There's no way you can get a fight to look like that without injuring each other a bit 
Eric Bana is a household name in his native Australia where he kicked off his showbiz career as a stand-up comic. He later scored his own TV sketch show - imaginatively titled The Eric Bana Show - but nobody was laughing when Bana delivered his critically acclaimed portrayal of real-life psycho Mark Brandon Read in Andrew Dominik's Chopper. That film led to smaller roles in Hollywood pics Black Hawk Down and Hulk, but sword'n'sandals epic Troy is Bana's biggest challenge yet. In it, he plays Hector, Prince of Troy, and nemesis to Brad Pitt's warrior hero Achilles.
You've got an impressive ensemble cast around you. How much of a blessing is that for an up-and-coming actor?
It's just the best, clearly it is. I mean, you do feel like you're part of a big family, and we all felt so incredibly lucky to be working with the group of people that had been assembled. It was no accident that Wolfgang [Petersen, director] got the chemistry that he did. He handpicked every part and everyone had something in common. But we all knew that every single character was important, and that's the beauty of working with someone like Wolfgang. In this epic scale he realised how important everyone's moment was, and everyone knew when it was their moment and when it wasn't.
Troy is obviously an epic production, and there's a definite style that goes along with that. Did you find yourself looking back to any of the old epics for inspiration?
Mad Max II [laughs]. That was a movie that I really loved a lot. I know it's probably not considered one of the classic epics, but it actually has so many parallels to this story, it's incredible. It wasn't until I really started to look at Greek mythology in prepping for this film that I realised how much I'd been affected by so many great movies that were actually steeped in Greek mythology. The second instalment of Mad Max is definitely one of those, along with all classics that I love - Lawrence Of Arabia, Ben-Hur, all those obvious ones.
How did shooting a film on this scale compare with making Hulk?
For me, the films couldn't have been more different in every possible way. Shooting Hulk was very small scale for me because I wasn't involved in the CGI stuff. It was just very intimate scenes with one or two other actors on a small set, so weirdly it didn't feel like a huge film to make. This one, on the other hand, is the exact opposite. The role was a lot more fun, because the Hulk was so introspective and about hiding things, and not doing things, whereas in this case I got to do everything every boy dreams of doing. It was nothing but the greatest possible experience - just incredible.
Going toe-to-toe with Achilles had to be a thrilling prospect, but you were initially reluctant to take the role of Hector. Why?
It was about just self-belief and stuff. I mean, I read the script and thought it would be the opportunity of a lifetime, and thought it was the greatest thing I'd ever read. It was just a matter of going through the process of convincing myself that I could walk in Hector's shoes, because that's the thing that no one can help you with, you know? You can learn how to fight, and you can learn how to ride a horse, and have a great cast, and a great director, but if you don't really believe that you can be that arrogant, you're not going to be able to pull it off. It was never a reflection on the part, it was more a reflection on the process an actor goes through - of beating himself up.
Your big showdown with Brad Pitt is incredible. How much preparation went into that?
It was a scene that was really revered through the whole shoot. I mean, Wolfgang would talk about it all the time, and Brad and I would talk about it all the time. It was a daily thing, because Brad and I were training for it literally every day if we weren't shooting. It took us about eight months of training during the production of the film to learn it and get it into our bodies.
And when it came to shooting it?
It was a wonderful experience - it really was. It was the very last thing that we shot in the movie and it was Brad's and my last week on the film. It was also melancholy, because you're getting towards the end, and you're really excited and pumped up, but we were just absolutely so ready. One of the greatest things that was said to us - by Simon Crane, who's the fight director - while we were sitting down and putting on our armour, he said: "Unless you're totally ready to kill each other, do not even get up off your chairs, because that is the level of intensity we need in this fight. Anything less than that is a waste of tape and a waste of your energy." And he was right. It was about absolutely going for it. It was just the most satisfying thing to do. It was just awesome, and yeah, we did get hit plenty of times. But there's no way you can get a fight to look like that without injuring each other a bit. Nothing major, just a lot of hits.
Sounds like an intense production for you. How did you let off steam?
I picked up a sword and belted the crap out of the stuntmen [laughs].
