Vinnie Bennett

While at high school in Christchurch, Vinnie Bennett joined a friend at a local theatre academy. He performed in schools around the country before making the move north to Auckland. Bennett began acting in TV dramas like Filthy Rich and Resolve, plus 2014 short film Home. In 2017 he co-starred in thriller Human Traces. When the film screened at the Toronto Film Festival, Bennett was named a 'Rising Star'. After relocating to Los Angeles, he joined blockbuster Fast and Furious 9. Back in Aotearoa, he played Whina Cooper’s husband in biopic Whina, starred as a youth pastor in TV series Testify, and acted in surrogacy drama Friends Like Her. 

I didn't really want to get into construction so I threw myself in my little Ford Laser, blasted off up the country to set up base in Auckland and I guess the rest is history. Vinnie Bennett, on how the 2010/11 Christchurch earthquakes helped encourage his acting career, Stuff, 24 March 2019