Australian actor Eric Bana ‘unlikely to work for another year’ amid COVID-19

Australian actor Eric Bana believes he’s ‘unlikely to work for another year’ after ditching Hollywood to live in Melbourne

Australian actor Eric Bana is looking forward to sharing his film, The Dry, with audiences from January 1, 2021.

The Hollywood star hasn’t filmed anything new this year due to COVID-19, and admits the outlook for the coming year isn’t looking good for his career. 

‘I thought to myself at the beginning of this that I was unlikely to work until the end of 2021. That probably sounds very pessimistic but I don’t know that I will be far off that,’ he told The Daily Telegraph on Sunday.

Australian actor Eric Bana believes he’s ‘unlikely to work for another year’ after ditching Hollywood to live in Melbourne amid the coronavirus pandemic 

Eric’s last role was in TV series, Dirty John, and The Dry marks his first lead role in an Australian movie in 13 years.

Eric feels it’s ‘very early days’ still when it comes to predicting the effects of the pandemic on the film and television industry as a whole.

However, he did say as a resident of Melbourne: ‘We’re probably going to be one of the last to get back to normal.’ 

The Hulk star’s big-screen adaptation of best-selling murder mystery The Dry will open on New Year’s Day, having been pushed back from its original August release date due to coronavirus shutdowns. 

Eric feels it's 'very early days' still when it comes to predicting the effects of the pandemic on the film and television industry as a whole - but hadn't worked for the whole year

Eric feels it’s ‘very early days’ still when it comes to predicting the effects of the pandemic on the film and television industry as a whole – but hadn’t worked for the whole year

In June, a few weeks before Melbourne’s lockdown periods began, Eric’s wife Rebecca Bana (née Gleeson) revealed why the couple had ditched living in Hollywood to be based in Melbourne.   

Rebecca, 49, admitted in a candid interview that the pair were ‘happier in Australia,’ living an ordinary life in the quiet suburbs with their two adult children. 

Speaking to the Herald Sun, Rebecca explained travelling around the world with her husband for his work was an isolating experience for her and their children Klaus and Sophia, now 20 and 18 respectively.

'We are happier in Australia': Rebecca Gleeson (pictured left) revealed that she and actor husband Eric Bana (pictured right) ditched Hollywood for Melbourne for the lifestyle

‘We are happier in Australia’: Rebecca Gleeson (pictured left) revealed that she and actor husband Eric Bana (pictured right) ditched Hollywood for Melbourne for the lifestyle

At first, Rebecca felt it was her ‘job’ to be supportive of Eric’s blossoming career, but later realised their family feeling ‘safe’ and ‘grounded’ was just as important.   

‘We were always happier in Australia,’ Rebecca said, adding that they wanted their children to go to school in Australia. 

Rebecca went on to explain while it seems like the next step for actors to move to Hollywood, Eric found he could go a decade without shooting near Los Angeles.

Eric first became a television star in Australia when he joined the cast of sketch comedy series Full Frontal.

Priorities: At first, Rebecca felt it was her 'job' to be supportive of Eric's blossoming career, but later realised their family feeling 'safe' and 'grounded' was just as important

Priorities: At first, Rebecca felt it was her ‘job’ to be supportive of Eric’s blossoming career, but later realised their family feeling ‘safe’ and ‘grounded’ was just as important

But he made the shift into dramatic acting in the 2000 film Chopper, a biopic about infamous criminal Mark ‘Chopper’ Read.

At the time, U.S. movie critic Roger Ebert described the comedian as ‘a future star’. 

This turned out to be prophetic, as he went on to appear in Hollywood films Hulk (2003), Troy (2004), Star Trek (2009) and The Time Traveler’s Wife (2009). 

Eric first met Rebecca in 1995, when she was working as a TV publicist. They married two years later after he proposed during a trip to America.  

Romance:  Eric first met Rebecca in 1995, when she was working as a TV publicist. They married two years later after he proposed during a trip to America

Romance:  Eric first met Rebecca in 1995, when she was working as a TV publicist. They married two years later after he proposed during a trip to America

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