Epic suits Eric
HE has been a crazed thug, a green monster and a shark in his short movie career.
But Australian actor Eric Bana says it is his role as the warrior Prince Hector in the $215 million epic Troy that has given him the "ultimate" acting experience.
Bana, and co-star Orlando Bloom, will finish filming the story of the Trojan wars next week in Mexico after also shooting in Malta.
A year after he began preparing for the role - learning how to ride horses bareback and to sword fight - Bana and wife Rebecca Gleeson are desperate for a holiday and a return to normality in Australia.
"It's been tiring," he said. "It has been very long in the preparation and the shooting. It's been hot and dusty, but I don't think you could have more fun on film. Categorically, it has been the ultimate movie experience."
Bana, Bloom and Brad Pitt have been in Mexico for two months shooting the final bloody battle scenes.
The movie, one of the most ambitious "sword and sandal" tales in Hollywood history, will show battle scenes involving 100,000 troops, many computer-generated, 1000 ships and, of course, a Trojan horse, built to set the scene 3200 years ago.
Scheduled for cinema release in May, Troy will be the first of at least four new big-budget films set in ancient civilisations - and follow the success of Russell Crowe's Gladiator.
Australian Baz Luhrmann is directing one of two of the other films based on the life of Alexander the Great.
Troy is an adaptation of Homer's epic poem The Iliad.
Bana said he hoped the film would introduce a new generation to the stories of ancient civilisation and mythology.
His Prince Hector defends Troy against the Greek tribes led by Achilles (Pitt). The decade-long war is prompted by Hector's brother, Paris (Bloom), who runs off with the Helen, Queen of Sparta.
"Hector is a noble, great character and one everyone should enjoy," Bana said. "If they don't, I won't act again."
Bana said the demands of playing Hector were different from any other role.
"It was a weird mix," he said. "It had to have classical drama, that side being super important, and then combine that with playing Chuck Norris as the warrior."
Bana defended The Hulk and his inclusion in a top 10 list of Hollywood's worst autograph givers.
He said it was "stupid" to describe The Hulk as a failure because it only earned $222 million at the box office.
"I couldn't be more proud of that film," he said. "I think in time it will go down as one of the most different films in that genre."
On the autographs, Bana said the rating was given by a website of professional autograph hunters and he "couldn't care less about it".