fbpx
Wikipedia

Manu Bennett

Jonathan Manu Bennett (born 10 October 1969) is a 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.

Manu Bennett
Bennett at Phoenix Comic Fest 2018
Born
Jonathan Manu Bennett

(1969-10-10) 10 October 1969 (age 54)
Rotorua, New Zealand
Other namesJon Bennett
OccupationActor
Years active1993–present
PartnerKarin Horen (2007-2017)
Children3

Early life edit

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]

Career edit

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]

 
Bennett in 2014

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]

Personal life edit

Manu Bennett and Karin Horen have three children.[10] The couple confirmed their split in 2017.[11]

Filmography edit

 
Bennett at Wizard World comic con in 2013

Film edit

List of performances in film
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

Television edit

List of performances on television
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"

Audio edit

Year Title Role Notes
2022 Broken Road Arlin Frey 6 episodes

Video games edit

Year Title Voice role Notes
2014 Lego The Hobbit Azog the Defiler

References edit

  1. ^ Croot, James (6 April 2013). "The fall and rise of Manu Bennett". Stuff.
  2. ^ Proudman, Dan (20 September 2015). "Newcastle-raised actor, Manu Bennett charged in Texas with assault". Newcastle Herald. Australian Community Media. Retrieved 9 July 2022.
  3. ^ Poghosyan, Astghik Cin (24 November 2013). "Super Megafest 2013: Manu Bennett Panel". Emertainment Monthly. from the original on 11 March 2016.
  4. ^ "Butler beats Manu Bennett". The New Zealand Herald. 16 August 2002. Retrieved 12 April 2016.
  5. ^ . Starz. Archived from the original on 17 July 2011. Retrieved 31 January 2010.
  6. ^ Hibberd, James (30 November 2012). "'Arrow' casts 'Spartacus' favorite in major role – EXCLUSIVE". Entertainment Weekly.
  7. ^ Goldberg, Lesley (20 March 2013). "'Arrow's' Manu Bennett Upped to Series Regular for Season 2 (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter.
  8. ^ "2014: Dallas Comic Con; Manu Bennett Panel". YouTube.
  9. ^ Dornbush, Jonathon (18 December 2014). "Manu Bennett joins cast of MTV's Shannara". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 18 December 2014.
  10. ^ Jillings, Kasia (2 May 2013). . Yahoo New Zealand Lifestyle. Archived from the original on 6 March 2016. Retrieved 4 January 2015.
  11. ^ Simich, Ricardo. . New Zealand Herald. Archived from the original on 26 February 2018. Retrieved 12 March 2017.

External links edit

  • Manu Bennett at IMDb
  • Manu Bennett on Twitter  
  • Manu Bennett on Instagram
  • Official Facebook
  • Personal Facebook

manu, bennett, bishop, manuhuia, bennett, jonathan, born, october, 1969, zealand, actor, primarily, known, portraying, characters, epic, fantasy, works, such, crixus, series, spartacus, allanon, shannara, chronicles, slade, wilson, deathstroke, arrow, azog, de. For the bishop see Manuhuia Bennett Jonathan Manu Bennett born 10 October 1969 is a 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 Manu BennettBennett at Phoenix Comic Fest 2018BornJonathan Manu Bennett 1969 10 10 10 October 1969 age 54 Rotorua New ZealandOther namesJon BennettOccupationActorYears active1993 presentPartnerKarin Horen 2007 2017 Children3 Contents 1 Early life 2 Career 3 Personal life 4 Filmography 4 1 Film 4 2 Television 4 3 Audio 4 4 Video games 5 References 6 External linksEarly life editBennett 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 Maori specifically Te Arawa and Ngati 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 amp 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 Career editBennett 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 Maori 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 nbsp Bennett in 2014In 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 Personal life editManu Bennett and Karin Horen have three children 10 The couple confirmed their split in 2017 11 Filmography edit nbsp Bennett at Wizard World comic con in 2013Film edit List of performances in film Year Title Role Notes2001 Lantana Steve Veldez2006 The Marine Bennett2006 The Bridge Short film Director Producer2007 The Condemned Paco2007 30 Days of Night Deputy Billy Kitka2011 Sinbad and The Minotaur Sinbad Television film2012 The Hobbit An Unexpected Journey Azog the Defiler2013 The Hobbit The Desolation of Smaug2014 The Hobbit The Battle of the Five Armies2016 Beta Test Orson Creed2017 Death Race 2050 Frankenstein Direct to video2022 Muru Kimiora2023 Mobius Trip Mission Command voice Short film2023 Pente 5 Five Aran2023 Perfect Addiction JulianTelevision edit List of performances on television Year Title Role Notes1993 1994 Paradise Beach Kirk Barsby 254 episodes1994 Blue Heelers Mark Davies Episode The First Stone 1996 97 Water Rats Joseph Lipinski 3 episodes1998 The Violent Earth Wanatcha DuValier 3 episodes1998 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 episodes2001 Head Start Dom Episode He Ain t Heavy 2002 03 Street Legal Matt Urlich 12 episodes2002 Mataku John Episode Going to War 2003 Going Straight Himself Host2008 The Strip Brandon Bell Episode Episode Thirteen 2010 13 Spartacus Crixus 37 episodes2012 Bikie Wars Brothers in Arms Raymond Sunshine Kucler 4 episodes2013 2020 Arrow Slade Wilson Deathstroke Main role season 2 recurring role season 1 special guest star seasons 3 5 6 8 40 episodes2016 2017 The Shannara Chronicles Allanon The Warlock Lord 20 episodes2016 American Dad Patrucio voice Episode Roots 2019 Pandora Leone Vokk 2 episodes2023 The Gone Tamati Davidson 6 episodes2023 Beyond Belief Fact or Fiction Hotel clerk Episode Das Hotel des Grauens Audio edit Year Title Role Notes2022 Broken Road Arlin Frey 6 episodesVideo games edit Year Title Voice role Notes2014 Lego The Hobbit Azog the DefilerReferences edit Croot James 6 April 2013 The fall and rise of Manu Bennett Stuff Proudman Dan 20 September 2015 Newcastle raised actor Manu Bennett charged in Texas with assault Newcastle Herald Australian Community Media Retrieved 9 July 2022 Poghosyan Astghik Cin 24 November 2013 Super Megafest 2013 Manu Bennett Panel Emertainment Monthly Archived from the original on 11 March 2016 Butler beats Manu Bennett The New Zealand Herald 16 August 2002 Retrieved 12 April 2016 Manu Bennett in Spartacus Blood and Sand Starz Archived from the original on 17 July 2011 Retrieved 31 January 2010 Hibberd James 30 November 2012 Arrow casts Spartacus favorite in major role EXCLUSIVE Entertainment Weekly Goldberg Lesley 20 March 2013 Arrow s Manu Bennett Upped to Series Regular for Season 2 Exclusive The Hollywood Reporter 2014 Dallas Comic Con Manu Bennett Panel YouTube Dornbush Jonathon 18 December 2014 Manu Bennett joins cast of MTV s Shannara Entertainment Weekly Retrieved 18 December 2014 Jillings Kasia 2 May 2013 Brave Mother s new battle I ll fight the cancer again Yahoo New Zealand Lifestyle Archived from the original on 6 March 2016 Retrieved 4 January 2015 Simich Ricardo Spartacus star Manu Bennett confirms split New Zealand Herald Archived from the original on 26 February 2018 Retrieved 12 March 2017 External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Manu Bennett Manu Bennett at IMDb Manu Bennett on Twitter nbsp Manu Bennett on Instagram Official Facebook Personal Facebook Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Manu Bennett amp oldid 1182653224, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

article

, read, download, free, free download, mp3, video, mp4, 3gp, jpg, jpeg, gif, png, picture, music, song, movie, book, game, games.