Eric Bana

In 1995, while he was doing ‘Full Frontal’, he started dating Rebecca Gleeson, a publicist with the Seven Network, and daughter of then Chief Justice of New South Wales, and later Chief Justice of Australia, Murray Gleeson.

In 1996, he was named ‘Bachelor of the Year’ by Cleo Magazine, and won a trip to the USA. While on the trip, he proposed to Rebecca. The couple got married in 1997. Their son Klaus was born in August 1999 and daughter Sophia in April 2002.

Eric has participated in various motor racing competitions in Australia. In 1996, he made his debut in Targa Tasmania, a weeklong race in the island state of Tasmania, in his XB Ford Falcon Coupé, which he had bought at the age of 15. He did a documentary, ‘Love the Beast’, on how his XB Ford Falcon Coupé and racing have impacted his life. The documentary was released in 2009.

Eric Bana was born on August 9, 1968, in Melbourne, Australia, and was raised in Melbourne's Tullamarine suburb. His father Ivan worked as a logistics manager for Caterpillar, Inc., and his mother Eleanor was a hairdresser. He has an elder brother, Anthony.

His father was a Croatian and hailed from a South Slavic ethnic group while his mother was from Mannheim in Germany. In an interview, Eric said that his family had suffered from racist taunts, and were called "wog”.

He attended Penleigh and Essendon Grammar School. He loved motor racing, and at the age of 14, he wanted to leave school to become a motor mechanic, but his father convinced him to complete school. When he was 15, he purchased a 1974 XB Ford Falcon coupé for A$1100.

Inspired by comedian Richard Pryor, he became interested in showbiz at a very young age. At the age of six, he used to mimic his grandfather's voice and mannerisms, and in school he mimicked his teachers. When he was a teen, he watched the Mel Gibson film ‘Mad Max’, and decided to become an actor.

Despite his passion, he did not pursue acting professionally until 1991, when he was persuaded to do stand-up gigs while he was working as a barman at Melbourne's Castle Hotel. Since his stand-ups at pubs and clubs across Australia did not provide him good financial prospects, he continued his job as a barman and a waiter.

Eric Bana’s talent for comedy and stand-up routines earned him early success and popularity, leading his way to a series of small television roles in sketch shows. In 1993, he made his debut on the late night talk show, ‘Tonight Live’. In the same year, he was offered a position in the sketch comedy series, ‘Full Frontal’, as a writer and performer. During his four years on the show, he wrote his own content, and many of his characters were based on his family members.

His skills led him to start his own comedy show in 1997. ‘The Eric Bana Show’ was written and performed by him, and it featured skits, stand-up and celebrity guests. However, it was cancelled after eight episodes due to low ratings.

He soon ventured into the big screen and his breakthrough hit came with director Andrew Dominik’s film ‘Chopper’ in 2000. It was based on the life of the infamous Australian criminal Chopper Read.

Eric Bana, who had become a household name in Australia by now, eyed Hollywood, and the right opportunity came with Ridley Scott’s film ‘Black Hawk Down’, in which he played an American sergeant. The 2001 Oscar-nominated film was about a US military mission in Somalia.

In 2003, he became an international craze after director Ang Lee offered him the role of Dr. Bruce Banner in the adaptation of Marvel Comics' ‘The Hulk’. His performance in the film led him to play the role of Hector in the 2004 hit ‘Troy’, wherein he co-starred with Brad Pitt.

One of Eric Bana’s early works, ‘Full Frontal,’ garnered him critical acclaim and earned him an award. The character played by him, Poida, went on to become one of the most popular characters of the series.

His performance in the film ‘Chopper’ earned him much praise, and he received an Australian Film Institute nomination for Best Actor. His portrayal of the title character in this movie established him as a force to reckon with in the Australian entertainment industry.