When actor Joe Manganiello came back to Peaks Island over Memorial Day weekend for the first time in 15  years, he thought about how important the place has been in shaping his career.

Growing up near Pittsburgh, Manganiello was an athlete who found little time for anything other than team practice and studying. But spending childhood summers on Peaks gave him the time and freedom to explore his creative side. He’d stock up on comic books, take the ferry to the island, and spend his summer writing and creating role-playing games. He’d then test those games out with other kids on the island.

“The chains came off. I had no homework and no practice. It was a really formative, creative time where I was learning how to write, how to create characters,” said Manganiello, maybe best known for the “Magic Mike” movies and the HBO series “True Blood.” “It was what interested me as a kid, but a lot of that turned into what I do now for a living. ”

 

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Manganiello, 48, spent every summer of his childhood — from birth through high school — on Peaks, just a 15-minute ferry ride from Portland in Casco Bay. Both sides of his family were from the Boston area and his aunt had a house on Peaks for many years. But his busy career as a writer, actor and producer has kept him mostly away since then. He made only his second visit to the island as a adult on the Sunday before Memorial Day, spending a few days there with his girlfriend, actress Caitlin O’Connor, and revisiting his old favorite spots. He said he’s been meaning to come back for some time, so after attending a cousin’s wedding in Rhode Island, he decided to add Peaks to his New England itinerary.

He missed seeing the friendly guy who used to sell his family lobsters by the dock, but other than that, Manganiello says, most of his favorite things about the island were “right where I left them.” He strolled along Sandy Beach, shopped at Hannigan’s Island Market, visited the World War II bunker known as Battery Steele, got an ice cream cone from Down Front and went to burger night at the Lions Club.

Manganiello said some people wanted photos with him, but most gave him space. Some remembered his family’s visits to the island.

“People came up and talked to me like I was a neighbor. Some said they knew my aunt and talked about her,” said Manganiello. “It was just like I was a kid, grown up, who’s come back to the island.”

 

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He ate lobster at the Island Lobster Company and posted photos of the food on Instagram. The can of Moxie in one photo is not there just for ambience, or because every tourist is told to try it. Manganiello says he’s loved the soft drink since he was a kid.

“I’ve got some in my refrigerator right now,” said Manganiello, who lives in Los Angeles.

Manganiello was surprised to find out that the former military barracks on Great Diamond Island now house upscale condos. When he was young, he’d go over to Great Diamond in his uncle’s boat and explore the abandoned and crumbling buildings, being careful not to get cut on all the smashed glass. He said it was “really eerie and cool.” After a boat trip, there’d usually be a lunch of red snapper hot dogs and Humpty Dumpty sour cream and clam-flavored potato chips.

Manganiello said while he was on Peaks in May, he did some writing for some upcoming projects he can’t talk about yet. At the moment, he can be seen in the Netflix comedy “Nonnas” with Vince Vaughn, Lorraine Bracco, Talia Shire, Brenda Vaccaro and Susan Sarandon.

In the movie, he plays the best friend of a man (Vaughn) who decides to open an Italian restaurant in New York to honor his late mother and his grandmother, and the dishes that he cherished in childhood. He decides to staff the restaurant with grandmothers – nonnas in Italian – so the food will remind people of their childhood. The film came out in May.

Manganiello’s career has included widely varying roles and genres. He played the best friend of Pee-wee Herman (Paul Reubens) in “Pee-wee’s Big Holiday” in 2016 and he played an exotic dancer in the “Magic Mike” movies. Even though the “Magic Mike” movies get a lot of attention and he’s strongly associated with that character, Manganiello doesn’t worry about being typecast or pigeonholed by fans.

“I guess the best compliment you can get in this business is that people believe you’re the character,” said Manganiello.

Manganiello is also host of the NBC reality show “Deal or No Deal Island,” where people compete in mental and physical challenges on an island in an effort to find briefcases full of money. Manganiello says he enjoys hosting the show because it’s unscripted and the results are unpredictable and “I like toying with people as they try to win millions.”

Manganiello has also been involved in several projects related to Dungeons & Dragons, including a yet-to-be released documentary film about the classic role-playing game.

“I was creating games and adventures and characters with my brother and all these other kids on the island, and then as an adult I get hired to work Dungeons & Dragons,” he said. “It all goes back to those summers.”