Eric Bana
Eric Bana
Eric Banadinović, known professionally as Eric Bana, is an Australian actor and comedian. He began his career in the sketch comedy series Full Frontal before gaining critical recognition in the biographical crime film Chopper. After a decade of roles in Australian TV shows and films, Bana gained Hollywood's attention for his performance in the war film Black Hawk Downand by playing the title character in the Ang Lee's Marvel Comics film Hulk. He has since played Hector in the movie...
NationalityAustralian
ProfessionMovie Actor
Date of Birth9 August 1968
CityMelbourne, Australia
CountryAustralia
I knew a bit but we don't study a lot of British history at school in Australia. We have our own 50-year period to concentrate on.
I do believe in reading signs if they're really obvious to you. Things happen. Someone will say something to you today in the morning and then later on that day someone will mention the same thing and then the next day someone will mention it again. There's a reason why three people have said something within twenty four hours.
I loved working with him [Justin Chadwick]. He was very smart in how he assembled the people around him and had a crew that he knew very well. He was very comfortable on the set and I never felt that I was working with a first-time filmmaker.
It really depends on the director. I think quite often, it's not what you expect. The most serious film can be the most fun. The one that's supposed to be fun can be the most serious. I don't think there are any hard-and-fast rules. I just think it really depends on your director and what the general vibe is.
Obviously this stuff takes a bit of planning, but I've always been someone that sets achievable short-term goals. I've never been someone that's had a five-year plan, or a three-year plan. That just seems to lead to a lot of disappointment, and doesn't give you the chance to be flexible. So I've just always been someone that's sort of reassessed where I'm at, and set goals that are realistic. And luckily, I've had plenty of chances to recalibrate and adjust, and good fortune's come my way.
I don't consciously seek out Australian projects. I put them on the same table as all the other scripts and I wouldn't ever do a film just because it's been shot at home.
I think you need to be able to see a lot of negative in things in order to extract material, so there's probably something to that. A lot of the people I used to work with were very, very, very unfunny offstage, so that's a pretty common thing.
I usually befriend the camera department very early on in the film and drive them nuts. I'm constantly bombarding them with questions and going through the stills photography. A film set is a great place for me and I love it.
I really enjoy behind the camera stuff and I'm a frustrated photographer myself and just love the camera. I love that side of it and that part of the [filmmaking] world and I enjoy developing things. It's an area that I'll continue to be more active in as time goes by.
I think luck gets you on to the stage. But it has nothing to do with keeping you there.
I race historic muscle cars back in Australia, and that's my hobby. And I try to race home as soon as I've finished a movie but don't tell anyone.
I guess on a base level that's one of the first parental instincts that you have with children in Australia is learn to swim. Not only learn to swim but learn to swim strong.
I would never say never to returning to comedy.
Over my lifetime, the car had actually transcended the fact that it is a car. It has become a venue.