Eric Bana: Ex-star reports back with HIT series

In 81 countries the number one of the Netflix charts, the third “Squid Game” relay tilted from the throne: “Untamed” is the streaming series of the hour. In Germany, too, the thriller for a murder in the Yosemite National Park is a hit. The main actor Eric Bana (56) is back in the spotlight after a long dry spell. “Eric who?” Maybe the younger audience asks. Because the best times of the Australian are now a good 20 years ago.

With “Black Hawk Down” Eric Bana made the leap from his homeland to Hollywood in 2001. Down Under had made the son of a Croatian and a German a name for himself, especially with comedies.

In the USA, Bana mainly convinced in action roles. In 2003 he played the title role in “Hulk”, the first major cinema adaptation of the Green Comichelden – five years before the start of Marvel Cinematic Universe.

A year later, Eric Bana was part of the cast of “Troja”. In Wolfgang Petersen’s (1941-2022) film adaptation of Homer’s “Ilias” he embodied the Trojan warrior Hector, something like an antique superhero. The fight with Achilles (Brad Pitt, 61) went into film history.

In 2005 Bana took over the leading role in Steven Spielbergs (78) “Munich”. He played the leader of a Mossad unit that hunted terrorists who were involved in the attack on Israeli athletes in the 1972 Olympic Games in 1972.

After this impressive blockbuster route it got a little quieter around Eric Bana. Nevertheless, he was always seen in successful films, from “Star Trek” (2009) to “Who is Hanna?” (2011).

In the following years, however, the big titles failed to materialize. After his Hollywood breakthrough, Eric Bana returned with serious roles in several films to his comedy roots. And he pulled back to his home country with his wife Rebecca. In the end, Bana was almost only seen in Australian films. Or to hear, as in the animated film “Back to the Outback”.

But now Eric Bana is back with a US series. Whether it continues with “Untamed” is still in the stars. The thriller is created as a mini series with six episodes. With the success, however, it is anything but unlikely that Bana will return as a park Ranger Kyle Turner in a new case.