Eric Bana Main

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Biography

Bana was born in Melbourne, Australia, the younger of two children. His Croatian father Ivan was a logistics manager for Caterpillar Inc., and his German-born mother Eleanor was a hairdresser. Bana grew up in Melbourne's Tullamarine, a suburban area on the western edge of the city, near the airport. Showing acting skill early in life, Bana began doing impressions of family members at the age of six or seven, first mimicking his grandfather's walk, voice and mannerisms. In school, he mimicked his teachers to get out of trouble. As a teen he watched the Mel Gibson film Mad Max (1979), and decided he wanted to become an actor. However, he did not seriously consider a career in the performing arts until 1991 when he was persuaded to try stand-up comedy while working as a barman at Melbourne's Castle Hotel. His stand-up gigs in inner-city pubs did not provide him with enough income to support himself, so he continued his work as a barman, clearing tables.

In 1995, while working on the television series Full Frontal, Bana began dating Rebecca Gleeson, a publicist with the Seven Network and daughter of Australian High Court Chief Justice Murray Gleeson.[7] They married in 1997, after Bana proposed to her on a trip to the United States that he won from Cleo Magazine after being named "Bachelor of the Year" in 1996.[24] Bana and Gleeson have two children, a son Klaus (b. August 1999), and a daughter Sophia (b. April 2002). Since the birth of his son, Bana has limited his work to one film per year so he can spend time with his family at their home in Melbourne.

Bana is a motor racing enthusiast, and participates in various motor racing competitions in Australia. At the age of fourteen, Bana wanted to leave school to focus full-time on becoming a motor mechanic, but his father convinced him to complete school, advising him to avoid making his hobby a job. Bana purchased his first car at the age of fifteen for AU$1000 and driving it made his motorsport racing debut in 1996's Targa Tasmania, a week-long race around the island state of Tasmania. In 2004, Bana purchased a Porsche 944 to compete in Australia's Porsche Challenge. Competing throughout 2004, he often finished in the top ten and in November, finished fourth at the Sandown 500, a personal best.

Bana is also a prominent supporter of Australian rules football. His love of the sport began at a young age when his godfather took him to games to see the St Kilda Football Club, his favorite team.

Bana is an advocate for the Mental Illness Fellowship, which works to increase the awareness of mental illness in Australia. In 2004, he appeared in several high profile advertisements for the fellowship.[31] Bana is also active in campaigns with the Australian Childhood Foundation and the Bone Marrow Donor Institute. Since 1995, he has participated in the Motorcycle Riders Association Toy Run in Melbourne, which raises money and toys for needy children at Christmas.

In 2005, Bana narrated the documentary Terrors of Tasmania about the endangered Tasmanian Devil. The film followed the life of a female Tasmanian Devil called Manganinnie and discussed the incurable facial cancer which threatens the survival of the species. He has also worked with the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, donating money to animal shelters in Berlin while filming Troy in 2004.

––Wikipedia
Filmography
Lucky You
Munich
Troy
Troy