Troy - Eric Bana interview

ERIC Bana talks about playing Hector in Troy, preparing for his epic fight scene with Brad Pitt and why there was some reluctance initially around taking on the role. He also recalls the last film that left him awestruck. He was speaking at a UK press conference...

Q. How was the preparation for the final fight scene between you and Brad Pitt? How was it executed? Did you get injured?

Eric Bana: It was interesting, because it was a scene that was really revered through the whole shoot. I mean, Wolfgang would talk about it all the time, Brad and I would talk about it all the time, and it was obviously 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, during the production of the film, to learn it, and get it into our bodies, and then when it came time to shoot it, it was a wonderful experience.

It was the very last thing that we shot on the movie, and it was the last week on the film, so it was melancholy also, because you were getting towards the end and you were really excited and pumped up, so we were so ready. We were absolutely so ready when it came to do this. One of the greatest things that we had said to us was by Simon Crane, the fight director, while we were sitting down, which was: "Unless you're totally ready to kill each other, do not even get up off the chairs, because that is the level of intensity that we need in the fight, and anything else is a wasted take, and a waste of your energy."

And he was right. It was just about pumping up the adrenaline, in the heat, and absolutely going for it. And it was just the most satisfying thing to do. Yeah, we did connect with each other a few 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.

Q. Initially, you seemed reluctant to take on the role of Hector...

Eric Bana: It was more about 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, so it was more a matter of going through the process of convincing myself that I could walk in Hector's shoes.

I mean, that's a thing that no one can help you with. You can learn how to fight, you can learn how to ride a horse, and you can 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.

So, it was just a self-belief thing, but in the end, it was never a reflection on the part, or the role, if was more a reflection of the process that an actor goes through in bigging yourself up.

Q. What did you do during the down-time on the film's set?

Eric Bana: Picked up a sword and belted the crap out of a stuntman! Luckily, for me, I had some down-time, but there was always something to do.

I probably had an easier time than the female members of the cast!

Q. How do you think Troy compares with The Hulk in terms of ambition and movie-making?

Eric Bana: Well, for me, the two films couldn't have been more different in every possible way. The Hulk felt like a very small-scale production for me, because, obviously, I wasn't involved in the CGI stuff, so I was doing very intimate scenes with one or two other actors in a very small set, so it actually weirdly didn't feel like a very huge film to make.

This, on the other hand, was 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. So, it was nothing but the greatest possible experience and totally, totally incredible.

Q. Can you recall an epic that you saw in your life that made you go 'wow'?

Eric Bana: Well, Mad Max 2. [laughs] It was a movie that I really, really love a lot. It actually has so many parallels to this story. It wasn't until I actually started to look at Greek mythology, prior to this role, that I realised how much I'd been affected by so many great movies that were actually steeped in Greek mythology. The second installment of the Road Warrior movies is definitely one of those, along with all the obvious classics, such as Ben Hur and Lawrence of Arabia.

Q. How did you enjoy working on a big-scale ensemble picture?

Eric Bana: It's the best, you do feel like you're part of a big family. We all felt so incredibly lucky to be working with each other. It was absolutely no accident that he [Wolfgang] got the chemistry that he did. I know a lot of it had to do with Wolfgang's hand-picking of everyone. Everyone had something in common, they all knew their character was important, and that if you worked with Wolfgang Petersen, he would know, even on such an epic scale, how important everyone's moment was. Everyone knew when it was their moment, and when it wasn't. And that's a great gift.