Biography And Filmography:

Eric Bana started his Hollywood profession as a television comedian and funny man in his native Australia before working in big-budget dramatic feature films. He gave a robust performance in the crime thriller “Chopper” in 2000, about a famous Australian lawbreaker. That movie brought him the attention to break into big budget Hollywood movies in major motion pictures like “The Hulk” (2003), portraying Bruce Banner, “Troy” (2004) starring Brad Pitt, and Steven Spielberg’s dramatic thriller “Munich” (2005), the story of what happened after11 Israeli athletes were murdered at the Munich Olympics in 1972.

Born Eric Banadinovich to Croatian and German parents in Melbourne, Australia, on Aug. 9, 1968, he started showing his skill for impersonation and stand-up comedy at an early age by imitating friends and family members. He became interested in a show business career after watching fellow Australian Mel Gibson in his action thriller movie “Mad Max” in 1979, but didn't start performing until years later. A stand-up comedy job gave him confidence, but the money was not good and he had to keep his day job.

His big show business breakthrough came in the form of a guest spot on the late night talk show “Tonight Live”. His role inspired the executive producer of the ensemble sketch comedy show “Full Frontal” to ask him to become a cast member and writer. He quickly became a show favorite with the audience. By 1996, he had developed his own television show called, “Eric”, before getting the green light for his own sketch comedy show, “The Eric Bana Show” in 1997. Despite his talent, the series only lasted eight episodes. He then married Rebecca Gleason, a publicist for Seven Network, and had two children, a son in 1999, and a daughter in 2002.

In 1997, he made his big movie introduction in the comedy “The Castle,” about an Australian family who must leave their home to make room for an airport after the government forces them to move. In 2000, he made the jump to leading man in the movie “Chopper,” the story of Mark "Chopper" Read, a notorious criminal who wrote his autobiography while serving a jail sentence. The actor gained 35 pounds for the part and suffered hours of make-up and costuming to copy Read’s intricate body tattoos. The movie was a big hit in Australia, winning Bana his first world-wide critical reviews, and Best Actor award from the Australian Film Institute.

That same year, he became a cast member of the Australian drama series “Something in the Air”, but left a year later to take the starring role in Ridley Scott’s war thriller “Black Hawk Down” in 2001, starring alongside Josh Hartnett and Ewan McGregor. "Black Hawk Down" was a gloomy and brutal movie about American Special Forces soldiers who are ambushed by Somalian fighters while attempting to remove a pair of warlords. Playing the character of “Chopper,” he trained with real Special Forces units. The movie did well at the box office and placed number one on the movie charts for a brief period.

He was next hired and cast as the star in "The Nugget” (2002), a comedy film made in Australia that looked at how instant wealth suddenly changes the lives of three working class men - not necessarily for the better, but always with hilarious consequences. After returning to the United States, he found himself at the center of attention over his next movie role – that of Bruce Banner, the human alter ego to Marvel Comics’ notorious green "Hulk". The block-buster feature film, directed by Ang Lee, was released in 2003 to mostly bad reviews over the stiff and unemotional CGI Hulk, and for a poor script that added unnecessary background to the character.

That same year, Eric lent his distinctive voice to the character of Anchor in the Disney Pixar animated family adventure “Finding Nemo” starring Albert Brooks, Ellen DeGeneres and young Alexander Gould. "Finding Nemo" is the father and son underwater adventure featuring Nemo, a boy clownfish, who is stolen from his coral reef home and his timid father must find him. Bana then appeared with Brad Pitt and Orlando Bloom in the epic adventure “Troy” (2004), an adaptation of Homer's great epic, the film follows the assault on Troy by the united Greek forces and chronicles the fates of the men involved.

He next starred in Steven Spielberg’s “Munich” (2005), a movie that followed the Israeli government’s retribution against the Palestinian terrorists that killed eleven Israeli athletes during the 1972 Winter Olympics. The film went on the win five Academy Award nominations. 

In 2007, he starred next to Drew Barrymore in the romantic comedy “Lucky You” (2007), about a hotshot poker player who tries to win a tournament in Vegas, but is fighting a losing battle with his personal problems. Next was the dramatic "Romulus, My Father" (2007), the story of Romulus, his beautiful wife, Christina, and their struggle in the face of great adversity to bring up their son Raimond. He wrapped the year starring alongside Natalie Portman and Scarlett Johansson in "The Other Boleyn Girl" (2008), an extravagant and sexy tale of intrigue, romance and betrayal set against the backdrop of a defining moment in European history. Two beautiful sisters, Anne and Mary Boleyn, driven by their family's blind ambition, must compete for the love of the handsome and passionate King Henry VIII.

He had found his place in Hollywood, and audiences loved the actor and wanted to see more of him. They got their wish when he starred with Rachel McAdams in the romantic drama "The Time Traveler's Wife" in 2008, the story about a Chicago librarian with a gene that causes him to involuntarily time travel and the complications it creates for his marriage. Next was the role of Damien in the animated "Mary And Max" (2008), a simple tale of friendship between two very different people; Mary Dinkle, a little chubby lonely eight year old girl living in the suburbs of Melbourne, and Max Horovitz, a 44 year old, severely obese, Jewish man with Asperger's Syndrome living in the chaos of New York. 

He then played the character of "Nero" in the sci-fi action thriller "Star Trek XI" (2009), a chronicle of the early days of James T. Kirk and his fellow USS Enterprise crew members. Bana  wrapped the year in the Judd Apatow comedy "Funny People" (2009), starring Adam Sandler, Seth Rogen and Jonah Hill, a story about two stand-up comics who are roommates, and one believes he is dying when in reality he is not.

Watch Eric Bana As "Nero" In The "Star Trek XI" Movie Trailer

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