Eric Bana was born in Melbourne, Australia, the younger of two children. His Croatian father, Ivan, was a logistics manager for Caterpillar, Inc., and his German-born mother, Eleanor, was a hairdresser. Bana grew up in Melbourne's Tullamarine, a suburban area on the western edge of the city, near the airport.Showing acting skill early in life, Bana began doing impressions of family members at the age of six or seven, first mimicking his grandfather's walk, voice and mannerisms. In school, he mimicked his teachers to get out of trouble. As a teen he watched the Mel Gibson film Mad Max (1979), and decided he wanted to become an actor. However, he did not seriously consider a career in the performing arts until 1991 when he was persuaded to try stand-up comedy while working as a barman at Melbourne's Castle Hotel. His stand-up gigs in inner-city pubs did not provide him with enough income to support himself, so he continued his work as a barman, clearing tables
In 1995, while working on the television series Full Frontal, Bana began dating Rebecca Gleeson, a publicist with the Seven Network and daughter of Chief Justice of Australia Murray Gleeson. They married in 1997, after Bana proposed to her on a trip to the United States that he won from Cleo Magazine after being named "Bachelor of the Year" in 1996. Bana and Gleeson have two children, a son Klaus (born July 1998), and a daughter Sophia (born April 2001). Since the birth of his son, Bana has limited his work to one film per year so he can spend time with his family at their home in Melbourne.
Bana is a motor racing enthusiast, and participates in various motor racing competitions in Australia. At the age of fourteen, Bana wanted to leave school to focus full-time on becoming a motor mechanic, but his father convinced him to complete school, advising him to avoid making his hobby a job. Bana purchased his first car, a 1973 XB Ford Falcon coupé, at the age of fifteen for AU$1100[28] and driving it made his motor sport racing debut in 1996's Targa Tasmania, a week-long race around the island state of Tasmania. In 2004, Bana purchased a Porsche 944 to compete in Australia's Porsche Challenge. Competing throughout 2004, he often finished in the top ten and in November, finished fourth at the Sandown 500, a personal best. On April 21, 2007 Bana crashed his 1974 XB Falcon Coupe in the Targa Tasmania rally. Neither he nor his co-driver was injured.
Bana is also a prominent supporter of Australian rules football. His love of the sport began at a young age when his godfather took him to games to see the St Kilda Football Club, his favorite team.
Quick Info
Born Eric Banadinovich
August 9, 1968, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Spouse(s) Rebecca Gleeson (1997 – present)
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