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Eric Bana - Interview Troy

Eric Bana on why it was so satisfying to fight Brad Pitt like they wanted to kill each other

It's been an action-packed four years for Eric Bana. Back in 2000, he was a successful stand-up comic and TV star in his native Australia, with only a couple of film credits to his name. One of these was his first leading role as the deranged criminal in Andrew Dominik's brilliantly ferocious true-life comedy-drama  Chopper.

Since the international release of the film in 2001, Bana has appeared as part of an ensemble in Ridley Scott's Black Hawk Down and taken the lead role of Bruce Banner in Ang Lee's challenging take on Marvel Comics' hero  Hulk.

Now, thanks to Gladiator reviving the cinematic 'sword and sandal' genre, he's venturing into the world of Greek myth, playing Hector opposite Brad Pitt's Achilles in the historical epic  Troy.

Despite describing the part as "the opportunity of a lifetime", Bana admits that initially he had doubts about taking on the role of Hector. "It was more about self-belief, and the process of convincing myself I could walk in Hector's shoes. That's what nobody can help you with. You can learn to fight and ride a horse, you can have a great cast and director, but if you don't truly believe you can be that arrogant and self-assured, you're not going to pull it off."

Taking the story of Homer's Iliad, one of the oldest pieces of literature in history, and transferring it onto film involved a production on a scale that Bana had never encountered before- despite already having appeared in a major blockbuster. "The thing is, shooting Hulk didn't feel like a huge film," explains Bana. "I wasn't involved in any of the CGI stuff when my character changed into the Hulk, so it was just very small scale, intimate scenes with one or two other actors in a small set. Also, the role was so introspective, about hiding emotions- where as in Troy, Hector was so much more fun, and I basically got to do everything every boy dreams of doing."

The film features epic battles with multitudes of extras and spectacular CGI, but one of the most impressive sequences is the simple but brutal combat between Hector and Achilles outside the gates of the city.

"Brad and I had to train four hours a day for eight weeks, just to learn the fight and get it into our bodies, and it was the last thing we shot for the film. Actually, one of the greatest things said to us was by Simon Crane, the fight director - when we were putting our armour on to start shooting the scene - was, "Unless you're both totally ready to kill each other, don't even get up from your chair. That's the level of intensity we need, and anything less is just a waste of a take." And he was right. It was just a matter of summoning up the adrenaline in all that heat. Doing the fight was just the most satisfying thing possible."

The influences of films like  Ben Hur  and  Lawrence Of Arabia  on Troy are obvious, but the epic movie that's most influenced Bana isn't a traditional choice. "The most influential one would have to be  Mad Max 2.  It's a movie I loved a lot - I know it's not considered one of the classic epics, but actually it has so many parallels to the story of Troy, it's incredible. It wasn't until I started looking into Greek mythology while making the film that I found out how much I'd been affected by so many movies that are steeped in Greek mythology."