Manu Bennett is a New Zealand actor and model of Maori descent.

His professional acting career began in 1993 with the teen soap Paradise Beach. Bennett then appeared in several guest roles, including in the French-produced series The Violent Earth. After trying his hand at theater, among other things, Bennett supposedly made his acting breakthrough in 1999 with his first leading role in the Tokyo film Tomoko. He played the Gaul Crixus, one of the central characters in the US series Spartacus (2010 to 2013). In November 2012, he took on the role of Slade Wilson in the US television series Arrow, which was expanded into a leading role with the second season.