Manu Bennett | |
---|---|
Born | Jonathan Manu Bennett 10 October 1969 Rotorua, New Zealand |
Other names | Jon Bennett |
Occupation | Actor |
Years active | 1993–present |
Partner | Karin Horen (2007-2017) |
Children | 3 |
Jonathan Manu Bennett (born 10 October 1969) is an Australian-New Zealand [1] actor. He is primarily known for portraying characters in epic fantasy works, such as Crixus in the TV series Spartacus , Allanon in The Shannara Chronicles , Slade Wilson / Deathstroke in Arrow , and Azog the Defiler in The Hobbit trilogy .
Bennett was born in New Zealand in 1969. His mother Jean Bennett was an Australian bikini model and father Ted Bennett a New Zealand singer. The family moved to Australia when Bennett was a few months old. Bennett's father is of Māori (specifically Te Arawa and Ngāti Kahungunu) descent. His mother is of Scottish descent. He was raised mostly between Sydney and Newcastle in Australia, where he attended Merewether High School. [2] 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 traveled to Los Angeles on a scholarship to attend the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute. In an audience Q&A in Boston, Bennett talked about the car accident he experienced at a young age that killed his mother and brother and put him in a two-week coma. At that time, his girlfriend was a ballet dancer, which got him into acting; he found it to be the medium into which he wanted to direct his emotions, saying, "Acting was my route to survival." [3]
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 miniseries The Violent Earth , produced by French company Gaumont. In 1996, Bennett participated in theatre. In an open-air production of Lady Chatterley's Lover , based on D. H. Lawrence's novel, directed by Australian film/theatre director Robert Chuter, he played the title role, the gamekeeper Oliver Mellors in which he met model/actor Darlene Rada Ford from Bondi Beach who encouraged him to pursue more serious acting roles abroad.
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 guest starred in Xena: Warrior Princess as Marc Antony, then played a role opposite Without a Trace star Anthony LaPaglia, 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 Māori Twilight Zone -styled series Mataku before working with Richard Taylor from the Academy Award-winning firm Weta Workshop on Creature Quest .
In August 2002, Bennett landed a screen test opposite Angelina Jolie for a part in the Tomb Raider sequel The Cradle of Life . Actor Gerard Butler ended up beating him for the role. [4]
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 .
From 2010 to 2013, Bennett co-starred in the new American television series Spartacus , about the defiant gladiator Spartacus. Bennett played the key role of Crixus, Champion of Capua. He was the only cast member of the series who starred on all four seasons, as well as starring in the most episodes of this series. [5]
In 2012, he played the villain Azog the Defiler in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey , and continued to portray the character in the sequels. In November 2012, Bennett was cast in the first season of Arrow as Slade Wilson, [6] and in March 2013, he was promoted to series regular for the second season. [7] He then made several guest appearances in subsequent seasons.
In May 2014, Bennett revealed he had lost two roles in Stargate Atlantis and the 2011 film Conan the Barbarian to actor Jason Momoa. [8]
In December 2014, Manu was cast as the druid Allanon in MTV's television series The Shannara Chronicles . [9]
Manu Bennett and Karin Horen have three children. [10] The couple confirmed their split in 2017. [11]
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2001 | Lantana | Steve Veldez | |
2006 | The Marine | Bennett | |
2006 | The Bridge | Short film; Director, Producer | |
2007 | The Condemned | Paco | |
2007 | 30 Days of Night | Deputy Billy Kitka | |
2011 | Sinbad and The Minotaur | Sinbad | Television film |
2012 | The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey | Azog the Defiler | |
2013 | The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug | ||
2014 | The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies | ||
2016 | Beta Test | Orson Creed | |
2017 | Death Race 2050 | Frankenstein | Direct to video |
2022 | Muru | Kimiora | |
2023 | Möbius‘ Trip | Mission Command (voice) | Short film |
2023 | Pente 5 Five | Aran | |
2023 | Perfect Addiction | Julian |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1993–1994 | Paradise Beach | Kirk Barsby | 254 episodes |
1994 | Blue Heelers | Mark Davies | Episode: "The First Stone" |
1996–97 | Water Rats | Joseph Lipinski | 3 episodes |
1998 | The Violent Earth | Wanatcha DuValier | 3 episodes |
1998 | All Saints | Darren | Episode: "Body and Soul" |
1999 | BeastMaster | Terron Leader | Episode: "The Legend Continues" |
2000 | Tales of the South Seas | David Legeure | Episode: "Fast Company" |
2000 | Xena: Warrior Princess | Marc Antony | Episode: "Antony and Cleopatra" |
2000–01 | Shortland Street | Jack Hewitt | 7 episodes |
2001 | Head Start | Dom | Episode: "He Ain't Heavy" |
2002–03 | Street Legal | Matt Urlich | 12 episodes |
2002 | Mataku | John | Episode: "Going to War" |
2003 | Going Straight | Himself / Host | |
2008 | The Strip | Brandon Bell | Episode: "Episode Thirteen" |
2010–13 | Spartacus | Crixus | 37 episodes |
2012 | Bikie Wars: Brothers in Arms | Raymond "Sunshine" Kucler | 4 episodes |
2013–2020 | Arrow | Slade Wilson / Deathstroke | Main role (season 2); recurring role (season 1); special guest star (seasons 3, 5–6, 8) 40 episodes |
2016–2017 | The Shannara Chronicles | Allanon, The Warlock Lord | 20 episodes |
2016 | American Dad! | Patrucio (voice) | Episode: "Roots" |
2019 | Pandora | Leone Vokk | 2 episodes |
2023 | The Gone | Tamati Davidson | 6 episodes |
2023 | Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction | Hotel clerk | Episode: "Das Hotel des Grauens" |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2022 | Broken Road | Arlin Frey | 6 episodes |
Year | Title | Voice role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2014 | Lego The Hobbit | Azog the Defiler |
Shannara is a series of high fantasy novels written by Terry Brooks, beginning with The Sword of Shannara in 1977 and concluding with The Last Druid which was released in October 2020; there is also a prequel, First King of Shannara. The series blends magic and primitive technology and is set in the Four Lands, which are identified as Earth long after civilization was destroyed in a chemical and nuclear holocaust called the Great Wars. By the time of the prequel First King of Shannara, the world had reverted to a pre-industrial state and magic had re-emerged to supplement science.
Lawrence Makoare is a New Zealand Māori actor. He is most known for his roles in The Lord of the Rings film series as several prominent antagonists, including Lurtz the Uruk-Hai and the Witch-King of Angmar.
Crixus was a Gallic gladiator and military leader in the Third Servile War between the Roman Republic and rebel slaves. Born in Gaul, he was enslaved by the Romans under unknown circumstances and trained as a gladiator in Capua. His name means "one with curly hair" in Gaulish.
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Dustin Clare is an Australian actor. He is known for his starring role as Gannicus in the Starz series Spartacus: Gods of the Arena, Spartacus: Vengeance and Spartacus: War of the Damned, and as Riley Ward on the series McLeod's Daughters.
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Todd James Lasance is an Australian actor, best recognised for his roles in Australian television including Aden Jefferies on Home and Away, Cam Jackson on Rescue: Special Ops, Ben McMahon on Crownies and Major Sydney "Syd" Cook on ANZAC Girls. He has also appeared in American television roles, such as Julius Caesar on Spartacus: War of the Damned, Julian on The Vampire Diaries and Edward Clariss / Rival on The Flash. In 2020, he partnered with his Spartacus co-star Liam McIntyre to create the gaming series Get Good for the CouchSoup YouTube channel, following a charity livestream benefiting Black Summer.
Spartacus: Blood and Sand is the first season of American television series Spartacus, which premiered on Starz on January 22, 2010. The series was inspired by the historical figure of Spartacus, a Thracian gladiator who from 73 to 71 BC led a major slave uprising against the Roman Republic. Executive producers Steven S. DeKnight and Robert Tapert focused on structuring the events of Spartacus' obscure early life leading up to the beginning of historical records.
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Spartacus: Vengeance is the second season of the American television series Spartacus, a Starz television series, which follows Spartacus: Blood and Sand. It premiered on January 27, and concluded on March 30, 2012. Its story follows Spartacus, after he and his fellow gladiators kill their master Batiatus and escape from his ludus, or gladiatorial training school. Cast members and characters who return from the first season include Lucy Lawless as Lucretia, Peter Mensah as Oenomaus, Manu Bennett as Crixus, Dan Feuerriegel as Agron, Nick E. Tarabay as Ashur, Viva Bianca as Ilithyia, and Craig Parker as Gaius Claudius Glaber. Dustin Clare also reprises his role as Gannicus from Spartacus: Gods of the Arena, the prequel to Spartacus: Blood and Sand.
Spartacus is an American television series filmed in New Zealand that premiered on Starz on January 22, 2010, and concluded on April 12, 2013. The fiction series was inspired by the historical figure of Spartacus, a Thracian gladiator who from 73 to 71 BC led a major slave uprising against the Roman Republic departing from Capua. Executive producers Steven S. DeKnight and Robert Tapert focused on structuring the events of Spartacus' obscure early life leading up to the beginning of historical records.
Spartacus: Blood and Sand, production for another season was delayed because lead actor Andy Whitfield was diagnosed with early-stage non-Hodgkin lymphoma so Starz produced a six-episode prequel miniseries entitled Spartacus: Gods of the Arena. When the actor's cancer recurred and he later succumbed to the disease on September 11, 2011, Starz had actor Liam McIntyre take on the role of Spartacus in the second season titled Spartacus: Vengeance. On June 4, 2012, Starz announced the third and final season, titled Spartacus: War of the Damned. A sequel series called Spartacus: House of Ashur is in development at Starz, with DeKnight returning to write for the show.
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The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is a 2012 epic high fantasy adventure film directed by Peter Jackson from a screenplay by Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Jackson, and Guillermo del Toro, based on the 1937 novel The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien. It is the first installment in The Hobbit trilogy, acting as a prequel to Jackson's The Lord of the Rings trilogy.
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