Eric Bana Doesn't See Himself Playing The Hulk Again: "I Approached It As A One-Off" - 8days Skip to main content

Advertisement

Advertisement

Eric Bana Doesn't See Himself Playing The Hulk Again: "I Approached It As A One-Off"

The Australian actor is actually not into superhero characters.

Eric Bana Doesn't See Himself Playing The Hulk Again: "I Approached It As A One-Off"

Eric Bana has no interest in playing the Hulk again.

The 52-year-old actor, who portrayed the Marvel superhero in Ang Lee's 2003 movie Hulk, revealed that he doesn't want to reprise the part of the gamma-ray powered green giant. Or, for that matter, any other superhero characters: It's just not in his DNA, so to speak.

Speaking on the WTF With Marc Maron podcast, Bana explained, “It’s why I haven’t re-dabbled in that area. They’re not the kind of movie that I race out and see myself so that conversation is something I have with myself if I want to be a part of it.”

When he was approached for Ang Lee's take on the Hulk, he needed a lot of convincing. "It wasn't a quick yes, that's for sure. It took me a while to get my head around it," the Australian actor recalled.

"I wasn't privy to the script prior to signing onto the film. It's one of the only films I have done where that was the case. It just wasn't the type of film that I saw myself doing."

Bana — whose new movie, The Dry, a murder-mystery, is out in the US this week — added that he saw himself as more of a character actor than "a big green guy" and also prepared for the role knowing that he wasn't tied into a contract that committed him to the part for several years, in the way that stars in the Marvel Cinematic Universe are.

Back in the day: Director Ang Lee rehearsing a scene with Eric Bana (as Bruce Banner) and Jennifer Connelly (as Betty Ross).


He explained: "The universe as you know it didn't exist back then. You certainly didn't go into a film like that thinking you were going to do more than one. That just wasn't in play.

"The expectations were not the way they are now. I approached as it a one-off."

Bana revealed that he was not approached by Marvel when the character returned to the big screen in 2008's The Incredible Hulk. The role eventually went to Edward Norton.

Asked what he thought of the Hulk/Bruce Banner portrayals by Norton and Mark Ruffalo, Banner said he had only seen Norton's version.

As for Ruffalo, whose Hulk appeared in five MCU movies, Bana noted, "He's the one who worked it out. He found his stride."

Has Bana ever spoken to his fellow Hulk actors? No, he said. "There's not a lot of Hulk entwining here."

Listen to Bana's interview on WTF with Marc Maron here:

— BANG SHOWBIZ

Photos: TPG News/Click Photos, Universal Pictures

Advertisement

Shopping

Advertisement

Want More? Check These Out

Watch

You May Also Like