I used to lift very heavy weights in my mid-twenties - I used to bench press over 300lb. The most I ever lifted was 330lb; I couldn't do that today, no way.
— Eric Bana
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 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 think luck gets you on to the stage. But it has nothing to do with keeping you there.
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 darker the film, the more vital everyone's sense of humor is on set.
I guess I'm a very keen observer, and I'd like to think I have a good imagination.
I always find that 90% of the performance, for me, is about what comes from inside.
If you can jump up onstage and make people laugh, shouldn't you also be able to inhabit a character?
I think I wasted a lot of my youth, falling for girls who were a couple of years older than me.
The reason my kids come to the set is so I can actually see them.
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.
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 like the unknown. I like mystery.
I'm always one time zone behind myself.
I've always been attracted to cars, and driving is a completely measurable experience: if you qualify last on the grid, you're the slowest, and if you qualify first on the grid, you're the fastest. So no one can say you're slow if you're fast and no one can say you're fast if you're slow.
My wife and I really, really like each other as well as love each other.
I occasionally go to the gym and I lift free weights, I don't use machines.
I hate being clean-shaven. My daughter gets very upset if I shave and says, 'Bring back the spikes, Dad.'
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.
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.
The movies people don't talk about or remember after six months' time don't really matter.
I'm spending all my time and energy on the project at hand.
I would never say never to returning to comedy.
I don't like to come at my character from some really technical place.
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 fell in love with many women at school who had no idea I existed. I'm a bit of a romantic.
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.
The longer you have something, the stronger the bond. That's true with people as well as things.
I guess subconsciously that all the great people you work with have an influence on you.
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.
My chosen exercise is cycling. I just love it.
I'll give you a list of a hundred ways that I'm more likely to be injured than belting around a race track with people who know what they're doing. It's not a place where I feel I'm in unnecessary danger.
I think love can come fairly easily and grow - but really liking the core essence of someone is a much harder thing to bottle. If you have both, you're in pretty good shape.
The only thing that may make me different from other people is I have passionate interests outside of work.
I look my best when I take my helmet off after a long motorcycle ride. I have a glow and a bit of helmet hair.
When I shoot I'll take my family with me - one movie a year and then the rest of the time at home.
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 am attracted to characters who think they are in control, but their situation is uncontrollable.
I'm always reading and looking around for the next thing.
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.
Over my lifetime, the car had actually transcended the fact that it is a car. It has become a venue.
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.
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.
I really enjoy working on small films.
I've always been a bit of a car freak.
I'm very much a bit of a ghost presence.
When I was a kid, I would do stupid things on my bike. I'd jump any ramp, I'd jump over people, I'd jump over things - always crashing, never hurting myself badly but always wanting to take physical risks.
I'm not into bikinis or other revealing clothing.
