Eric Bana’s Next Act

The Australian actor and King Arthur star—who got his unlikely start in comedy—has carved out a niche in Hollywood by playing haunted characters and never forgetting where he came from.

by MITCH MOXLEY

IN 2000, ERIC BANA STARRED IN AN Australian movie based on the life of a notorious criminal and folk hero named Mark Brandon “Chopper” Read, a goateed, silver-grilled biker who boasted of murdering almost 20 people in Melbourne in the 1970s and ’80s. Bana brought to life Read’s unique brand of charisma and psychopathy in a way that somehow evoked both revulsion and sympathy. The performance was career-making and anyone who saw it knew Bana was put on Earth to be a movie star. “I’VE ALWAYS FELT THAT IF YOU CAN DO SKETCH COMEDY WELL, THEN YOU CAN ACT.” Since Chopper, Bana has spent nearly two decades in Hollywood playing tortured souls—think Avner in Munich, Hector in Troy, and King Henry VIII in The Other Boleyn Girl—all while conveying an affability and…

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Maxim India (Digital) - 1 Issue, August 2017

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