- His father is a New Zealander and his mother is Australian. He is of Maori (Te Arawa and Ngati Kahungunu), as well as English, Scottish, and Irish, ancestry.
- Offered ballet scholarship in New York after finishing high school, but chose to travel Europe and the US instead.
- Quit playing professional rugby in order to attend Univeristy where he studied drama and dance.
- Has an uncle who played piano for Elvis Presley.
- Manu has three children with socialite Karin Horen.
- Has appeared with Lucy Lawless in two series: Xena: Warrior Princess (1995) and Spartacus: Gods of the Arena (2011).
- Mother was a Queensland beauty queen, father, an entertainer in Hawkes Bay, New Zealand.
- His family immigrated to Australia when he was just a few months old.
- Attended the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute on a scholarship.
- Credited as 'Manu' Bennett in his role as Jack Hewitt on Shortland Street.
- Born on the same date as Wendi McLendon-Covey.
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