Wayne Bennett thought George Burgess was having a laugh when he first fronted him and asked for some time out to act.

"Wayne has obviously said 'having an interest outside of football is key', but he thought I was joking when I said I might be doing a bit of acting," said Burgess, who returns from a three-match suspension for South Sydney against Manly on Saturday.

I'm back ... George Burgess returns up front for South Sydney against Manly. Credit:AAP

"A front-row forward [acting] in his day was probably not something he had come across.

"He was happy for me to do something I enjoy and something I'm passionate about."