The fall and rise of Manu Bennett

But then came Smashing Machine, which took a wrecking ball to his cinematic dreams. He was in South Africa training for a lead role in the film when the word came that the production’s star, Jean-Claude Van Damme, was no longer interested, killing the whole project in its tracks. “I’d spent all of my money […]

But then came Smashing Machine, which took a wrecking ball to his cinematic dreams. He was in South Africa training for a lead role in the film when the word came that the production’s star, Jean-Claude Van Damme, was no longer interested, killing the whole project in its tracks. “I’d spent all of my money and energy training for that film,” the engaging Bennett, 43, laments on the phone from his home in Los Angeles. “I went back to Australia, had no home, all my things were in storage and the only work I could find was as a labourer on a building site.”
Bennett has come a long way since then, starring in global hit TV series , delivering the breakout performance in one of biggest movies of the past year, Hobbit, and now trying his luck in Hollywood. However, he still credits that six to eight months of “hauling stone” as the wake-up call he needed and the perfect preparation for what could well be his signature role: the Gallic warrior-slave Crixus, who he has played throughout four seasons of television’s Spartacus.
Before he could don the loincloth, however, he had to overcome another barrier – his age. “Originally, the main characters were to be all in their 20s and when I went in for the audition in Auckland, there were all these young kids staring into space, going: ‘I am Spartacus’.” Fortunately, the producers had a rethink and 30-somethings Bennett and Andy Whitfield were cast in the lead roles, although executive producer Rob Tapert’s long memory prompted a worrying late phone call to Bennett.
However, any onset trials and tribulations during the show’s run were overshadowed by events off screen, particularly involving the illness and then death of star Andy Whitfield. Emotionally, it took its toll on all the cast and crew, but it also resulted in some physical extremes for Bennett. ‘’Because Andy had to go into chemotherapy [for non-Hodgkin lymphoma], the producers decided that they would temporarily write him out of the story and set up the new [second] season as a prequel.
Whitfield was replaced as Spartacus by Liam McIntyre.’
When asked why he thinks the show has been such a global phenomenon, Bennett compares it to the Oscar-winning movie Crash. ‘’It’s filled with ethnocentric themes and multicultural ideas, but it’s got the one common goal of equality. It’s amazing that something about 2000 years old still translates so well.’’
Currently Bennett is getting adjusted to the no less plastic-filled world of Los Angeles, earning his keep with a recurring role on new DC Comics-inspired TV series Arrow and discovering firsthand the feverish fan worship that Spartacus engenders. ‘’I’m just a stranger here, I don’t know many people, but while I might be new in town, I’m not new in town – I get recognised everywhere. New York was even more of an overload. Every second person knew I was Crixus and going into Macy’s was outlandish. It is amazing how much in the past year it has got into people’s heads. The characters have made us public property now.’’
So what does the future hold for Bennett? He says he would love to try gentler roles. ‘’That’s something I want to tap into at some stage, even just to try to change colours as an actor.”
Source: Stuff.co.nz