Manu Bennett Calls 'The Summit' a 'Beautiful Social Essay'

Manu Bennett is used to appearing in superhuman properties. From Arrow to The Shannara Chronicles to his role in The Hobbit series, they've all highlighted the incredibly powerful things humans can do. And though the actor is taking on a brand-new role in front of the camera by hosting The Summit, it's a familiar territory (in more ways than one, filming in his home country of New Zealand).

The newest reality series from CBS, premiering with a special sneak peek episode tonight, features 16 people from various backgrounds taken to the base of a harrowing mountain. They're given one goal: Summit it in 14 days. Along the way, the mysterious "Mountain's Keeper" will offer them temptations that will test their mettle and resolve. But the biggest test comes when the trekkers reach base camp, as they'll be tasked with voting out one of their own, taking their share of the prize money, which stacks up to a million dollars.

Related: Everything to Know About The Summit

"I think everybody's looking for the some kind of conscious involvement, some kind of solution to to the dislocation of society and humanity," Bennett tells Parade. "And, when you get asked to do a show called The Summit, you know, intrinsically, you're doing something that's about human endeavor and the height of human endeavor, the success against adversity and rising up against your own fears and negativities and all that sort of stuff, and just trying to reach this pinnacle. It's a social essay, especially with a diverse group of people with different nationalities, different economic situations, different jobs, it's a good look into American personalities as well."

Read on for our full interview with Manu Bennett. The Summit premieres with a special sneak peek episode on Sunday, September 29 at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT. New episodes will then air on Wednesdays at 9:30 starting October 9. 

Related: Get an Exclusive Sneak Peek of CBS' New Reality Series The Summit

As an actor, what made you decide to get in front of the camera in a very different way as the host of The Summit?
Well, first of all, I mean, one of my personal pursuits in life is to get to know the world better and get to know humanity better, and to understand our ways of thinking. I'm very aware of the world situation right now. I think everybody's looking for the some kind of conscious involvement, some kind of solution to to the dislocation of society and humanity. And, when you get asked to do a show called The Summit, you know, intrinsically, you're doing something that's about human endeavor and the height of human endeavor, the success against adversity and rising up against your own fears and negativities and all that sort of stuff, and just trying to reach this pinnacle. It's a social essay, especially with a diverse group of people with different nationalities, different economic situations, different jobs, it's a good look into American personalities as well.

It's also set in my country. I get to welcome them there, and I get to say, "Do you guys know why you're here?" And they didn't even know why they'd come to New Zealand! Nobody knew about The Summit; they'd enlisted themselves onto a reality show. But  when I turn around and I point at this giant spectacle, which is where Peter Jackson shot Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, and where Sir Edmund Hillary trained before he went to Mount Everest, their souls depart them for a second. The idea of who they think they are, all of a sudden just dispels in this very quiet moment. And I noticed that straight away when I said, "Your challenge is to reach the summit," and I turned around and looked at them, I think one girl's eye kind of twitched and she went, "The what?!" 

They're questioning themselves. "Can I do this? How am I going to do what I've got to win that? Do I go fast?" You know, there's all these very micro thoughts that are going on in their heads that are just jiggling around like crazy atoms. And I can see it going on when they're standing in front of me. Then I drop a bag, and I say, "Can somebody open the bag? And somebody comes forward and opens it up," and there's a million dollars in cash sitting there. I was amazed that somebody didn't come out of the woods with a whole gang and steal this million dollars, because it was there in the bag. So, all of a sudden, it's kind of like, "Oh, can I do that to get a million dollars? Oh, my God, the game changer." That's motto; that's the whole thing. I mean, it's that dream come true, you know. And so very much, like Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings, all of a sudden, you've got this journey. And it's not my precious; it's a million dollars.

But, at the same time, much like the One Ring, the idea of greed is going to tempt people to want to act selfishly and turn on their own.
Who's going to be Samwise Gamgee? Who's going to be Gollum? I mean, listen, everybody for a second thinks about how they'll push somebody off a cliff. There's this moment of greed. And that's the setup. What is it about human nature that's going to make a difference between these 16 people, and who's going to make it to the top and who's not going to make it to the top? And I'm not a person who judges. I'm kind of like the underdog supporter. So, as we go up that mountain, I'm kind of wrestling, as I interview all these people each and every day. Who it is that's going to be that Cliffhanger moment where Stallone's holding onto that hand and the glove slides off slowly and somebody falls?

By the time everyone's gotten to know each other, there's a degree of honesty. Everybody tries to get the empathy; they tell this story. Eeryone's telling the hard luck story, and everybody's trying to survive and say how they can help manifest this climb up this mountain. Because, if you can't do it, then goodbye. So there's this kind of toing and froing. It's beautiful social essay. And again, when it comes down to humanity, I think The Summit is a great, a great way of watching human behavior and ultimately seeing how things either succeed or fail.

As the host, you are really the only connection these people have outside of themselves. How did you see your role grow and change as the season went along?
 might have looked brave and whatever. And I guess they hired me for my voice, or whatever. But when I looked at those guys at the bottom of the river and they turned around and started going up the mountain, I did the same. I was as foolish and unprepared as everybody. I mean, the producers were, the directors were, everyone was just had their fingers crossed this mountain wouldn't have a giant avalanche and wipe everybody out. That was the main thing. So, we're piecing this thing together. I mean, it's amazing. When you do a first season of anything, you're piecing things together. And there's a percentage of of stuff that's scripted that just gets thrown out the window. We're discussing things, but then the producers go, "Oh my God. This is happening. We've got to concentrate on this and that." There's so many moving parts that, and I love it. It's on the fly.

My sister pointed it out to me first. She said, "Manu, you're not the star of this show. The contestants are." And I was like, "Yeah, that's very true." I like to get out of being kind of in an acting scenario, and try to really, really enter into the the idea of connective tissue with these people. I think the more I do the interviews, they've got that moment on their own with me to be a little bit more honest. In a group setting, it's interesting trying to pick up on gameplay versus authenticity. There's moments where you can see people are becoming the weak one in the pack, or you can see people that are trying to dominate the pack,. And the pack is kind of turning its head and you see the silent growling that's going on in this in this pack. But then all of a sudden, when you think you know as an audience what's going on, the Mountain's Keeper flies in, and then all cards are off the table. It's like the guys who think they're secure, whatever's coming from that Mountain's Keeper is going to flip these expectations of where they think the balance is in the group. 

To that point, what surprised you the most about The Summit from your initial expectations?
A couple of the characters. I mean, my interest on the mountain is the people, is the contestants. Just seeing the unexpected at the most interesting times, as I said, it's a great essay on sort of a social study. Muscles, all these existential things that you see in a person end up getting washed away on this mountain. And then essentially, there's the spirit of a person. Even though it may not be about the best person getting to the top and, it is about survival. And the ability to survive has a unique character to it, because you're existing with 15 other energy sources. And sometimes it's not good to step up and try to be smart. Sometimes it's terrible to lay off and not be involved. But being quiet sometimes and listening is a huge strength. Being there when somebody needs somebody is a great strength. And at each moment, you know, you might not be the person who's there to do that particular thing and win that admiration of the of the group. So the segueing of how the power balance moves is unexpected. And that's what sort of keeps the mystery all the way through it.

I would say that the the show is two things. It's about gravity and it's about safety. The gravity aspect is a great metaphor in itself as well. Because people's own ability to stay inspired under all these elements. If they succeed in their goals of the day, they get to arrive in a camp that's a North Face tent and a fireplace and a bag of goodies and a bottle of wine, maybe. Otherwise, I get to them and I say, "You didn't make it. Lie down here in the in the snow, this is where you sleep for the night." So they're constantly battling against the unexpected. They don't know what's around the corner either; these people don't know the next part of the terrain. So every step they take is increasingly, throughout the series, more dangerous.

Finally, as you mentioned, as a New Zealander yourself, what was it like to be able to showcase your home country on national television?
I'm part of a puzzle that I don't know how it evolves completely. I'm a character in a vast array of production and people that are part of this show. However, they picked me for a reason. And through the first season of I've discovered within myself that I can fit that role for them. And we've got a wonderful show. But in the hubris of understanding that we are all Icarus flying toward the sun in some way. I just hope for the contestants, I hope for the producers. I just hope we got it right. The mountain could never have gotten it wrong, and the mountain features in our show, very, very strongly. So hopefully we just clung to the mountain enough to to serve this the purpose of The Summit.

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