Meet Manu Bennett
The Maori descendant talks about the physical strain of being a gladiator on Spartacus
Spartacus has to be one of the most violent and action packed shows on TV today. Manu Bennett can attest to that. Here is his character bio, courtesy of starz:
Crixus is the top gladiator at Batiatus’s ludus, the Champion of Capua. Cocky and powerful, he has a deep-seated dislike of Spartacus, whose appearance threatens to disrupt the ludus that he reigns over. Crixus has been drawn into a sexual relationship with his master Lucretia, but is secretly devoted to her personal slave, Naevia. He struggles to balance these two secret, forbidden affairs, while defending his place at the top of the gladiator hierarchy.
Playing the tough warrior has taken its toll on Bennett:
“There is never a fight scene where someone doesn’t get a sword across the knuckles,”
“I’ve hit Andy (Whitfield, who plays Spartacus) a couple of times, and he’s gotten me back. I already have a couple of scars from the show where the sword blade found home - notably a cut across my right pec.”
“This one actor was involved in his first fight scene and decided the best way to thrust his sword was straight through my chest,” he said. “I only just managed to slip sideways, but the blade cut through my pectoral muscle, leaving a nasty gash. I just said, ‘What the heck?’ and kept on filming.”
When asked about the controversy surrounding all of Spartacus' sex scenes and full frontal nudity:
“We are trying to be real to the time - a pre-Christian era where the body held purpose only to survival,”
“I have no concerns about committing myself to this show and its cause of bringing consciousness back to the time of barbarianism. I am Maori, and we are only several generations departed from similar times.”
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