Eric Bana On Munich

So how did it feel being the centre of Steven Spielberg's most controversial film to date? Eric Bana talks about his intense relationship with the character of a Mossad agent charged with eliminating Palestinian terrorists

Comment on this feature >

Given the choices he's made as a film actor, it seems incongruous that Eric Bana got his big break doing sketch comedy. Since then he's played a psychopath in Chopper (2000), gotten very angry in Ang Lee's po-faced Hulk (2003) and died a tragic hero in Troy (2004). In Steven Spielberg's Munich, he plays Mossad agent Avner, recruited to assassinate a cell of Palestinian terrorists responsible for killing 11 Israeli athletes during the 1972 Olympics.

It's harrowing subject matter, but the way Bana sees it, his grounding in comedy affords the edge he needs. "It forces you to rely on your instincts," he explains. "As well prepared as you can be for a character, there are times in the middle of a scene where if something's not working, no amount of preparation does you any good whatsoever. You have to completely fly by the seat of your pants and go with your gut instinct. Having a comedy background, I think, does help because you are more used to flying in that area than someone who has not been in that world. It also makes you braver."

Bana certainly had to think on his feet working with Spielberg who, he reveals, played fast and loose with the script. "On a daily basis he was just responding to what was occurring on set and was never completely fixed in his mind about what these scenes were," he says. "They would kind of evolve in front of him. He would constantly be changing and adapting to it, and it is very exciting to work in that environment." It could be an extension of the film's documentary style, but Bana insists, "He's not at all set in his ways. He's constantly evolving his thoughts, so when you're working on his film, it feels like a very organic, live beast. It really is amazing."

Next page • "You get to a place where you're very raw"