Manu Bennett, born on October 10, 1969, is an Australian-New Zealander actor. Also known by the names John Bennett or Jon Bennett, he is best known for his role as Gallic gladiator Crixus in the television series Spartacus.
Bennett was born in New Zealand to an Australian bikini model and a New Zealand singer. They moved to Australia and raised him there. He was mostly raised between Sydney and Newcastle, Australia.
He got his lower educations in Australia and moved back to New Zealand for his higher studies at the Te Aute College, where he played for the first XV. Later, after returning to Australia, Bennet was selected for the Rugby Union Team of New South Wales School.
Bennett had a passion for modern dancing, classical ballet, and piano since his childhood. He later left the rugby team to attend university and study dance and drama. He then traveled to Los Angeles on a scholarship to attend the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute.
Bennett once said in an interview that his mother and brother were killed in a car accident which also put him in a coma for about two weeks, which explains a scar that he has.
He has also mentioned that he was brought into acting by his girlfriend, who was a ballet dancer. Bennett found acting to be a medium to direct his emotions with. He is noted for saying that, “Acting was my route to survival.”
He made his professional acting debut in the teen soap called Paradise Beach. He eventually played in some Australian TV dramas including All Saints, Beastmaster, and Water Rats.
He starred in many miniseries including The Violent Earth and much more.
Bennett then joined in some theater shows taking a break from TV shows. He even starred in an open air production of Lady Chatterley’s Lover portraying the title role, Oliver Mellors, where he met model and actor Darlene Rada Ford.
He made his movie debut in a feature film called Tomoko. Then, in the year 2000, he starred in Xena: Warrior Princess as Marc Anthony. He also played in a movie named Lantana, where he showed his dancing skills as salsa dance teacher and the movie even won an award.
He has also hosted a reality show named Going Straight in New Zealand. He has also been cast in The Marine alongside John Cena and Robert Patrick. His other notable roles include his role is as the villain Azog in the 2012 movie called The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.
He is a very hardworking and talented actor. He has recently been involved in the on-going TV show Arrow, where he plays the character of Slade Wilson. He has a net worth of $1.5 million dollars.
Bennett is a tall guy with a height of 5 feet 11 inches. He has a weight of 84kg. He has maintained his body with daily workouts. He has a monstrous body and looks hot in his shirtless pictures.
He is not gay and has been known for dating beautiful women. He married his longtime girlfriend, Karin Horen. His wife Karen is Israeli, and they have three daughters together.
For more details on his biography, one can always check sites like Wikipedia, and for short biography, you can check his IMDb page.
He also has his own Twitter and Instagram accounts which can be followed to get in touch with his daily activities. He regularly posts his daily activities and his photos with his family on Instagram.
Got a good laugh — thanks Mr O.Q
Got a good laugh — thanks Mr O.Q pic.twitter.com/JyNubZJN33
— Manu (@manubennett) September 27, 2016
Such an awesome castle left to ruin – someone should do this one up.
His fan pages are also available on Facebook for more detailed specification.