Eric Bana

Eric Bana is an actor. I don't think I've seen anything he's been in, besides Finding Nemo. Tim saw Munich.

I used to get Eric Bana confused with that guy on the Superman TV show. I don't know why. I don't even know his name, and whether it's similar to Bana's. I'll go look..... Although I forgot the name of the TV Show. It's not Smallville. It's the one with the woman from Desperate Housewives. Terri Hatcher! Glad I remembered that. This will make it easier for me to look it up.

Okay, the show is Lois and Clark. The actor is Dean Cain. I'm not sure how I confused Dean Cain with Eric Bana. Weird.

Maybe it wasn't the name. Maybe it was how they look? Let me go look at some pictures of them.

Well, I'm looking at several photos via google images, and I'm really not seeing a resemblance.

Who knows why I made such a connection.

I'm going to get some brief biographical information from Lord Wiki. Then I'm going to move onto IMDb.

Baby Eric was born in Melbourne, on 9 August 1968. His original last name was Banadinovic, and that comes from his Croatian father.

Daddy Banadinovic worked for something called Caterpillar, Inc. They sell big heavy machines.

Mommy Banadinovic, from Germany, was a hairdresser.

I wonder if Bana learned to speak German and Croatian. Is Croatian a language, or do they speak something else?

Okay, yes. The CIA factbook website says there is a Croatian language. Here's a brief lesson in Croatian. And here's Hakuna Matata in Croatian.

In Melbourne, Bana's family lived in the suburb of Tullamarine. That's a cute name. It makes me think of Tallulah from the Maisy book series.

Tullamarine is about thirty minutes north-west of the CBD....much more north than west.

Ah, and it's very close to the airport. I wonder if Bana heard lots of planes going by when he was a kid.

Bana says he dealt with racism as a child. Sad, but not surprising.

Around age six or seven, Bana started showing off his acting skills. He'd imitate family members. And to get out of trouble at school, he'd do amusing imitations of teachers. I guess he was probably the class clown.

When Bana saw Mad Max as a teen, he decided he wanted to be an actor. But he wasn't really serious about it until he was in his early twenties. Then he did some stand-up comedy while working as a barman.

I'm skipping all the film work. We'll get to that later.

In 1997, Bana married a publicist named Rebecca Gleeson. Her dad was the Chief Justice of Australia from 1998-2008. The lovely couple has two kids...Klaus and Sophia.

Bana likes motor car racing. He's really into that. He also likes football. Both of those are totally not my thing.

In terms of charity, Bana is involved with a Catholic homeless organization called Youth Off the Streets. And he's involved with the Mental Illness Fellowship of Australia. Defining mental illness is a funny thing. Until 1973, homosexuality was classified as a mental illness. And in our culture, if you hear voices, you're mentally ill. In other cultures, you might be a respected shaman or witch doctor. Just a thought....

All right. Let me run over to IMDb.

It looks like Bana's first TV project was the sketch comedy program, Full Frontal. He was on the show from 1993-1996. He starred in it and did some of the writing. I think I've written about this show before, but I don't remember when.

Oh....it must have been when I wrote about Jane Turner. She was on it, along with her Kath and Kim co-stars, Gina Riley and Magda Szubanski.

Here's a Full Frontal scene with Eric Bana. That's pretty cute.

In 1996, Bana had his own show, named after himself. I'm not sure how long it lasted. I know it didn't go beyond 1996, but I'm not sure if it lasted one or two episodes; or if they had several.

In 1997, Bana was in The Castle. I didn't realize Bana was in that movie, and I also didn't realize it was that old. I thought it was made in the 2000's. I've seen parts of the movie, but I'm not sure if I saw Eric Bana.

Here's some clips from the movie. I'm not sure if they'll show Bana. Ah! There he is, at 1:12. He plays the new husband.

There's something very beautiful about that movie. The narrator seems like such a sweet guy...very much a glass-full kind of person. Actually, the whole family is probably that way.

I just thought of something. The Castle is about a family that lives very close to the airport. And Bana grew up living very close to the airport.

Now I'm confused. The next thing on IMDb is Eric, that show named after Bana. Why do they list it twice? Did it disappear, and then return? This one had nine episodes.

Like usual....I'm going to be skipping all one-time guest appearances. I also usually skip short films, unless it's something I can find on YouTube. It's not that short-films are unimportant. It's more the fact that filmographies are overwhelming, and I gotta cut time somewhere.

What would our world be like if we

knew for sure there 

was life after death, and 

we could easily talk to our 

dearly-departed on the Internet?

The Dead are Online a novel by Dina Roberts 

In 1999 and 2000, Bana did three episodes of All Saints. He played Rob Biletsky. This website says that Rob was a bomber. Yikes. For some reason, he was angry. He needed surgery and left a bomb in the hospital that would go off while he was under the knife. That's pretty intense.

In 2000, Bana was in a crime biography film called Chopper.  He played the title character.

From what Lord Wiki tells me, it all sounds a bit awful. Chopper Read was a violent criminal who then wrote books about his prison life. I can't tell if he's someone who sought redemption for his past or someone who's trying to profit from his past. He did some anti-drink driving and anti-domestic violence ads. So maybe he's a changed man? Here's his website. I do like what he says in his quote page. I know most of you out there hate my guts, I'm not a very popular person, but you drink and you drive you're the same as me, you're a murdering maggot just the same as I am. I'd probably agree.

I guess all in all, it's a positive story. I don't know why I'm being skeptical. Is it any different from Peter Kocan? They're both people who found a life outside of crime with writing. Maybe the difference is that Kocan didn't end up ending anyone's life. What if someone you loved was murdered and then the murderer became a successful author...writing about all his crimes?  I think there'd be something horribly unfair about that.

The IMDb trivia page has some interesting tidbits. They say Chopped Read saw Bana on Full Frontal  and wanted him for the movie. And Bana spent two days with Read so he could learn about the character. I wonder if they had fun together.

Bana won many awards for the film including an AFI one.

Here's the trailer. I'm very impressed with Bana's acting. I'm not quite sure if I'm impressed with the actual character. I guess I'd have to learn more about all of it.

From 2000-2002, Bana was in a show called Something in the Air. IMDb says he was in 202 episodes. Wow. That's a lot of shows for two years. It would average out to about two shows per week with no seasonal breaks.

Lord Wiki says it was a soap opera. Well, that doesn't surprise me. It kind of surprises me, though, that an award winning film actor would go to work on a soap. I don't think that happens very often.

Here's a scene from the show. It's about a rural town.

In 2001, Bana was in the American movie Black Hawk Down. I've heard of it, but I haven't seen it. I'm sure Tim has. He loves that type of movie.

It's about Somalia.

Here's a trailer. Bana has a southern accent. Ever since I started watching True Blood, I've grown quite fond of that type of accent.

It looks like a very powerful movie.

And now I'm close to crying again. The IMDb trivia page says: On the last day of their week long Army Ranger orientation at Fort Benning, the actors who portrayed the Rangers received a letter which had been anonymously slipped under their door. The letter thanked them for all their hard work, and asked them to "tell our story true", signed with the names of the Rangers who died in the Mogadishu firefight.

I usually don't like when people speak/write for God, dead people, pets, babies, etc. But there's something so poignant about that. I wonder if the actors cried when they read it. Probably. I think actors are emotional people.

In 2002, Bana did a comedy called The Nugget. It looks like it's about people who find gold and become suddenly wealthy.

Let me interrupt for this little parental bragging moment. Jack's really into Peanuts right now...not the deadly food, but the comic by Charles Schultz. He reads the comics every night before he goes to sleep. Anyway, today he drew pictures of Charlie Brown seen through the eyes of some of the other characters. For example, his Lucy drawing has Charlie Brown looking like a clown. Then Snoopy sees him as a chef...because he provides Snoopy with his meals. I thought it was so clever. It seems like an assignment that a very talented teacher would come up with. But Jack came up with it by himself. Or maybe he saw the idea somewhere. I'll have to ask. Either way. I'm impressed.

Anyway, back to Bana and The Nugget. Stephen Curry is in the film. He also starred with Bana in The Castle. But I'm not sure who he played. Well, he was Dale. I'm not sure who that is. Is it the narrator?

Okay, yeah. Lord Wiki says he is.

Curry was also in the Eric show.

Here's the trailer. It looks kind of cute.

In 2003, Bana was in Finding Nemo. I forgot who he played. Well, he was Anchor. Who was that? A fish? Oh, no. I remember. He's a shark. Awesome. I love sharks. Hey, but I was actually right, because sharks ARE fish.

We just ate lunch. I told Tim and Jack that Eric Bana was the person of the day. I mentioned that Bana played Anchor in Finding Nemo. It turns out, Jack has done a lot of studying of Finding Nemo's IMDb page. He said what's funny is there's a shark named Bruce; then another one of the sharks is played by an actor named Bruce. And then the Anchor shark is played by a guy who was in Hulk, and the character he played was Bruce. Jack is REALLY up to date with his Nemo trivia.

Tim was really surprised that Barry Humphries played Bruce. And he wanted to know who the dentist was. I had no idea, but I'll go check now.....

It's Bill Hunter. He was in Muriel's Wedding, and a LOT of other stuff. I guess he played Muriel's father?

Reading about Finding Nemo makes me miss Disney World. They have this really cute show where Crush the turtle talks to the audience. It's this special technology where the animated character can actually interact. Jack and I loved it. Here. Someone took a video of one of the shows.

There's stuff about Disney that really annoys me, but there is also stuff that I really love.

Here's the shark scene from Nemo. The sharks are like the Cullen family.

Okay, that little scene made me laugh out loud many times. I love that movie.

Now I'm onto the movie that Jack mentioned. Hulk. I don't think I realized that Bana was the star of that film. I kind of remember it. Maybe? It's the one done by Ang Lee. I wonder if I'd like it. Probably. I like superhero movies sometimes. I love Spiderman. And I liked the Michael Keaton Batman, and the Christopher Reeve Superman. I also like X-Men.

Here's the trailer for the film. I don't think you're going to like me when I'm angry. That's a great line.

Wasn't there another Incredible Hulk movie recently?

Okay. Yeah. Lord Wiki says there was a 2008 movie with Edward Norton. I'm going to watch that trailer too....see which one looks better to me. Well, I can't decide. They both look okay but not something I'd rush to see.

Well, now I have an example of how Disney can be annoying. I just got an email from the Disney Vacation club saying they have a free offer. Yeah, I should be skeptical about such a thing...but you never know. So I opened the email. Well, you get a free cruise....IF you buy a hundred more points in the Vacation Club. Those points are expensive. So, it's not free! I think the email would have been more honest if it was titled Buy vacation club points, and get a free cruise!
Anyway.....

I should get back to Bana.

In 2004, he was in Troy. Isn't Sam Worthington supposed to be in a Troy type movie soon? Bana played Hector. Lord Wiki says that's a Trojan prince and a major fighter in the Troy war.

Never mind. Worthington is in a Greek thing, but I guess it's not Troy. He's going to be in Clash of the Titans.

Brad Pitt was in Troy too. That kind of triggers my memory a bit. I might remember hearing of this movie.

Here's the trailer. It looks exciting. I wonder if kids in high school watch this after they read Homer stuff.

In 2005, Bana was in Munich. That's the Steven Spielberg movie about the massacre of Israeli athletes, and the Israeli revenge over the event.

IMDb provides a good piece of trivia. During the filming of the movie, one of the actresses learned that her grandfather had been in the Mossad. How did that happen? Hey, Grandpa. Guess what! I'm in a movie about the Mossad!

Oh really? I was In the Mossad...the real one!

Lord Wiki says the movie was heavily criticized by the Zionist Organization of America. I don't think I've heard of these folks. I HAVE heard of the Anti-Defamation League. They supported the film, or at least their director did.

Here's the letter that Abraham Foxman (the director of the ADL) wrote regarding the movie. He defends his support of the movie, saying it is NOT anti-Israel. It doesn't deny Israel's right to defend itself but instead questions how Israel goes about doing that.

I love what Foxman says here: Furthermore, to suggest that the film has an anti-Zionist spirit is a stretch. True, it does not present the beautiful Israel we prefer to see, but the notion that in light of brutal Palestinian terror, and with the memory of the Holocaust as backdrop, Jews need to be strong and hard - while at the same time engaging in internal debate over the wisdom and ethics of how they act - is hardly anti-Zionism. Indeed, without that trait, Israel would have disappeared long ago.

This has kind of lifted some of my own prejudices I've had about the ADL. I kind of pictured them as the type that labeled everything disagreeable as being anti-semitic. Maybe they're less rigid than I imagined.

Never mind....Lord Wiki is convincing me that they're pretty extreme. Well, at least they were somewhat open-minded about Munich. But there's something here about the Armenian genocide. The ADL doesn't want to recognize it....or something like that. What the hell?

Here's the ADL's press release about this. They say they DO recognize that something horrible happened to the Armenians, and if the term genocide had been invented already, the word would have been used. Well, can't we apply new words to history? Are there laws against that? Anyway, although they are okay with the genocide (or whatever they prefer to call it) being recognized, they don't support a Congressional resolution. They worry it will bring about strife between Turkey and the Armenian community. And they worry about Turkish Jews. Did Turkish Jews cause the genocide? I don't think so.....

Oh! I think I'm finally understanding. And hey, sorry for this major tangent. I'm just kind of lost in my curiosity here.

Turkey doesn't want to acknowledge the genocide. Why? They did it. They're the bad guys in this. And what is Turkey's relationship to Israel? They're buddies. Lord Wiki says Turkey was the first Middle Eastern country to recognize Israel...well, besides Israel. Israel definitely recognized itself.

So I thought this denial of the Armenian Holocaust was about wanting some kind of Holocaust uniqueness. And that MIGHT be part of it. But it looks like it's some kind of diplomatic game.

And the Holocaust IS unique. Each genocide is unique in it's own little special way. Like sugary breakfast cereals, evil comes in a variety of shapes and flavors.

Anyway....

Here's the trailer for Munich. Oh, okay. Geoffrey Rush is in the movie...saw his name on IMDb. I just checked, because I remembered watching the trailer before for this blog.

It looks like a really good movie.

In 2007, Bana was in Lucky You. It's about poker. Tim has been teaching Jack how to play poker. Apparently, Jack is very good at it.

Drew Barrymore is in Lucky You. I like her... although I think most people do.

Here's the trailer. It looks better than I expected. It's a romantic thing, not just poker. I like romance.

Also in 2007, Bana starred in Romulus My Father. I just saw that title a few days ago. Why? Maybe when I was reading about Ireland? Is it about Ireland?

Well....no. The plot page doesn't mention Ireland.

Oh! I know. Lord Wiki helped trigger my memory. The other day I found a website with some famous Australian people. I read over the list to see if there was anyone I wanted to add to MY list. One of the persons was Raimond Gaita, who wrote his memoirs titled Romulus My Father. I can't remember if I added him to the list or not.

The movie and memoirs are about Romanian immigrants who live in Melbourne.

Here's the trailer. It looks like a major tear-jerker. Bana won an AFI for the movie.

In 2008, Bana was in The Other Boleyn Girl. I heard of that one. Natalie Portman and Scarlett Johanson are in it. I think they're both very beautiful, but not as adorable as Anna Paquin.

Bana plays Henry Tudor. The movie is about Henry VIII. Is Henry Tudor Henry the VIII? Or is this another Henry? Lord Wiki says yes, they're they're the same. He's the one who had his wives executed, right?

Here's the trailer. The costumes are all very lovely. I love how clothes from those days looked, but I'm sure they were awfully uncomfortable.

Lord Wiki says the movie distorts history. I guess it's LOOSELY based on a true story. I'm trying to get a brief lesson in history here. If I'm understanding this right, there were two Boleyn sisters....one became the king's mistress, and the other became his wife. The wife was later beheaded.

When I think of Henry VIII, I think of that song Patrick Swayze sings in Ghost.

Bana was in Mary and Max. I didn't know that. I've watched this trailer many times, but I'll watch it again. It gives me a little tear.

In 2009, Bana was in that remake of Star Trek....the one directed by the guy who makes Lost! Speaking of Lost, I have my own crazy theory about that show. I feel like I should be right, but I can't fully explain HOW I could be right. Tim thinks I'm wrong. We shall see if he's wrong about me being wrong, or right about me being wrong.

Bana played a character named Nero. Isn't that the guy in The Matrix?

Nope. Wrong. Lord Wiki says that was Neo. We have Neo, Nero, and Nemo. It's a bit confusing.

Here's the trailer for Star Trek. Actually, it's four trailers in one video. It looks exciting...well, at least from the second trailer. The first trailer didn't show much, and I don't have much interest in watching a third and fourth one.

In 2009, Bana was in a film with Adam Sandler. Funny People. It's a comedy-drama about a terminally ill comedian. I don't think I've ever heard of it.

Here's the trailer. You know, I expected it to be really corny and dumb, but it actually looks good. It made me laugh. That guy from Knocked Up is in it. Bana actually plays an Australian in it! It's very rare for Australians to play Australians in American movies.

Okay, the very last bit in that trailer was hilarious.

Bana was in The Time Traveler's Wife. I didn't realize that. I've read the book, and I thought it was so incredibly sad. But it IS good. It's very romantic. I have a weakness for paranormal romance stories.

Here's the trailer.

It looks like Bana's not doing any movies for 2010. Then in 2011, he's going to be in Hanna. It's about a fourteen-year-old girl who's raised to be a killing machine. That's intense. This movie website says that Bana is going to play the villian. He plays Hanna's dad and trainer. The movie involves a CIA training camp, where children are bred and raised to be killers.

Now I'm going to read the IMDb trivia page about Bana.

He hates guns. I do too.

His favorite actors are Sam Elliot and Nick Nolte. I loved Nick Nolte in The Prince of Tides.

Bana also likes Richard Pryor, Paul Newman, and Barry Humphries.

Bana has gotten to work with at least three of his favorite actors. Did they become his favorites after he got to work with them, or was he lucky enough to get a chance to work with those he admired? Well, either way....I suppose he's lucky. It's nice to end up liking the work of your colleagues. It's better than working with someone you end up not respecting.

He never rode a horse before Troy. That surprises me. I was going to say I thought almost everyone has ridden a horse before, but Jack hasn't yet. I haven't ridden one in a LONG time.

Brad Pitt personally requested that Bana be his co-star in Troy. He had seen Bana in Chopper.

It looks like Bana didn't enjoy his time on The Hulk. He says, The Hulk is definitely what I would categorize as un-fun. I don't think it always needs to be fun. It doesn't always need to be one big happy family. Everyone got along, but it was a difficult, hard shoot. And I think you see every ounce of sweat on the screen. That's a fairly diplomatic way of saying you didn't enjoy yourself.

I need to put the laundry in the dryer. Then I'll read some interviews or something.

Here's an interview on Moviefone. It was done in April 2009.

They say he did a documentary about racing called Love the Beast.

Bana really loves his cars. I can't relate to that at all. Well, I can relate to loving something though, and having enthusiasm. So I guess I can connect to all of this on that level.

Bana says, The more I looked into that the more I realized there's more to this kind of ownership of a single object, so that's essentially what I was sort of wanting to tap into -- this notion of objects transcending themselves and having significance to us. I try not to to get overly attached to material objects these days. I do love my purple water bottle, but I don't think my attraction to it is that strong. And I loved my Australian ring that broke. But I was more upset because I thought it was a bad omen. Wait. Maybe that's what Bana means by objects transcending themselves. Yeah. Things start to carry meaning. I get it.

I was very attached to a book when I was a teenager. One of my other huge obsessions in life was Cystic Fibrosis. It started with reading Alex the Life of a Child. I think I used to actually sleep with that book. It was like my security blanket.

Bana plays a villian in Star Trek. I didn't realize that.

He talks about doing Funny People, and says it was nice to return to comedy. He says, I just felt kind of sick at the end, feeling like I've missed out on 10 years of fun since I stopped doing comedy. Yeah. He started out with that, but it seems he didn't do it again for a long time. No wait. The Castle and The Nugget are comedy. Right? Oh, and Finding Nemo is too, somewhat. Bana's scenes are definitely comedy.

This DVD website has an interview about Munich. I'm curious what his thoughts are about that.

Bana is asked if he had reservations about making the film...worries about it being too controversial. He says no, since Steven Spielberg was making the film. And he says, But I was privy to all drafts of the script from an early stage, so I roughly knew the kind of viewpoint that the film was being presented in, and I was very comfortable with it at all phases. But if I was kept in the dark and it wasn't Steven, it was someone whose work I was taking a chance on, I would have been more fearful. That makes sense.

I think I'm going to watch some video interviews. Here's one with Craig Ferguson. Bana says he's getting a bit grey, and it seems he's going to go the natural route. He says he's not going to dye his hair, and get what he calls A black helmet.

It's a funny interview.

And there's some bits of deep conversation. They talk about the worship of youth. Bana trashes Botox. He says people still look like they're 45. They just look like someone who's 45, and has had Botox.

I wonder if that's true. It's hard to know because some people who get procedures done don't admit to it. When you see an actress who looks young for her age, it's hard to tell if it's natural or medical.

Bana says some toilets in Australia have infrared cameras to prevent people from using drugs. What? I never heard of that. Does anyone know anything about it?

Oh, okay. Bana explains it. It's supposed to prevent people from seeing their veins.

That is really weird.

Now I'm learning a bit about Ferguson. First, of all he's Scottish. I always thought he was Irish. Oops.

He made some comment about having the DT's at a Melbourne opera. I wasn't sure what that was, so looked it up. Lord Wiki says it's delirium tremens. It can involve tremors, diarrhea, hallucinations, and other stuff. It's usually caused by alcohol withdrawal.

Anyway, I was curious about Ferguson's history with alcohol. He joked about being an alcoholic. I was hoping he was a recovering one, and Lord Wiki says he is. That's good. He's been sober since 1992. Still, he likes talking about alcohol. He eagerly recommends a Scotch for Bana. I think it's nice that he can talk and joke about it.

Here's Eric Bana on Rove. This interview is funny too. I like when funny people talk to each other.

Bana says if he could time travel, he'd like to see bands before they became famous.

I think I'd like to visit my relatives and ancestors. I'd love to meet my grandparents when they were teenagers, or maybe even my parents. I also wouldn't even mind seeing my self....seeing what I was like as a young child. These days, kids are so heavily documented. Most of them will be able to look back, and get a very clear picture of what they were like. People my age don't have that as much. There's an album, a few silent movies....maybe a few drawings we did. Older generations have even less. I think my parents probably have less than twenty pictures of themselves as young children.

Rove asks Bana if he'd want to go back and change anything. Bana says no. He thinks that things happen for a reason. I agree.

Now they're talking about ultrasounds. Bana says he and his wife didn't find out the gender of their baby. They wanted to be surprised. My sister and her husband do the same. I preferred knowing, but I think it's cool that they don't. It's funny. Some people seem to have such a problem with it. I don't really understand why. I think it's fun to be surprised.

Now they're asking Bana some submitted questions. Someone asks when was the last time Bana wished he had kept his mouth shut. He says when he gives advice. Yeah, I sometimes regret giving advice, mostly because I'm against giving advice....especially unsolicited. But it's so horrible to resist sometimes. The other thing I regret is when I confide in certain people. I rarely receive comfort, kudos, or understanding from them. I tell myself...Do not confide in them. You're going to end up feeling completely foolish and small. But then I slip up. There's a part of me that just won't give up. Once in awhile, I'm pleasantly surprised by the reaction. But usually, I'm not and I strongly regret opening my mouth....or writing that email.

That's why I confess so much here. That way I can get it out of my system, and I'm less compelled to share with the wrong people.

Oh no! They didn't ask the who'd-you-turn-gay-for question? That's my favorite part! Why did they skip that?

Anyway, it's late. I better quit.