Eric Bana Quotes

1. I could become characters and to me that's what acting was - I didn't want to shroud it in mystery.


2. 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.

3. Technically speaking, you can build anything out of sand; it doesn't mean you do it.

4. I think I've been fortunate, and right now I'm in an incredibly fortunate position, which I'm totally aware of.

5. I guess I'm a very keen observer, and I'd like to think I have a good imagination.




6. You'll read things and say, this is a really good project and it's probably going to be a hit, but I can see 20 other people playing that part. You have to have some sense of ownership to do a good job and be married to it for ever.

7. Over my lifetime, the car had actually transcended the fact that it is a car. It has become a venue.

8. My favorite part of the interview is the 401 assumptions before you've even started speaking, based on what you're wearing, what you've chosen to eat, how the waiter looks at you.



9. I've always described parts as tattoos. For actors our tattoos are in the form of films.

10. As an actor I've been attracted to the sort of films that I want to go and see. That tends to usually be drama-related.




11. When you're shooting a film, you really don't get to be a dad, and you don't really get to be a husband. You don't really exist at all. But I do drag my family with me on location whenever I can.

12. I wasn't a religious follower of comic book activity as a kid, but I was a fanatical fan of the television show with Bill Bixby and Lou Ferrigno. So my memories of "The Hulk" were very vivid.

13. The darker the film, the more vital everyone's sense of humor is on set.


14. I hate being clean-shaven. My daughter gets very upset if I shave and says: "Bring back the spikes, Dad."

15. I think luck gets you on to the stage. But it has nothing to do with keeping you there.

16. I look my best when I take my helmet off after a long motorcycle ride. I have a glow and a bit of helmet hair.

17. I like the unknown. I like mystery.

18. It's always been my hope, as an actor, to reveal only what is relevant about myself to the work.

19. When I go on the plane to fly home, I'm literally capable of forgetting what I do for a job. That also comes about because I choose to take massive breaks between projects, and because I choose to do this ridiculous thing of keeping home, home.

20. I always find that 90% of the performance, for me, is about what comes from inside.

21. I didn't study Greek mythology in school and I wish I had.


22. I've always been a bit of a car freak.


23. I wanted to be a racing driver but, you know - this'll do.

24. The longer you have something, the stronger the bond. That's true with people as well as things.

25. I never look at the size of the film when I'm looking for a part.

26. I used to lift very heavy weights in my mid-twenties - I used to bench press over 300lb. The most I ever lifted was 330lb; I couldn't do that today, no way.

27. I deliberately fly in and out of LA for as small a time as humanly possible.

28. I love being at home, being with friends and family. I'm of European stock, brought up in Australia. I'm a passionate guy. I just love life.

29. I'd say I'm the opposite of someone that has the urge to stand in front of strangers and make them laugh, but the idea of getting up and telling a story and people finding it amusing always appealed to me.

30. My background was producing and writing and performing in television when I started out, and I really missed that, that whole creative process that comes from sort of "me" storytelling.

31. My wife and I really, really like each other as well as love each other.

32. My chosen exercise is cycling. I just love it.

33. I'll give you a list of a hundred ways that I'm more likely to be injured than belting around a race track with people who know what they're doing. It's not a place where I feel I'm in unnecessary danger.

34. The more I love the character, the harder it is to get it wrong. I have to get to a point that I can speak for them.




35. I've never been someone that's had a five-year plan, or a three-year plan. That just seems to lead to a lot of disappointment, and doesn't give you the chance to be flexible.

36. I occasionally go to the gym and I lift free weights, I don't use machines.

37. I don't like to come at my character from some really technical place.

38. (on training for "Troy") You couldn't have bluffed your way through. It takes a lot of bloody arrogance even with six months' preparation.

39. I've worked with some of the great cinematographers. So I'm always watching what they do and I'm watching how the director composes his shots, just because I find it interesting as an actor; you're trying to help them out as well.

40. I'm very much a bit of a ghost presence.

41. (on Orlando Bloom) I already loved Orlando like a little brother before we started shooting. We did spend five months together in Morocco during "Black Hawk Down". And you have to take care of Orlando. He doesn't even know how to make coffee. (Starts imitating Orlando's voice) Do you want coffee, Eric? How is it done again? Do you put the coffee in the water? Or in the filter? Can you make the coffee, Eric?

42. If you're lucky enough to be involved in a film that's about something very real and that you hope will continue to hold up in 20 years' time it just gives you more energy and makes it feel all the more worthwhile.

43. I have a theory that I really want my kids to know - the only coloration that they make between dad being in films and reality is just a lot of people doing a lot of hard work.

44. The Israeli accent wasn't one that I was overly familiar with so had to learn from scratch but I was very fortunate I had the right amount of time.





45. I race historic muscle cars back in Australia, and that's my hobby. And I try to race home as soon as I've finished a movie but don't tell anyone.

46. A girl's got to be fun. It's the one bit of advice I always give to friends of mine who are thinking of getting married.

47. It's always bitterly disappointing to people to see how normally one can live.


48. I fell in love with many women at school who had no idea I existed. I'm a bit of a romantic.

49. I really enjoy working on small films.

50. (on his influences to become an actor) Early, it was Richard Pryor. I did stand-up for 10 years before acting. And the movie "Mad Max" (1979). It cemented in my mind that I wanted to be an actor.

51. The most serious film can be the most fun. The one that's supposed to be fun can be the most serious.

52. I am attracted to characters who think they are in control, but their situation is uncontrollable.

53. I think I wasted a lot of my youth, falling for girls who were a couple of years older than me.

54. If you can jump up onstage and make people laugh, shouldn't you also be able to inhabit a character?

55. The movies people don't talk about or remember after six months' time don't really matter.


56. I get inhabited by a character and then you mourn it. There's a period of mourning for me, definitely.


57. I would never say never to returning to comedy.

58. I think love can come fairly easily and grow - but really liking the core essence of someone is a much harder thing to bottle. If you have both, you're in pretty good shape.

59. I think there are times when you walk onto a set you can potentially be either intimidated or distracted by what's going on around you.


60. The only thing that may make me different from other people is I have passionate interests outside of work.

61. I'm always reading and looking around for the next thing.

62. I wasn't going to be a college kid. The only subject I was interested in was English. I think I had a subconscious interest in analyzing story.

63. I've always been attracted to cars, and driving is a completely measurable experience: if you qualify last on the grid, you're the slowest, and if you qualify first on the grid, you're the fastest. So no one can say you're slow if you're fast and no one can say you're fast if you're slow.


64. I'm always one time zone behind myself.

65. When I shoot I'll take my family with me - one movie a year and then the rest of the time at home.

66. I'm spending all my time and energy on the project at hand.



67. I wanted to be a mechanic. When I was 14 I wanted to quit school and go work on my car. But my dad said: "Son, you shouldn't do that. You should stay in school until your education is finished, and when you're done, don't make your hobby your job".

68. Stand-up came out of three things. Frustration, necessity and arrogance. I didn't have a great career ahead of me in anything. Someone literally said to me: "You should try stand-up," and took me to a venue.

69. The reason my kids come to the set is so I can actually see them.





70. I'm not into bikinis or other revealing clothing.

71. When I was a kid, I would do stupid things on my bike. I'd jump any ramp, I'd jump over people, I'd jump over things - always crashing, never hurting myself badly but always wanting to take physical risks.

72. I guess subconsciously that all the great people you work with have an influence on you.




73. I think the beauty of working with young people is they remind you of the spirit of acting and it's just a big play.

74. There wasn't a moment where I got into cars. It wasn't a conscience decision or something that came later, it was there since I was born. I just love it.

75. I've given no thought to moving to America at all.

76. Each time you go to the same track you know whether you're improving or whether you're not…it's not open to interpretation. It's measurable - unlike acting.

77. By the time I finished comedy, I was really burnt out of it. I had had enough. I don't really have a strong desire to prove myself in that area, or to go back to it in any great way.


What do you think of Eric Bana's quotes?


Feel free to comment and share this blog post if you find it interesting!