Eric Bana

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

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

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

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

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.

I'm a bit of a romantic.

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

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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

I like the unknown. I like mystery.

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.

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

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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

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

I would never say never to returning to comedy.

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

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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

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

My chosen exercise is cycling. I just love it.

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.

I really enjoy working on small films.