There is a fantastic article / interview with Manu about his role on Spartacus: Gods of the Arena for today in the New Zealand newspaper The Dominion tv magazine supplement

 

He is television's fiercest warrior, a rock-hard wall of muscle capable of crushing the mightiest of opponents in hit American series Spartacus.

But before he was Crixus, Champion of Capua, New Zealand actor Manu Bennett was at rock bottom.

He had relocated his family to South Africa to film a movie opposite martial arts legend Jean-Claude Van Damme. It was a great role and one both Bennett and his American management team thought would finally compel him to the next level in Hollywood.

He had more than a decade's worth of local experience behind him – credits include Street Legal, Shortland St, Water Rats and Australian film Lantana – and his international career was building momentum.

He had worked with movie tough guys "Stone Cold" Steve Austin and Vinnie Jones in The Condemned, WWE's John Cena and Terminator 2's Robert Patrick in The Marine and had even walked his first red carpet for cult horror flick 30 Days of Night.

Read transcript online: Kiwi actor's role of a lifetime | Stuff.co.nz