Joe Manganiello certainly heard some unexpected news in 2021 when he appeared on genealogy series "Finding Your Roots". The "Archenemy" star was informed that he descends from slavery. The discovery began when the show's experts found out that Manganiello and his paternal grandfather's DNA didn't match up. After further investigation, it was determined that one of three other distant relatives, all of whom were brothers, was his true grandparent. And interestingly, the siblings were said to be African American.
The team then delved further into Manganiello's family tree where they happened upon his fifth great-grandfather. Plato Turner was an African man that had been forced into the slave trade before finding freedom, eventually serving in the Revolutionary War. As you'd expect, the actor was stunned to hear about this piece of his past. He remarked (via TODAY) "For me to be sitting here today, it's like threading a needle with a bow and arrow at a hundred yards three times. It's impossible."
Manganiello went on to say he was grateful for the whole learning experience: "If I'm a tree, the tree has roots for the first time. It's not gonna blow away. I know what it is and I know who the people were that were involved, and I know where I came from. It's really about understanding what I am a part of instead of wondering. This is one of the great gifts of my life."
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