be as we would have missed out on the music.

“My dad was in IT. He was a programmer so that influenced my interest in becoming part of the gaming world. Unfortunately for me, after reading a bit about the subject and discovering how complicated programming is and how sometimes you have to be good at maths, I decided to rather stick to playing instead,” he explained.

But it was only a matter of time until the game would come back, calling his name.

“I was a guest on The Verge sometime last year and while there I discovered just how much fun it was. Being the schemer I am, I asked if I could present a couple of episodes and they said they would get back to me. They only gave me a call this year to ask if I was interested and I jumped at the opportunity,” he said.

So anyone can claim they are a gamer because it is still a niche market in South Africa. But to put the rapper’s word to test we started talking current titles. Again he showed his thorough knowledge of the subject.

“I had three game consoles: the X-Box 360, the Nintendo Wii and the PlayStation 3. I realised they were costing me a lot in upkeep since I was supposed to get them separate games. I then gave others away and remained with the PS3.

“I am currently playing Fifa and Battlefield 3. I am looking forward to GTA 5 and the PSP Vita,” he said casually.

• The Verge airs every Mondays with AKA’s co-host Pippa and on Wednesdays with AKA at 10.30pm on Vuzu (channel 123). Repeats are on Saturdays and Sundays at 8.30am.

Debashine Thangevelo caught up with lead actor Andrew Lincoln to gain insight on his career and the spine-tingling new season of The Walking Dead.

With a full and, I imagine, frenetic day ahead of him, Andrew Lincoln was uncharacteristically calm during our tête-à-tête.

In fact, I struggled to decide whether this was his general disposition, or if he was simply in character. His winning chatty nature, though, held true to the former belief.

The 38-year-old actor, blessed with chiselled features that stood out in Love Actually, Heartbreaker and Made in Dagenham, has been in the industry for close on two decades.

Aside from flexing his acting muscles in the TV shows This Life, A Likeness in Stone, Teachers, State of Mind, Afterlife and The Canterbury Tales, Lincoln started producing (Enduring Love) and directing (Teachers – just two episodes, though).

Despite the substantial number of TV characters he has portrayed over the years, Lincoln admits nothing comes close to his role as Deputy Sheriff Rick Grimes in The Walking Dead, with season three given the green light by TV channel AMC.

“Yeah, there is no relation to any part I have played, which is one of the most thrilling things about it,” offers Lincoln.

With the story based on the comic book series, he says its phenomenal reception took him by surprise.

“The success of the show has shocked and thrilled all of us. It came out of the blue, really. You always hope people are going to watch the show. This is a bit ridiculous and bewildering… and incredibly exciting,” he laughs.

On his scope in the series, which bagged a Golden Globe nomination for Best Television Series Drama, Lincoln says: “It’s a huge role in a huge show. And the workload is different to most of the other jobs. Usually, I am in a much bigger ensemble.”

Lincoln starts chuckling at his recollection of the first time he read the script.

“It said ‘zombie serial horror’. That was when I phoned my agent and said: ‘Are you crazy?’ Then I read it and loved it. The next thing I knew, we starting making it.”

As for what goes on behind the scenes to make the characters come alive (pun unintended), the actor says: “In the series, you have the survivors and the walkers (aka the zombies). The day begins at different hours, depending on your character. As a walker, you have wigs, prosthetics and your legs painted. Honestly, we have one of the best teams in Hollywood in make-up. But it does mean the actors have to get up at 3am as they spend hours in make-up.

“If you are one of ‘us’, you don’t have any. In fact, they actively take make-up off you because of the storyline and its setting. After all, we are survivors in a zombie apocalypse, so we have to look as rough as possible.”

With the benchmark set in the first instalment of The Walking Dead, what does the follow-up season promise?

“The first season was very linear,” explains Lincoln. “It was very much about Rick dealing with the shock and horror of the new world and finding the survivors. Then he finds his family – his wife and son. And he was focused on finding a safe haven. At the beginning of season two, they realise Atlanta has fallen. They have to find a fort and an army. It is an extreme situation.”

While wanting to maintain the suspense regarding the new season, Lincoln hinted that there will be a few familiar faces making a return and the story will shift to a countryside setting.

With tensions running high and a clash of beliefs reigning supreme, the show’s fans are promised a spellbinding series.

“Shane (Jon Bernthal) starts asserting himself as a viable leader. There is a definite spiralling in the first six episodes. There are also a lot of new characters and a return of old favourites. And there is a comedic twist as well,” he reveals.

On the shoot, Lincoln says it was a joy “and really beautiful being in the woodlands of southern Atlanta”.

“One of the actors had a tick somewhere I can’t really tell you,” he laughs. “Forget about the zombies, we were being eating alive by chiggers (a mite).”

It doesn’t matter which way you look at it, viewers will have no trouble sinking their teeth into this new season.

As for Lincoln, he was dead on the money in playing the male lead and, from the way he waxes lyrical about the show and his character, he treasures his meaty role and the success it has brought him.

• The Walking Dead airs on FX on TopTV on Tuesdays at 9.15pm.