bitchy | Eric Bana: ‘I’m happy to be killed off in something, I’m happy to support’

Eric Bana, 56, is starring in the number one show currently on Netflix, the mystery series Untamed. I have some minor issues with the writing, it’s by director/writer Mark L. Smith (Twisters, The Revenant, American Primeval), but overall it’s bingeable and goes down easy. So much of that is due to Bana’s nuanced performance, he plays a grieving alcoholic park ranger investigating a murder and he’s superb. The supporting actors, including Sam Neill, Rosemarie DeWitt and Lily Santiago, are also believable and highly watchable. Bana has a new interview with The Independent. Bana is Australian, and he’s stayed in Melbourne with his wife, Rebecca Gleeson, and their two kids and hasn’t chased fame at all. He discussed his career in this interview and how he chooses his projects carefully. It’s a good glimpse into a working actor’s thoughts on the industry. Here’s some of what he told The Independent, with more at the source.

On his approach to his career
“I’m really good at not working… It’s never felt like a big risk to say no to things. I’ve never panicked about work. It’s just not how I operate.”

“I’m very happy to die, you know? I’m happy to be killed off in something.. I’m happy to support [other actors] – it’s just more interesting. I don’t want the audience to see me and think he’s going to be the main guy until the end credits roll.”

Why he turns down a lot of projects
“It doesn’t come from a place of arrogance,” he explains now. “You just have to be brutally honest about the quality of your material. If something has potential but it’s not there yet, let’s not be shy about talking about it. No single actor, writer or director is so good that they can overcome scripts that aren’t good. I don’t care who’s involved. Some people can elevate things a little bit, but once you’re underwater, you’re underwater.”

Naturally, my mind jumps to Hulk. Production on the movie was a famously tortured affair, with filmmaker Ang Lee – an undeniable genius, if ill-suited for comic book films – sometimes demanding hundreds of takes of scenes. Bana struggled. “Humour and irony were not welcome on the set,” he once told GQ. The film drew mixed reviews and didn’t make enough money to warrant a sequel – a failed reboot was made in 2008 with Edward Norton, and Mark Ruffalo’s Hulk has only ever been a supporting player in Marvel films since.

“We didn’t have a finished script,” Bana remembers. “I came on board [the film] based only on elements. And it was early in my career, so I wasn’t in the position I’m in now where I can [ask for changes]…

“You have to be really determined, but at the same time, I believe that if you’re patient enough, you will find another great drama, another great film. It’s harder now, but it’s still possible.”

[From The Independent]

There’s more about Bana’s career in the piece, including the detail that he used to be a stand up comedian in Australia and that he had his own sketch show. I didn’t know that at all! Then again, Bana has been superb at staying under the radar. Bana’s experience as a showrunner informed his opinion about the writing process. I can’t imagine what it’s like to act in a project with terrible writing. As a layperson, you notice it in shows that have glaring plot holes and inconsistencies. I’m thinking about AJLT bringing back a dead character. It’s surely no coincidence that John Corbett has talked about wanting to write and have agency over the creative process.

This also explains why Bana seemed like he was everywhere for a while in the late 90s/early 2000s and then kind of stepped back. He was making thoughtful choices about his career. This is a very Gen X take! Just wait it out and don’t stress about success, it will come when you’re true to yourself.

Update: A previous version of this page identified the woman in the photos with Eric Bana at the premiere of A Sacrifice as his wife, Rebecca Gleeson. She was incorrectly identified by the photo agency. That is Sylvia Hoeks, his costar. Bana is shown in older photos, available in the gallery below, with his wife.