Biography
Who is Manu Bennett?
Early life and background
Jonathan Manu Bennett was born on October 10, 1969, in Rotorua, New Zealand. His mother, Jean Bennett, worked as an Australian bikini model, and his father, Ted Bennett, was a singer. The family moved to Australia when he was only a few months old. His father has Māori ancestry from the Te Arawa and Ngāti Kahungunu tribes, while his mother has Scottish heritage.
He grew up primarily in Sydney and Newcastle, Australia. While living there, he attended Merewether High School. In 1986, he returned to New Zealand for a time to attend Te Aute College, where he participated in rugby. Later, he returned to Australia and was selected for the New South Wales Schoolboys Rugby Union Team. Eventually, he shifted his focus away from athletics to pursue interests in piano, classical ballet, and modern dancing. He studied dance and drama at university before receiving a scholarship to attend the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute in Los Angeles.
Starting an acting career
His professional acting career began in 1993 with a role in the Australian teen soap opera Paradise Beach. Following this, he appeared in guest roles on several Australian television dramas, including Water Rats, All Saints, and Beastmaster. He also starred alongside Claudia Karvan in a miniseries called The Violent Earth, which was produced by the French company Gaumont.
In 1996, he explored theatre work, playing the title role of Oliver Mellors in an open-air production of Lady Chatterley's Lover. This experience brought him into contact with model and actor Darlene Rada Ford, who encouraged him to seek out more significant acting opportunities internationally. In 1999, he secured his first leading role in a feature film titled Tomoko, which was filmed on location in Tokyo.
Television and film roles
In 2000, he appeared in the television series Xena: Warrior Princess as Marc Antony. That same year, he performed in the Australian film Lantana, where he used his dance training to play a salsa instructor. He returned to New Zealand around 2000 to work on the show Shortland Street and later appeared in Street Legal and the series Mataku. He also collaborated with Richard Taylor on the project Creature Quest.
His career expanded significantly with roles in international productions. He appeared in the 2006 film The Marine with John Cena and Robert Patrick, and the 2007 film The Condemned alongside Stone Cold Steve Austin. He also played Deputy Billy Kitka in the 2006 film 30 Days of Night. Between 2010 and 2013, he was a regular on the television series Spartacus, playing the character Crixus for all four seasons.
Fantasy works and later projects
He is well known for his portrayal of the villain Azog the Defiler in The Hobbit film trilogy, starting with The Hobbit: An Unexpected path in 2012. That same year, he was cast as Slade Wilson, also known as Deathstroke, in the television series Arrow, where he eventually became a series regular. In 2014, he was cast as the druid Allanon in the MTV television series The Shannara Chronicles.
Birthday and age
Manu Bennett was born on October 10, 1969, which makes Manu 57 years old today. That birthday falls under the Libra sign. Manu shares the date with 76 other famous people.
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