This handsome hunk had been working as an actor Down Under for years, but opportunities were limited even for someone talented and overflowing with good looks, charm and sex appeal.   Then one day he was cast as a slave named Crixus who was an undefeated gladiator in deadly duels carried out for public entertainment.  It was an American cable production called Spartacus and since it was for a cable network, the show's main draw was its graphic violence, abundant sex scenes and the promise of gratuitous nudity from both male and female characters. 

The show delivered on all counts and was a hit with audiences worldwide.  Manu was a breakout star and gained overnight fame thanks to a scene that featured full frontal nudity of his gleaming gladiator body as he stood on a pedestal getting his body detailed in the equivalent of a locker room full of other gladiator slaves.   Such extended attention on the naked male body and genitalia rarely occurs in American movies and television.  Even though there was shrinkage which is understandable after a duel, it was gratifying to see Manu so confident and natural during the scene.