Manu Bennett Talks ARROW Audition, Preparation And More

Bennett, who will make his debut as Slade Wilson/Deathstroke on tonight's episode of Arrow, talks about his audition, how he found out he was cast, what we can expect from his character, his physical preparation and more.

By PaulRom - Feb 06, 2013 01:02 PM EST

Filed Under: Green Arrow

Speaking with ET Online, actor Manu Bennett talks about his role as Slade Wilson/Deathstroke in tonight's episode of Arrow, "Betrayal". He discusses his audition for the action-heavy role, and how he discovered that he was cast as well as his preparation. He then comments on what we can expect to see from his take on the iconic DC Comics character. For ET's full interview with Bennett, in which he talks about Spartacus and The Hobbit, click the source link below. Arrow airs on Wednesdays 8 PM EST on The CW.

On Auditioning For The Role Of Deathstroke And How He Found Out About His Casting:

"When I read the script in LA, I was a guy named Holloway. So when I flew to Vancouver [where Arrow films], I thought I was playing a guy named Holloway. When I got to the airport, my manager said, [your casting] has been released online, so I opened the link and it said 'Manu Bennett has been cast to play Slade Wilson, a.k.a Deathstroke.' I rang my manager up saying, 'They've made a mistake!' When I went into the offices, the [producers] told me they don't like information getting out there, they hold their cards close to the vest, so that was all a lead on for me to end up being Deathstroke."

On His Preparation For The Role:

"It was such a quick casting process, but the Spartacus cast members got invited to Kuwait to meet the military [in November 2012]. We went to one of the American bases and while I was there, I became friends with the Special Forces guys. They showed me a whole bunch of moves and the choke-outs and the different disarming maneuvers. Funnily enough, the special forces guys showed me moves I'm doing on the show! There's a hidden language in life and you just have to keep your eyes peeled for the signs. It's really fascinating."

On What We Can Expect From His Take On Slade Wilson, And How Much Action Will Be Seen:

"Stephen [Amell] and I have really started building something that I know the fans are excited about. But Slade will be a big surprise to people -- the relationship between him and Oliver is not what anyone's expecting. We don't start off the way people expect us to start off. That's actually all I can say about it.

"During the [Arrow] audition, I needed to get Arrow in a headlock...and I choked the reader out. He collapsed on the floor. I didn't mean to, I honestly didn't. I just got in the moment. I looked at the casting director and expected to be kicked out of the room, but they loved it. He was looking at me like I did something extraordinary, not criminal. There was something in my realism that has meaning in this industry. I'm not a big subscriber to method acting, but realism is something I always like to put into my roles. I'm a firm believer that there's a fine line between just acting and selling a scene as something the audience truly believes. And I take it very seriously. Maybe too seriously in this case."

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12 Comments

LP4 - 2/6/2013, 1:21 PM

This is going to be soooooo awesome!!!

DarkGrifter - 2/6/2013, 1:52 PM

I'm afraid he might be slightly too young to play Deathstroke, but my god, he's miles better than what Michael Hogan was. I haven't been watching Arrow much, the only episodes I really watched were the ones with Deadshot and Deathstroke and I wasn't the only one; viewership spiked by around 700,000 the episode Deathstroke featured in. Hopefully this means they'll include him more often. Can't freakin wait.

MrDonut - 2/6/2013, 2:01 PM

He's a ridiculously underrated actor so will definitely elevate Arrow

Kyos - 2/6/2013, 2:01 PM

Yeah, I will watch the episode for Crixus!

silverhawk - 2/6/2013, 2:21 PM

The Undefeated Gaul!!!

deepee3 - 2/6/2013, 3:27 PM

Manu Bennett should be Wolverine/Logan if the X-Men franchise ever gets rebooted! Hopefully before he is too old!!!!

HavocPrime - 2/6/2013, 3:55 PM

Manu is awesome and it is about time he is getting more roles

Nivekian - 2/6/2013, 4:43 PM

Manu is a Beast. Loved him chocking out the guy he was auditioning with, funny, but expected from a guy like him.

sakibomb523 - 2/6/2013, 6:43 PM

This guy is awesome. At comic con last year for Spartacus, he did a Maori Haka chant.

StormRanger2011 - 2/6/2013, 6:57 PM

dude when this episode airs im watching it only because of this guy. FYI I move Manu Bennet play batman in the JL movie and Joseph Gordan Levitt plays nightwing. just saying thats a better fit

JULEZ13 - 2/6/2013, 10:01 PM

CRIXUS!!! I love me some CRIXUS!!! He's my favorite character in Spartacus.

Just because he is now on this show I will begin to watch.

Manu Bennett Talks ARROW Audition, Preparation And More

Bennett, who will make his debut as Slade Wilson/Deathstroke on tonight's episode of Arrow, talks about his audition, how he found out he was cast, what we can expect from his character, his physical preparation and more.

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