When the idea of creating a blog was first introduced I began brainstorming some ideas as to how I would separate myself from the other hundreds of gossip sights. One thing that came to mind was spotlighting one Actor/Actress and giving an overview of their personal and professional life. I brought the idea up to my dear friend Leah and she suggested I start by spotlighting her #1. Now Eric Bana is not even in the vicinity of my hot guy radar, but she would argue the same of mine (Robert Pattinson in case you didn't know!!!)
So spotlight #1 - is going to Eric Bana
He was born Eric Banadinovich on the 9th of August 1968 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. He is supposedly 6' 2½" which is probably exaggerated, but non the less a rarity in a world full of 5'8" men (this observation just increased his hotness)
His father, was a manager for Caterpiller Inc. His mother was a hairdresser.
He was fond of Mel Gibson in Mad Max (1979) and decided to become an actor. He moved to Sydney and worked odd jobs to support himself.
In 1991, he began a career as a stand-up comedian, while working as a barman at Melbourne's Castle Hotel.
In 1993, Bana made his television debut on Steve Vizard's "Tonight Live with Steve Vizard" (1990) talk show, then joined the "Full Frontal" (1993) TV-series. He gained popularity for making impressions of Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, Tom Cruse and "Colombo".
In 1996, he started his own show titled "Eric" (1997), then launched a comedy series titled "The Eric Bana Show Live" (1997). The show was canceled for the lack of substantial audience, however, in 1997, Bana received the Logie Award for "Most Popular Comedian" for his work on "The Eric Bana Show Live" (1997).
He made his film debut in The Castle (1997), in a supporting comic role. That same year, he was cast to portray "Read", the notorious Australian underworld figure. For the role, Bana gained 30 pounds, by eating junk food; he also spent a few days with "Read" in prison, in order to perfect his mimicry. Bana completely transformed himself into a bald, fat, disturbed criminal. He would arrive on the film set at four in the morning, spending several hours in makeup, being tattooed exactly like "Read". Chopper (2000) became an international success and won three Australian Film Institute Awards. Bana won the Best Actor at the 2000 Stockholm Film Festival and also the AFI 2000 Best Actor Award. Then he co-starred in Black Hawk Down (2001), then starred in Hulk (2003).
In 2002, He got a lead role in Troy (2004), after being recommended by Brad Pitt, who admired Bana for his work in Chopper (2000). This is by far my favorite role of his to date.
In 2005, Bana co-starred with Daniel Craig and Geoffrey Rush in the political drama Munich (2005) directed by Steven Spielberg.
Love Life
In 1995, he began dating Rebecca Gleeson, a publicist and daughter of Australian High Court Chief Justice Murray Gleeson. The following year, he was named "Bachelor of the Year" by Cleo Magazine, and won a trip for two to the United States. He invited Gleeson, and proposed to her during that romantic trip. In 1997, the two were married; their son, Klaus, was born in 1999, their daughter, Sophia, was born in 2002. He currently resides in Melbourne with his wife and their two children.
Movie Rundown
#1 The Time Traveler's Wife (2009)
#2 Funny People (2009)
#3 Star Trek (2009)
#4 Mary and Max (2009) (voice) .... Damien
#5 The Other Boleyn Girl (2008)
#6 Romulus, My Father (2007)
#7 Lucky You (2007)
#8 Munich (2005)
#9 Troy (2004)
#10 Hulk (2003)
#11 Finding Nemo (2003) (voice) .... Anchor
#12 The Nugget (2002)
#13 Black Hawk Down (2001)
#14 Chopper (2000)
It looks like he has two movies in development, but nothing currently filming which means in will be a while before we will see him on the big screen. If you are interested in catching a Eric Bana film I would recommend Troy, Munich or Black Hawk Down. I was looking forward to digging up a little grease from Eric's past, but he seems to be one of the few incident free Actors in Hollywood. This is unfortunate for us gossip whores!!!!
References - IMBD
