Eric Bana on Star Trek and stardom
Published 29 April, 2009, 12:58
He wanted to be a racecar driver but became a comedian. Was Eric Bana’s trademark sense of humor of any use in Star Trek?
The Aussie star of Croatian origin Eric Bana (neé Banadinovich) has become a sex symbol, but before his good looks gathered widespread appeal he began his artistic career as a stand-up comedian. In an exclusive interview with RT, Bana said that “stand-up comedy is a great background for a performer because it teaches you to be brave. It’s a very, very hard job, so there’s very little that makes you feel uncomfortable as an actor because you’ve been through so much of it before. It gives you an ability to look at things differently because you’re constantly writing your own material and are analyzing things. I think it does help your acting. I’ve had a lot of characters that were so intense and serious that I haven’t had much chance to inject humor into them, but Star Trek, I felt, was the one that didn’t take itself so seriously and there was a lot of humor there.”
In Star Trek the star of ‘Troy’ plays the main villain, Nero.
“It wasn’t a film that required a lot of research but rather a lot of preparation. It was a fresh character. No one has seen him before, so it was my responsibility to just make him interesting and fun. I like to spend a lot of time preparing for characters because to me that’s part of the most interesting part of the job. You learn so much about something different that you wouldn’t otherwise learn, especially if you are playing someone from history.”
Eric Bana soared to stardom after Ang Lee’s sci-fi thriller ‘Hulk’, but Bana insists he’s always seen himself as just an actor.
“I like to jump around and do different things and different kind of characters. I’ve never really seen myself as a movie star or anything like that. I’m just attracted to different kinds of projects. I do a lot of small films back home and occasionally a big film, like Star Trek. Each time it’s just about finding something that’s interesting as a character.”
Beginning in May, J.J. Abrams’ adaptation of the sci-fi series Star Trek will be released in Russia and overseas. Watch RT’s interview with the film director on May 7.
Valeria Paikova, RT
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