Although he may have been well known elsewhere at the time, Eric Bana’s first Hollywood film was “Black Hawk Down.” In the Ridley Scott movie, Bana played a member of the Delta Force team in Mogadishu. Having portrayed a soldier before, however, didn’t give Bana pause before taking on another Armed Services role for Peter Berg’s “Lone Survivor.”
What Bana did say about working on “Black Hawk Down” is that having taken part in that film, he knew that doing this one “Would be a really special experience.” Bana had read Marcus Luttrell’s years prior to the filming of this movie, was a fan of the book, and decided at the time read it that it could make for a good movie.
As a whole, in terms of considering roles, the Australian actor told us that there are a number of factors involved in whether or not a accepts a part, including timing and where he’s at in his life. Two questions he asks himself before taking on anything is “Do I feel a connection to the character and do I think the story’s great.”
Since the discussion we had with him dealt with, in part, his career as a whole, we couldn’t help but ask if he had any intention of getting behind the camera again. To date, Bana has directed one film, a documentary from 2009 called “Love the Beast” which focuses on his obsession with his first car, a 1974 XB Ford Falcon, and a race called the Targa Tasmania. He told us that he would certainly step behind the camera again, “I’d love to attempt a narrative some day, if I was able to write something else that I knew a lot about or felt really passionately about” but he also said that he doesn’t really sit down with scripts looking at them with an eye towards directing.
“Love the Beast” is currently available on Netflix, and “Lone Survivor” is playing in select cities, expanding nationwide on December 10th.