NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / New Zealand

Police called over Kiwi star Manu Bennett's naked haka

By Ricardo Simich
Spy.co.nz·
8 Jun, 2019 07:00 AM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Manu Bennett performed the solo haka at the Unesco World Heritage Site in the ancient capital of Dacia. Photo / via Instagram

Manu Bennett performed the solo haka at the Unesco World Heritage Site in the ancient capital of Dacia. Photo / via Instagram

WARNING: Nudity

Police were called after Kiwi action star Manu Bennett performed a naked haka at an ancient world heritage site in Romania.

The 49-year-old former Arrow and Spartacus star was at the Comic Con in Bucharest.

The Shannara Chronicles' actor travelled to the Sarmizegetusa Regia - a Unesco World Heritage Site in the ancient capital of Dacia.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Among the stone fortifications, thought to date back to AD2, he stripped and performed the haka.

Bennett told Spy it was a cultural performance - but Romanian authorities were not so enamoured.

Local police said a complaint was made "that a man has stripped off and entered the Great Circular Temple" and they were preparing criminal charges.

The Kiwi actor is currently in Greece. Photo / Supplied.
The Kiwi actor is currently in Greece. Photo / Supplied.

"The gendarmes have drawn up deeds of committing the act of aggression against good morals," media reported.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Bennett found himself in hot water as signs warn visitors away. He told Spy he apologised as he did not speak Romanian and did not understand the signs.

Manu Bennett has "stripped off" and entered an ancient temple illegally. Photo / Supplied.
Manu Bennett has "stripped off" and entered an ancient temple illegally. Photo / Supplied.

And he said it was worth the attention as it felt like an important thing to do in context with the site's ancient war history.

Manu Bennett played Crixus in the TV series Spartacus. Photo / Starz
Manu Bennett played Crixus in the TV series Spartacus. Photo / Starz

"It was very traditional for Māori warriors to go into battle naked," Bennett said.

"Basically naked is more sacred and personal items are considered noa, not sacred. All things have energy and to fight naked means to fight pure, as with haka."

Discover more

Entertainment

Manu's a man of mana

12 Sep 10:15 PM
Entertainment

Manu gets 'healing' by medicine man after arrest

03 Oct 11:30 PM
New Zealand

Manu Bennett finds the ultimate wave

23 Mar 06:00 PM
Entertainment

TV star bares her bod on Instagram for 73rd birthday

18 Oct 02:30 AM
Bennett was in Romania for the Comic Con in Bucharest.
Bennett was in Romania for the Comic Con in Bucharest.

"When I am at a waterfall in Iceland or in the mountains of Greece I do my haka naked, it's more pure and earthly things like modern watches, jewellery and clothing have no place in the energy. I performed the haka with complete spiritual respect to the Dracian ancestors and am honored by the moment."

Bennett insisted the organisers at the Comic Con appreciated the gesture and understood it from his cultural perspective.

The Comic Con also featured Game of Thrones' actors Carice van Houten (Melisandre) and Vladimir Furdik (The Night King) as well as stars of Vampire and Hobbit franchises.

The trip is part of a politically-motivated European sojourn for Bennett.

Footage of Bennett doing the haka was shared on social media. Photo / Instagram.
Footage of Bennett doing the haka was shared on social media. Photo / Instagram.

Last month he was in Greece for the Memorial Day for the 671 New Zealand soldiers who died in The Battle for Crete. He told Spy he is a Māori gladiator fighting for the people.

Among commemorations for the Allied forces there was time spent on a special memorial for the Māori Battalion.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Officials asked Bennett to perform a haka on 42nd St, the place where the Māori Battalion led their legendary bayonet charge against a much larger German force in 1941.

Afterwards Bennett taught a group of Greek children the words and they performed it on the same spot it as was performed by the Māori Battalion.

"Last year I took to the stage at a rally in front of Greece's Parliament Building in Athens to honour the fallen members of the Māori Battalion — and to also argue why members of New Zealand's armed forces and members of the Māori Battalion, in particular, died in Greece defending the country from German invasion only to have Germany now buying Greece's freeways, port and airports.

Manu Bennett visited Sarmizegetusa Regia - a Unesco World Heritage Site in the ancient capital of Dacia. Photo / Supplied.
Manu Bennett visited Sarmizegetusa Regia - a Unesco World Heritage Site in the ancient capital of Dacia. Photo / Supplied.

"Our ancestors would be turning in their graves on Crete to see what's happening to Greece now under the heel of Germany."

Bennett claims that many Greeks demand Germany repay their own debt to Greece War Reparations for the one-in-10 Greeks who died during the war.

He also took part in a rally at Mt Athos and traveled to Athens to discuss a role in a Greek film about the 1946-49 civil war and the massacre at Chios in 1882.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

- Ricardo Simich

Save

    Share this article

Latest from New Zealand

New Zealand

'Reflection of whakapapa': Māori baby names reveal cultural trends

22 Jun 04:51 AM
World

Kiwi man charged after cocaine blocks found in suitcase at Sydney Airport

22 Jun 04:16 AM
New Zealand

Body found in search for missing Christchurch woman

22 Jun 03:23 AM

Jono and Ben brew up a tea-fuelled adventure in Sri Lanka

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from New Zealand

'Reflection of whakapapa': Māori baby names reveal cultural trends

'Reflection of whakapapa': Māori baby names reveal cultural trends

22 Jun 04:51 AM

Aroha and Ariki were the most popular names for girls and boys for the third year running.

Kiwi man charged after cocaine blocks found in suitcase at Sydney Airport

Kiwi man charged after cocaine blocks found in suitcase at Sydney Airport

22 Jun 04:16 AM
Body found in search for missing Christchurch woman

Body found in search for missing Christchurch woman

22 Jun 03:23 AM
Premium
Property manager fined $3500 for breaching healthy homes standards

Property manager fined $3500 for breaching healthy homes standards

22 Jun 03:00 AM
Help for those helping hardest-hit
sponsored

Help for those helping hardest-hit

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP