Manu Bennett facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Manu Bennett
Bennett at Phoenix Comic Fest 2018
Born	Jonathan Manu Bennett (1969-10-10) 10 October 1969 (age 55) Rotorua, New Zealand
Other names	Jon Bennett
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1993–present
Partner(s)	Karin Horen (2007-2017)
Children	3

Manu Bennett is an actor from Australia and New Zealand. He is well-known for playing exciting characters in fantasy stories. You might know him as Crixus from the TV show Spartacus, Allanon in The Shannara Chronicles, or Deathstroke in Arrow. He also played Azog the Defiler in The Hobbit trilogy movies.

Early Life and Education

Manu Bennett was born in New Zealand in 1969. His mother, Jean Bennett, was an Australian model, and his father, Ted Bennett, was a singer from New Zealand. When Manu was a baby, his family moved to Australia. His father is from the Māori community, and his mother has Scottish roots.

Manu grew up mostly in Sydney and Newcastle, Australia. He went to Merewether High School there. In 1986, he returned to New Zealand to attend Te Aute College, where he played rugby. Later, in Australia, he was picked for a top schoolboy rugby team.

He loved dancing and piano, so he stopped playing rugby. He went to university to study dance and drama. Then, he got a scholarship to study acting in Los Angeles. Manu has shared that a car accident when he was young, which tragically took his mother and brother, deeply affected him. Acting became a way for him to express his feelings and cope with his experiences.

Acting Career Highlights

Manu Bennett started his acting career in 1993 on the teen soap opera Paradise Beach. After that, he appeared in other Australian TV shows like Water Rats and All Saints.

In 1999, Manu got his first main role in a movie called Tomoko, filmed in Tokyo. In 2000, he played Marc Antony in Xena: Warrior Princess. He also showed his dancing skills as a salsa teacher in the Australian film Lantana.

Manu returned to New Zealand in 2000 to act in the TV drama Shortland Street. He then played a police officer who became a lawyer in Street Legal. He also worked with his cousin, director Michael Bennett, on a Māori TV series called Mataku.

Bennett in 2014

In 2006, Manu was cast in the movie The Marine with wrestling star John Cena. In 2007, he appeared in The Condemned and played Deputy Billy Kitka in the film 30 Days of Night.

From 2010 to 2013, Manu starred in the American TV series Spartacus. He played the important role of Crixus, a strong gladiator. He was the only actor to be in all four seasons of the show.

In 2012, he played the villain Azog the Defiler in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and continued this role in the next two Hobbit movies. In 2012, Manu was cast as Slade Wilson in the first season of Arrow. He became a main character in the second season and made several guest appearances later on.

In 2014, Manu was chosen to play the druid Allanon in the MTV television series The Shannara Chronicles.

Personal Life

Manu Bennett and Karin Horen have three children together. They announced their separation in 2017.

Film and Television Roles

Bennett at Wizard World comic con in 2013

Film Appearances

Television Appearances

Audio Roles

Video Game Roles

See also

In Spanish: Manu Bennett para niños