Bennett says he had a lucky escape on his first trip to Hawaii in 2012 when he surfed Sunset Point — which had waves as high as 12m — and "almost drowned when I was held under by two giant set waves".
"This trip I was determined not to be scared off, but to surf again," he said.
"Once again, the waves were huge, so Liam suggested I use an impact vest for buoyancy, which gave me added confidence. Garret uses the same vest when riding giant waves.
"After a couple of hours meditating, I suited up and paddled out through the channel and into the line-up. It was pretty intimidating, but that's where you measure your own resolve and after 30 minutes of watching the break, I paddled into one of the biggest waves of my life."
The former Spartacus and Arrow star says he finished filming his second US feature film last December and his perfect mix in life now, is the sea and acting.
Bennett recently moved to Pukehina, a half-hour drive from Mt Maunganui.
"Last weekend I got the surfboards out with my daughters," he says.
