Movies

The ‘Magic Mike’ star who filmed Texas’ hottest male strippers

After starring as a stripper in 2012’s “Magic Mike,” Joe Manganiello wasn’t quite ready to hang up his fireman’s hat.

Manganiello poses with some of the dancer from “La Bare” at the film’s premiere.WireImage

No, he didn’t keep dropping his trousers in public — but he did do the next best thing. Stepping behind the camera to direct and produce alongside his brother Nick, Manganiello brings a male stripping documentary, “La Bare,” to theaters this Friday. The film pulls back the curtain of the Dallas strip club of the same name, delving into the lives of dudes who peel off their pants for greenbacks.

“There were a lot of conversations after ‘Magic Mike’ about the differences between male and female fantasies and how they manifest themselves in a male strip club versus a female strip club,” Manganiello tells The Post. “I kept having conversations about men being objectified. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that was a complete misnomer.”

Men, he says, can’t be objectified.

“They don’t care why women like them, just as long as they do,” he explains. “There’s not the societal pressure put on men that there is on women to look a certain way, talk a certain way, behave a certain way in public. There was no better exploration of that than doing a documentary about these male dancers.”

A dancer on the stage at La Bare.Main Street Films

The 37-year-old, whose final season of “True Blood” premieres tonight on HBO, was introduced to the male-stripper scene while researching his “Magic Mike” role as Big Dick Richie. After founding his production company, he decided to self-finance a real look at that world.

All he needed was the perfect setting. He nixed Vegas for the unlikable seediness he’d seen on a certain gigolo show, LA for its wannabe actors, Miami for its lack of “Americana” and New York for its alternative vibe. Dallas’ La Bare proved to be exactly what he was looking for.

La Bare opened in 1978, and its owners claim it was the first full-time male dance club. The burlesque style shows feature sizzling choreography with routines both classic (cop-themed) and innovative (an aerial silk artist swinging from the ceiling).

In the beginning, dancers were hesitant to participate in the film. But that disappeared once Manganiello walked into the club and they realized who he was — the firefighter on the giant “Magic Mike” banner hanging by the club’s bar.

Backstage at La Bare.Main Street Films

In no time, the dancers weren’t just baring their bodies — they were baring their souls. In between the pelvic thrusts, the men open up about how they came to be objects of lust. For some — like an upstart who calls himself “Channing,” in reverence for Tatum — it’s all fun. But one dancer deals with balancing his job with having a wife and kid at home, and another gets Botox to keep up with the young bucks. Others tell how the murder of La Bare’s best dancer changed the club for everyone.

Manganiello says Gregory Jacobs, director of the 2015 sequel “Magic Mike XXL,” has declared the doc required viewing for anyone working on that film. “I would go further to say that it’s required viewing for any fan of ‘Magic Mike’ 1 who is anticipating ‘Magic Mike’ 2,” says Manganiello. “This is the appetizer course that’s going to hold everyone over.”

Abs-olute power

We can’t all get those perfect six-packs in time for summer. But these stars have put in the time, and they’re showing off the goods in the season’s biggest movies:

Chris Pratt in “Guardians of the Galaxy”

Marvel
The previously tubby “Parks and Recreation” star dropped from a 44-inch waist to a 34 for his superhero role in the Aug. 1 movie by working out four hours a day for five months — and cutting out beer.

Jessica Alba in “Sin City: A Dame to Kill For”

Dimension Films, Everett Collection
Dance instructor Jennifer “JJ Dancer” Johnson worked with Alba before she reprised her part as a sexy stripper in the Aug. 22 movie. But Johnson told People magazine that the most important thing for Alba is diet — she focuses on salads and protein.

Dwayne Johnson in “Hercules”

David James/Paramount Pictures
The artist formerly known as the Rock revealed that after 150 straight days of strict dieting with seven meals a day for the July 25 flick, he rewarded himself with a massive cheat day: 12 pancakes, four pizzas and 21 brownies.

Leonardo in “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles”

Paramount Pictures
Leo had to be whipped into shape for the latest incarnation of the reptilian crime-fighters, out Aug. 8. His sculpted new bod is much more muscular than in the Turtles’ 1990 film outing, thanks to a redesign under the watchful eye of producer Michael Bay.