Eric Bana fans think he’s underrated – but he never wanted to be a ‘leading man’

Eric Bana decided he would take being viewed as an ‘underrated’ actor as a compliment (which it is).

When we spoke to Bana, 56, ahead of his gripping new thriller Untamed dropping on Netflix, he said that he wasn’t sure if he agreed or disagreed with the sentiment, but laid out how he has charted an atypical career in the moviemaking business.

‘I always felt like at some point in my career, it would be really dangerous to only be available to play that lead character,’ he told Metro.

‘I’ve really enjoyed mixing it up and making myself available for different kinds of genres and films and different size roles. It’s way more interesting.’

That said, he also knows there are certain projects he ‘definitely’ would not do. Bad news Hulk fans: going green again is one of them. But he sometimes he’s surprised himself with what he signs on to. Star Trek, for instance, was a franchise he ‘never imagined’ he would want to be in, until Nero landed in his inbox. 

Bana explained that part of the approach to cherry-picking parts is his desire to always be a contender on the chopping block in the audience’s mind. ‘I wanted them to think “here he is, bloody hell he could be gone in the next five minutes”.’ And indeed in many of his films – Troy, Deadfall, Hana – he is.

That’s not to say that Bana doesn’t enjoy helming a project, which is what he’s tasked with for the gripping new Netflix thriller Untamed. He stars as parks investigator Kyle Turner and is the subject of a Gary Cooper wisecrack early on. The likeness is there: Turner is stoic, troubled and most at home on a horse.

Set in Yosemite National Park (albeit, slightly fudged thanks to drone footage, since the show was shot in the still-beautiful British Columbia), Bana described the six-parter as a ‘dream job’. This was in part because most of his scenes were in the vast wilderness. ‘I hate filming indoors,’ he said, visibly recoiling at the thought. 

When the teaser for the new thriller dropped, there was much commentary about how different Bana looked, sporting a grizzled silvery beard. Bana says it’s fairly similar to how he looks when he’s at home in Melbourne, Australia.

So what’s next for Bana after Untamed? More gritty dramas or some light relief like Funny People? ‘Try balance it out like a bit of therapy,’ he laughed. ‘Sometimes it feels that way.’

Despite what his recent CV might attest to, he’s still open to comedy. Although, he did add: ‘It won’t surprise you to know that my inbox is 99% drama and 1% light, so I don’t have full control of that.’

Perhaps the answer is more Untamed. The show ties up neatly and has been billed as a limited series, but when things kick off (and we have a feeling this might), Netflix finds a way. It’s not something Bana shuts down. 

‘The nature of these [park investigative agencies], they move from park to park,’ he explained. ‘They don’t just stay in the one park their whole career. So it is feasible that Kyle could end up somewhere else. We’ll see.’

Untamed is available to stream on Netflix.

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