Manu Bennett
 |
Manu Bennett | |
|---|---|
| Born | Jonathan Manu Bennett October 10, 1969 New Zealand |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1993–present |
Manu Bennett (born 10 October 1969) is an actor from New Zealand who has appeared in television series and movies.
Early life
Born in New Zealand, Bennett's mother was an Australian bikini model, his father a New Zealand singer. The family moved to Australia when Bennett was a few months old. On his father's side, Bennett is of Maori descent (specifically Te Arawa and Ngāti Kahungunu) and Irish stock. There is Scottish and Spanish blood on his mother's side. He was raised mostly between Sydney and Newcastle, Australia. In 1986 Bennett returned to New Zealand to attend Te Aute College, where he played for the 1st XV. Upon returning to Australia, Bennett was chosen in the New South Wales Schoolboys Rugby Union Team. Interested in modern dancing, classical ballet and piano, Bennett quit rugby to attend university to study dance and drama, then travelled to Los Angeles on a scholarship to attend the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute.
Career
Bennett's professional acting career began in 1993 in the teen soap Paradise Beach. He then played guest roles in other Australian TV dramas, including Water Rats, All Saints, and Beastmaster. Bennett then starred alongside Claudia Karvan in the mini series The Violent Earth, produced by French company Gaumont. In 1996, Manu participated in theater. In the Lady Chatterley's Lover, Manu played naked with Angela Kennedy.
In 1999 Bennett landed his first leading role in a feature film named Tomoko, shot on location in Tokyo, starring opposite Rumiko Koyanagi. In 2000 Bennett starred in Xena: Warrior Princess as Marc Antony, then scored a role opposite Without A Trace star Anthony La Paglia, where Bennett displayed his dancing skills as a salsa dance teacher in the award-winning Australian film, Lantana.
Bennett returned to New Zealand in 2000 to appear in the popular television drama, Shortland Street, then went on to play a cop turned lawyer in Street Legal before working with his director cousin Michael Bennett on the Maori Twilight Zone styled series Mataku before working with Richard Taylor from the Academy Award winning firm Weta Workshop on Creature Quest.
In 2003, Bennett hosted Going Straight, a New Zealand reality show.
In 2006, Bennett was cast in The Marine alongside WWE wrestling star John Cena and Robert Patrick. In 2007 Bennett was cast as one of ten convicts alongside Stone Cold Steve Austin and Vinnie Jones in The Condemned. In 2006 Bennett was cast opposite Josh Hartnett to play Deputy Billy Kitka in the US film 30 Days of Night.
In 2010, Bennett co-starred in the new American television series Spartacus: Blood and Sand, about the defiant gladiator Spartacus. Bennett has the key featured role of Crixus, Champion of Capua. In the series, the actor came to appear in full frontal nudity.[1]
Film/Television Appearances
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1993 | Paradise Beach | Kirk Barsby |
| 1994 | Blue Heelers | Mark Davies |
| 1996 | Water Rats | Joseph Lipinski |
| 1998 | All Saints | Darren |
| The Violent Earth | Wanatcha DuValier | |
| 1999 | BeastMaster | Terron Leader |
| 2000 | Xena: Warrior Princess | Marc Antony |
| Shortland Street | Jack Hewitt | |
| 2001 | Lantana | Steve Veldez |
| Street Legal | Matt Urlich | |
| 2006 | The Marine | Bennett |
| 2007 | The Condemned | Paco |
| 30 Days of Night | Deputy Billy Kitka | |
| 2010 | Spartacus: Blood and Sand | Crixus |
| 2011 | Spartacus: Gods of the Arena | Crixus |
| Sinbad and The Minotaur | Sinbad | |
| 2012 | Spartacus: Vengeance | Crixus |
References
- ^ Starz. "Manu Bennett in Spartacus: Blood and Sand". Retrieved January 31, 2010.
- ^ IMDB, Internet Movie Database
External links
- Manu Bennett at IMDb