Manu Bennett on Spartacus: Gods of the Arena: "Nobody Survives Gladiator Boot Camp — You Just Have to Learn How to Deal With Pain"

New Zealand-born actor Manu Bennett — of Maori descent, known for The Marine (with John Cena), The Condemned (with Steve Austin), and Xena: Warrior Princess — plays Crixus, the future Champion of Capua, in the Starz prequel series Spartacus: Gods of the Arena, premiering Friday, January 21 at 10 p.m. Premier Guide Miami sat down to find out what that means — and what comes next.

New Zealand-born actor Manu Bennett — of Maori descent, who grew up in Newcastle, Australia — plays Crixus, the future Champion of Capua, in the Starz prequel series Spartacus: Gods of the Arena, premiering Friday, January 21 at 10 p.m. ET/PT. Bennett previously played action roles opposite John Cena in The Marine and Steve Austin in The Condemned, and starred as Marc Antony opposite Lucy Lawless in Xena: Warrior Princess.

On the intensity of gladiator training: "Nobody survives gladiator boot camp. You just have to learn how to deal with pain. You get what you put in. We're all very aware of that on this show because it's not just an acting job. We need to perform like professional sports people. All our stunt guys lead the way with a lot of the fighting and we follow. We follow just as rigorously both in the training and the performances on set. So it's extremely demanding."

On the reality of the fight sequences: "We have to be very careful about just how far we go because 95% of it is real and the other 5% is just trying to avoid the other person's sword. It's commitment and evasion — but we've gotten to trust each other very much on set. We're almost like a Cirque de Soleil of gladiators. We move with finesse and speed and with a lot of trust for each other. And sometimes it doesn't work and we get whacked. I think I've been to the emergency ward three times at the local doctors."

On why the physical demands are worth it: "On our side of the world, we play rugby, and growing up like that, you get home from a rugby match and that makes you feel good as a man. So when I get home from a day of filming Spartacus, I feel like a man. I feel like I've done a hard day's work and I've got a few bruises and what not but it's all very much worth it and satisfying."

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