(Cast) Best From Spartacus: Gods of the Arena
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- Actor
- Producer
- Director
"Shall We Begin!", the battlecry of The undefeated Gaul Crixus first bought Manu Bennett's voice & acting career to international attention. Spartacus: Gods of the Arena (2011) spoke a universal language that slowly but surely captured a massive audience. The the show lost lead actor Andy Whitfield to cancer, Bennett's pivotal role, transitioning from Spartacus' nemesis to a slave rebel leader, he was credited for maintaining throughout, the heart & strength of the series. Producer/Director Peter Jackson then employed Bennett to portray Orc Leader "Azog - The Defiler". At the World Premiere of The Hobbit, Peter Jackson told press that Bennett's was the "The Breakout Performance". Although many Tolkein fans failed to recognize him beneath the CGI veneer, Bennett's looming presence, hunting down Thorin Oakenshield & culminating in the ultimate face-off, where both characters die, Bennett entered the catalogue of the great cinematic Villain Performances. DC Comic soldier of fortune, Slade Wildon aka Deathstroke had slumbered for two decades until Bennett reprised the role on the CW series Arrow. Many DC fans declared Bennett as the best villain on the hit series when he established a heartfelt dominant core relationship with Oliver Queen (Stephen Amell). The two befriended upon the Island of Lian Yu before an incident with a super-drug called Mirakuru transformed Slade into the archetypal good guy/bad guy Deathstroke. Originally penned by Marv Wolfman & illustrated by George Perez, Deathstroke has now become a hot property for the DC Universe with Tony Daniels illustrating the new series of Deathstroke comic books & a Warner Bros Deathstroke feature film pending. When MTV shifted their focus toward producing original series they selected Bennett to portray the Dark Druid Allanon in the newly acquired Shannara Chronicles Series. Bennett had just the right mix of stoicism, angst & dramatic suave sought by the Shannara producers & author Terry Brooks. Manu Bennett is of Maori, Scottish, English, French & Finish ancestry. Bennett was born in Auckland, New Zealand. Bennett's great grandfather Frederick Augustus Bennett was the first Maori Bishop of the Anglican Church in New Zealand. Bennett's namesake Manuhuia Bennett (grandfather) was also ordained an Anglican Bishop. The Bennett name has roots dating back to a French Benedictine Monastery established in Northumbria in Northern England circa 500AD. The monastery was subsequently turned into a defensive fort named Chillingham Castle. With the advent of surnames circa 1000AD, the name Bennett was derived from Benedictine.
Manu Bennett's father Charles Edward Tiwha (Ted) Bennett was a popular New Zealand singer who recorded a No.1 hit "Clap Your Hands" & several other hits in the early 1960's. Bennett's mother Jean Clark was a bikini model from Australia who paraded the very first two piece bikini for designer Paula Stafford. Bennett's parents met during the Spring Blossom Festival in Hastings New Zealand. Bennett has two older siblings, Stephen & Rachel. The Bennett family moved to Australia in 1970. Jean Bennett nee Clark, was the winner of the Miss Paradise Beach, a swimsuit title held on the Gold Coast of Australia. Bennett's first acting job was on a series titled Paradise Beach, where he played stud, surf lifesaver, iron man Kirk Barsby. Bennett's mother, Jean, died in a car accident in 1985. His brother Stephen suffered injuries in a separate car accident & died only two weeks later.
During his schooling Manu Bennett trained as a dancer & musician & well as playing Rugby Union. Bennett was selected for the First XV for Te Aute College a Maori Boy school know for their strong rugby union history. On return to Australia Bennett was selected for the NSW Schoolboys Rugby Union Team & to trial for the Australian National Team. Bennett was prevented from attending the National trial outs due to a prior commitment to a ballet production of Swan Lake in which he had to perform the male lead. In the the 90's Bennett had to choose between a ballet scholarship in New York or an acting scholarship at The Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute. Bennett decided to pursue his acting career & attended the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute in Los Angeles.
Manu has appeared on various TV dramas & feature films, including multiple award winning "Lantana," opposite Anthony La Paglia. His first physical role was with appearing opposite Jon Cena on "The Marine". WWE was impressed with Bennett so gave him a role in their second feature film The Condemned starring opposite "Stone Cold" Steve Austin & Vinnie Jones. Rob Tapert cast Bennett as Marc Antony in Xena Warrior Princess, then opposite Josh Hartnett in the Vampire Horror 30 Days Of Night, then was pivotal in Bennett getting the role of Crixus in the series Spartacus.
Previous TV credits include starring roles in successful New Zealand productions "Shortland Street," "Street Legal," "Mataku," "Creature Of Quest," "Going Straight," and as Marc Antony opposite his "Spartacus" co-star Lucy Lawless in Tapert and Raimi's hit series "Xena: Warrior Princess."Crixus
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
Arrow#
Spartacus: War of the Damned#
Spartacus: Gods of the Arena
6/29- Peter Mensah has been doing martial arts since he was 6 years old, growing up in St. Albans, England, just north of London. A former engineer, Mensah came to Canada 11 years ago. He'd worked for British Gas developing gas fields at Morecambe Bay and had done theatre in school. He comes from an academic family. His father, an architect, relocated with his mother to their native Ghana. He only has two younger sisters. Mensah emigrated from Britain to see the world and it was a toss up whether his destination would be Canada or Australia. The paperwork for Canada came through first.Oenomaus
300
The Incredible Hulk
Avatar
Spartacus: Gods of the Arena
Spartacus: War of the Damned#
300: Rise of an Empire
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
7/46 - Actor
- Producer
- Writer
Dustin Clare is an award winning Australian actor. He made his feature debut in Fred Schepisi's The Eye of the Storm (2011), which premiered at the Melbourne International Film Festival and screened in Special Presentation at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival.
Dustin played 'Gannicus' alongside John Hannah and Lucy Lawless in the hit US action-adventure series Spartacus: Gods of the Arena (2011) for the Starz network. He also starred in Spartacus (2010).
Dustin began his career with guest roles in leading Australian television series before becoming a series regular in the popular television drama McLeod's Daughters, for which he won a Logie Award for Most Popular New Talent. Dustin went on to star in the Showtime series Satisfaction for which he received a second Logie Award nomination for Most Outstanding Actor and a Golden Nymph Award nomination for Most Outstanding Actor at the 49th Monte Carlo Television Festival in Monaco. Dustin also played Chris Flannery in the critically acclaimed second series of Underbelly.
In 2013 he appeared in Mark Lamprell's musical feature, Goddess (2013), opposite Ronan Keating, Laura Michelle Kelly and Magda Szubanski. In 2014 he played Lt. Harry Moffitt on the ABC's mini-series Anzac Girls (2014), for which he received an equity ensemble award, and in the Australian feature film Love Is Now (2014), directed by Jim Lounsbury. In 2015 he appeared on the final season of the Cinemax series Strike Back (2010) and the feature film Sunday, of which he was also a producer and writer on.
Dustin graduated from the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA) in 2004.Gannicus
Spartacus: War of the Damned#
Spartacus: Gods of the Arena
2/22- Actor
- Producer
John Hannah is the youngest child of his family, having two older sisters. Before he decided on a career as an actor, John was an apprentice electrician for four years. He gave up his work as an electrician after being accepted to the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow. After years of struggling, he finally got his 'big break' when he was cast as Matthew in Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994). He currently lives in London with his wife Joanna Roth and their two children.Batiatus
Spartacus: War of the Damned
Spartacus: Gods of the Arena
Elementary
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
4/92- Nick Emad Tarabay is a Lebanese-American actor. He is best known for portraying Ashur on the Starz TV series Spartacus. Tarabay was born in Beirut, Lebanon to a large family. His mother and father still reside in Lebanon as does his younger brother and a large extended family of cousins, uncles and aunts. He moved to New York after high school. As a clothing salesman, he worked for Hugo Boss and Gucci, while studying acting at the T. Schreiber Studio and appearing in Off-Off-Broadway plays. He moved to Los Angeles in 2004, where he studied under Larry Moss and appeared in their studio's staging of John Patrick Shanley's Danny and the Deep Blue Sea.Ashur
Spartacus: Gods of the Arena
Spartacus: War of the Damned#
Star Trek Into Darkness
Arrow
Person of Interest
5/25 - Actor
- Stunts
Born in Auckland and grew up in Hastings, New Zealand.
With Maori heritage from his father's side of the family, with both Ngapuhi and Waikato tribal affiliations.
Graduate of Toi Whakaari New Zealand Drama School (1992-1993).
Having worked on stage between 1994-2001, his theatre credits include roles in 'Te Rakau Hau O Te Wao Tapu'(Dir. Jim Moriarty, 1994) and 'Waiora'(Dir. Murray Lynch) the latter of which toured New Zealand, as well as Hawaii and UK (1996-1999).
Lives in Raglan, on the west coast of New Zealand's North Island.
Other than acting, Te Maioha also helps students learn the Maori language and look after the environment.Barca
Spartacus: War of the Damned
Spartacus: Gods of the Arena
2/12- Actress
- Producer
- Director
New Zealand icon Lucy Lawless is most known for her role as "Xena the Warrior Princess." Lucy is married to producer Rob Tapert (Robert Gerard Tapert) and resides in New Zealand. They have two sons, Julius Robert Bay Tapert and Judah Miro Tapert, who were both born in New Zealand. Lucy also has a daughter, Daisy Lawless, from her first marriage to Garth Lawless.
Lucy was born Lucille Frances Ryan in Mount Albert, Auckland, to Julie, a teacher, and Frank Ryan, a banker and the city's mayor. She was awarded an Order of Merit in the New Zealand Queen's Birthday Honor List in June 2004. Lucy, whose role as Xena in "Xena: Warrior Princess" made her a cult television star, has been involved with the Starship Foundation and has held a role on its board of trustees. She was awarded the Order of Merit for services to entertainment and the community.
In 1995, Lucy landed the role of "Xena: Warrior Princess" in the show, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys (1995), in a three-story arc, that led to her own spin-off show, Xena: Warrior Princess (1995), for six seasons.
Whilst she has been primarily known for her role on "Xena: Warrior Princess," Lucy has also appeared in the classic TV series, Battlestar Galactica (2004), in the semi-regular role of "D'anna Biers," among her other many and varied roles, including the hit Adam Sandler movie, Bedtime Stories (2008). Lucy was also in several made-for-TV movies including: Locusts (2005) and Vampire Bats (2005). She also lent her voice to the straight-to-video movies: Justice League: The New Frontier (2008) and Dragonlance: Dragons of Autumn Twilight (2008). During 2011, Lucy appeared in the "No Ordinary Family" as the mysterious "Mrs. X" and also appeared in the prequel to Spartacus (2010), Spartacus: Gods of the Arena (2011) and "Spartacus Vengeance" as "Lucretia."
She portrayed "Caroline Platt" in Jane Campion's Top of the Lake (2013), a BBC Mini-Series in New Zealand, with Holly Hunter and Elisabeth Moss, the recurring character of "Diane Lewis" on NBC's Parks and Recreation (2009), and "Velma Kelly" in the Auckland Theatre Company's adaptation of "Chicago: The Musical," the latter from November 1-24, 2013.
As of 2019 she can be seen starring as Alexa Crowe in the light, colorful, Auckland-set mystery, "My Life is Murder."Lucretia
Spider-Man
Spartacus: Gods of the Arena
Spartacus: War of the Damned#
Parks and Recreation
Adventure Time
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
7/62- New Zealand-born Craig Walsh-Wrightson was educated partly in England. A summa cum laude student, he declined a Charterhouse Scholarship to return home, later completing a double Bachelor's degree in History and English Literature from Victoria University of Wellington, while also reading Politics, French and Economics.
During post-graduate studies in Modern History, he was recruited by the New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation as a documentary-maker, then headhunted by a national advertising agency as a writer/TV producer.
At age 24 he co-founded January Productions, Australasia's first multi-media creative consultancy and production house, which partnership developed into a top advertising agency, Campaign Advertising Group. Ten years later Craig and his partners sold to UK interests and Campaign became Saatchi & Saatchi New Zealand with Craig as Executive Creative Director.
Craig has written, produced (and occasionally directed) over 100 major television commercials.
As a composer, lyricist and music producer, he has also created dozens of radio and TV commercial music soundtracks.
He is a multi-AXIS Award winner (the NZ equivalent of the U.S. advertising industry's 'Clio' awards) as a writer, art director, producer, and film director.
As anchorman/interviewer he fronted the prime time TVNZ series 'Money Go Round'.
An award-winning international voice-over artist and narrator, Craig's credits include Cadbury's, Coca Cola, Lexus, L'Oreal, Vodafone, Repsol, CBS Records. EMI, Mitsubishi, McDonalds, Suzuki and BNZ. Plus: NZ Book Council's 'Going West' animated cinema commercial (Gold Lion at Cannes), and Television New Zealand's 6 x 90-minutes millenium production 'Our People. Our Century' ('Best Documentary', NZFTA Awards).
Obviously, given such busy former lives, Craig came late to screen acting as a career, but quickly established his reputation as a charismatic performer on series such as 'Xena Warrior Princess', 'Outrageous Fortune', 'Burying Brian', 'The Pretender' and Disney's 'Legend of the Seeker'.
In what was to be a brief guest role in Starz USA's first 'Spartacus' season, Craig's characterisation so impressed the showrunners - especially in his intense scenes with John Hannah's 'Bataiatus' and Lucy Lawless' 'Lucrezia' - that his character 'Solonius' was written into 8 of the 13 episodes... culminating in a magnificent death-duel with 'Spartacus' himself. And then 'Solonius' returned to life, for all 6 episodes of the top-rating Prequel season 'Spartacus Gods of the Arena' - sold to 150 countries even before its Netflix debut.
Subsequent portrayals by Craig include British general Sir Charles Monro in the mini-series 'Deadline Gallipoli', French Minister of Defence Charles Hernu in the Netflix movie 'Bombshell: The Sinking of the Rainbow Warrior', and Emperor Tiberius in season two ('Caligula') of the Netflix Original series 'Roman Empire'.Solonius
Spartacus: War of the Damned
Spartacus: Gods of the Arena
2/16 - Actress
- Producer
- Soundtrack
Born and raised in Cape Town South Africa, Brandt immigrated with her family to Auckland, New Zealand in her late teens. Discovered by local casting directors, Brandt took on the role of "Naevia" in the Starz hits, "Spartacus: Blood and Sand" and "Spartacus: Gods of the Arena." Working with producers Steven S. D Knight and Sam Raimi, she captivated audiences with her performance and became one of the show's breakout stars.
She starred in the hit Netflix series, Lucifer which had a 6 year run, playing the fan favorite Vertigo/DC comic book character, Mazikeen. Lucifer went on the break binge records and was named the top binged show in 2021 by Forbes.
Brandt can next be seen opposite Andrew Lincoln and Danai Gurira in the 6 episode limited Walking Dead spin-off which airs in 2024. She is also starring opposite Jason Ritter, Anthony Carrigan and Chris Meloni in the adult animated comedy, Captain Fall which airs July 2023 on Netflix.
Lesley-Ann is now permanently based in Los Angeles.Naevia
Gotham
Lucifer#
Spartacus: War of the Damned
Spartacus: Gods of the Arena
4/24- Stephen Lovatt was born on 27 May 1964 in Wellington, New Zealand. He is an actor and producer, known for Spartacus: Gods of the Arena (2011), Roman Empire (2016) and Ash vs Evil Dead (2015).Tullius
Power Rangers Jungle Fury
Spartacus: Gods of the Arena
2/46 - Actor
- Stunts
- Visual Effects
Shane Rangi was born on 3 February 1969. He is an actor, known for The Wolverine (2013), The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (2010) and The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (2014).Dagan
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
Spartacus: Gods of the Arena
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
5/13- Actress
- Director
- Producer
Jessica Grace graduated from Toi Whakaari: New Zealand Drama School with a Bachelor of Performing Arts majoring in Acting. Jessica has acted in many series and films throughout Australia and New Zealand. Over the past few years she has turned her hand to writing and directing, for which she has won multiple awards worldwide.Diona
Spartacus: Gods of the Arena
1/10- Stunts
- Actor
Raicho Vasilev is a Bulgarian stuntman and actor best known for his appearances in high profile screen projects as Conan the Barbarian (2011) and both Roman period television dramas Spartacus: Gods of the Arena (2011) and Spartacus (2010). Born September 17, 1975 in Smolian, Bulgaria, the 24-year-old Raicho Vasilev started his film career with stunt work for the film Operation Delta Force 4: Deep Fault (1999). From that point on, Vasilev has made an impressive career between stunt work and acting, often using his tough, athletic presence to portray guards, soldiers and villains. Films in which Raicho has contributed stunt work or acting time to include Undisputed 2: Last Man Standing (2006), The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (2008), Ninja (2009) and The Expendables 2 (2012).Gnaeus
Spartacus: War of the Damned
Spartacus: Gods of the Arena
2/43- Marisa attended an all-girl private school in East Los Angeles. Her career started when a Polaroid picture of the 13-year-old girl made its way into the hands of a Los Angeles modeling agency. By the age of 15, Marisa began to work as a print model and as a commercial actress. It wasn't long before demand became global, offering her opportunities to work in Singapore, Australia, South Africa, Hong Kong and Italy.
Despite her success in modeling, it was acting classes that helped Marisa overcome her life-long shyness. After several guest appearances on Days of our Lives and The Bold and the Beautiful, Ramirez finally got her big break in July 2000, when she was cast in the contract role of supermodel Gia Campbell on General Hospital. She left this role in December 2002 to star in the short-lived ABC drama, Miracles. During her time on GH, she was nominated for ALMA and NAACP Awards.
In April 2006, she joined the cast of The Young and the Restless as Jabot Cosmetics public relations consultant Carmen Mesta for five months. The character of Carmen was killed off. Ramirez briefly returned to the show in early 2007 as Carmen's cousin, Ines Vargas. Shortly after, she moved to Colombia to film the FOX summer series Mental, opposite Chris Vance and Annabella Sciorra.
In 2011, she was a series regular on Lifetime's "Against the Wall," playing Detective Lina Flores. Despite respectable ratings, the series was not renewed for a second season. Immediately prior to landing that role, Ramirez starred as Melitta on "Spartacus: Gods of the Arena" which filmed in New Zealand.Melitta
Supernatural
The Suite Life on Deck
Spartacus: Gods of the Arena
3/36 - Actor
- Writer
Jeffrey Thomas was born in Wales, UK. He is known for Slow West (2015), The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012) and Adrift (2018).Titus
Spartacus: Gods of the Arena
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Spartacus: Blood and Sand
4/32- Ioane King was an actor, known for Spartacus (2010) and Spartacus: Gods of the Arena (2011). He died on 15 August 2022.Rhaskos
Spartacus: War of the Damned
Spartacus: Gods of the Arena
2/2 - Actor
- Producer
- Writer
Gareth Williams is known for Spartacus: Gods of the Arena (2011), Kura (2020) and This Is Not My Life (2010).Vettius
Spartacus: Gods of the Arena
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