Eric Bana: Reveals passion for car

Eric Bana: Reveals passion for car

Eric Bana , star of famous movies like "Troy" and "Munich," and who returns to movie screens on May 8 in big-budget "Star Trek," has made his directing debut with a documentary revolving around his love of cars. However he said that  it truly revolved around friendship and having interests in life other than just work and career.

"Love the Beast" tells of his obsession with his beaten-up 1973 Ford GT Falcon Coupe, nicknamed "The Beast." He owned it since he was only fifteen years15 years-old and said that it "has had a very big impact on my life" since it kept him off the streets and "out of trouble when I was younger."

Briefing the reporters of a popular news agency  the Australian actor told  he loved acting and would find life hard if he could not be involved in film making. However as an automobile enthusiast, he would be "devastated if someone took the keys to my car away and said you can't have it back."

"Love The Beast" follows the 40-year-old Bana and his closest friends since they transformed his cherished Falcon Coupe into a racing machine and entered it in a five-day rally on public roads in southern Australia.

The film also featured interviews with fellow car enthusiasts, U.S. television host Jay Leno , British motoring journalist and host of "Top Gear" Jeremy Clarkson and U.S. television psychologist Dr. Phil McGraw.

However Eric Bana, who used footage in the film of him growing up in the suburbs of Melbourne, said that his movie was not just about cars, but also addressed the bonds of friendship and the importance of hobbies.

He said, "I felt very passionately that the story would resonate with anyone who has these huge interests, and it doesn't have to be cars -- 'love the beast' being a metaphor for whatever the beast is in your life."

He continued, "To me this story is as much about that -- I don't find the fact that I have had a car for 25 years that interesting."


By contrast his passion for cars with his career, Bana touched on his life as a celebrity and film star, including one scene that showed him about to hit the red carpet. Bana called the celebrity world of glitz and glamour far removed from his life with his wife and their two children in Melbourne.

"Including that in the film was my way of showing how potentially uninteresting that (celebrity) world can be in the context of a normal life, and I also felt like it would have been dishonest to try and ignore the fact that it is actually a part of my working life," added Eric.

Early reviews have been mixed, with some noting that Eric Bana's modest and easygoing nature helped him to draw in audiences.


The movie is looking for distributors in the United States and other international territories. However it was well-received in Australia, thereby becoming one of the highest grossing documentaries ever in that country.

Apart from  his passion for cars, the actor's other secret as a comedy talent, which remained relatively unknown outside his native Australia, would also soon be revealed in Judd Apatow 's forthcoming film titled "Funny People."