Manu Bennett

Manu Bennett’s acting career has seen him battling Roman gladiators, teaching salsa, and creeping out both superheroes and the staff of Shortland Street. En route, Bennett has played numerous bad guys, both in New Zealand (The Hobbit trilogy, Muru), and in North America (DC Comics series Arrow, movie Death Race 2050). 

Being a gladiator, standing in an arena with a sword in your hand with five guys charging at you and you’re ready to chop every limb off, you’ve really got to give yourself up as an actor to really live that moment. Manu Bennett on acting in TV series Spartacus, The Dominion Post, 26 April 2011