:: Manu Bennett lands lucky Hollywood Break
Tuesday Oct 10 16:18 AESTWith three Hollywood films to be released in the next year, Australian-based actor Manu Bennett feels incredibly lucky.
The 37-year-old will be seen in The Marine and The Condemned, both of which were shot on the Gold Coast, and is shooting 30 Days of Night with Josh Hartnett and Melissa George.
"Sometimes I find it really hard to fathom that I'm doing a really big budget Hollywood film next to a lead star," said the actor, who was born in New Zealand but raised in Australia.
"The potential of that is to get the LA career and I totally believe these films are going to set me up for that.
"You have got to be really lucky."Bennett is shooting 30 Days of Night in Auckland, with the film directed by David Slade.
The film is set in Alaska, where a small town is attacked by a gang of vampires.
Bennett was born in Auckland to a New Zealand father and an Australian mother. His family moved to Australia when Bennett was one.
His dad being a musician, the family moved frequently and Bennett went to 16 different schools, settling for his final few years in Newcastle in NSW.
"I never sort of had a place I called home really," he said.
"I had the gypsy upbringing."
While Bennett played rugby union at school, dancing and acting was his real passion.
He admits his muscular build and height have helped him secure roles, particularly in recent years.
"These are the things that are defining themselves for me now as an actor," he said.
"I am being asked to play quite demanding physical roles but they are looking for the emotional input that I can bring to the scripts as well."
Bennett got his first acting break on New Zealand soap Shortland Street, before joining Australian series Paradise Beach.
He's also had guest roles in Blue Heelers, Water Rats and All Saints.
Bennett was cast opposite Angelina Jolie in 2003's Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life, which was to be his big break in Hollywood.
Unfortunately, he broke his wrist snowboarding just a week from shooting.
"I have had my taste of getting close to it a couple of times," he said.
"I was given the offer for Tomb Raider 2 ... but they assessed the injury and I couldn't do it."
Three years later, Bennett says he's better prepared for what Hollywood has to offer.
He's got an American manager, Mark Armstrong, who also represents James Gandolfini, Chris Noth and Hank Azaria.
"I think I am a lot more prepared for it," he said.
"When Tomb Raider happened, it would have shot me there without much work behind me."
