STAR Magazine Article - July 1, 2003
The Hulk vs. The Hunk
Aussie Action Hero Vows: "I'll kick Brad's butt!"
Look out, Brad Pitt! The Hulk's vowing to take you down! Eric Bana, the Aussie hunk who plays The Hulk in the $150 million screen blockbuster, has to fight Pitt in the upcoming action drama flick, Troy.
And says the 6-foot-4 Bana with a grin: "I'm going to beat the crap out of him! I'm going to kick Brad's butt!"
Troy, which will film in Malta and Mexico and is tentatively set for release next May - is set in the year 1193 B.C. and tells the story of how Prince Paris of Troy stole the beautiful Helen from her husband, Menelaus, king of the Greek kingdom of Sparta.
A 10-year war ensues with the Greeks and their greatest warrior, Achilles (Pitt), laying siege to the city of Troy where the Trojan forces are led by heroic Prince Hector (Bana).
Bana, 34, and 39-year-old Pitt grapple in a bitter, bloody showdown which is still to be shot - and both heart-throb actors are working out to get ready for their mortal combat scene.
"Brad and I don't have to fight till filming moves to Mexico. I haven't disfigured him yet," says Bana.
"But we're both working pretty hard to prepare for the fight scene. Brad’s bulked up and so have I."
Since they haven’t come to blows yet, Bana’s still “getting along” with Pitt. "I haven't had this much fun since I was at school," he adds. "The character Hector is the role of a lifetime."
And don't let the fact that they'll both be wearing leather miniskirts fool you.
Female filmgoers will be flocking to theatres to watch the dark and brooding Bana match rock-hard abs, sunburned biceps and rippling thighs [note to readers from Tessa: this is fun to type] against blonde love god Pitt in this sweat-and-sandals fest.
It'll be a treat to see more of Bana after his star turn as comic-book legend The Hulk.
Bana first came to American moviegoers' attention when he played Norm "Hoot" Gibson in the war movie Black Hawk Down two years ago.
His first showbiz break came when he joined the cast of the ensemble Australian TV sketch comedy Full Frontal in 1993.
Three years later, he starred in his own comedy series, The Eric Bana Show, and fell in love with Rebecca Gleeson, a publicist for the program. They married in 1997 and have two children.
But he'll be on his way to becoming a household name with The Hulk, in which he plays young scientist Bruce Banner who, after being exposed to gamma radiation, turns into a green monster whenever he loses his temper.
Even with that high-profile role under his belt - plus upcoming work in Troy - Bana says he may still be able to retain anonymity.
"The beauty is I get to hid behind the makeup in The Hulk, then I get to hide behind Brad," he jokes.
"For my next trick, I'll find someone else to hide behind."