Manu Bennett

Personal context

Summary

Manu Bennett is a New Zealand actor known for playing Crixus in Spartacus, Azog in The Hobbit trilogy, Slade Wilson in Arrow, and Allanon in The Shannara Chronicles. His roles often involve physically imposing characters facing conflict and adversity. In discussing The Summit, he said he was proud to represent Māori culture and the people of the land where the show was filmed, and he initiated a land acknowledgment on the program. He has also described the show’s diverse contestants as a way to examine society; no public record of partisan campaigning or ongoing DEI advocacy is evident.