Eric Bana Interview, Star Trek

We had a chance to catchup with Eric Bana at the LA Press Junket for Star Trek and ask him a few questions about his pivotal role in JJ Abrams re-imaging of the film franchise. Set in the 23rd century, the adventure begins with the incredible story of a young crew’s maiden voyage on board the most advanced star ship ever created:  the U.S.S. Enterprise. In the midst of an incredible journey full of optimism, intrigue, comedy and cosmic peril, the new recruits must find a way to stop an evil being whose mission of vengeance threatens all of mankind.

“Star Trek” is truly a masterpiece in innovative cinematic storytelling inspired by the spirit of Gene Roddenberry’s vision of an enlightened future. Abrams takes that spirit and puts a fresh spin on it to advance the legacy of Star Trek in this movie and his wonderful cast hits every note perfectly.

Eric: I wasn’t as scared as my agent was when he came to the set to visit me. He freaked out, “Where’s my actor gone?” It was a weird thing at first. I was really excited. It was actually one of the reasons why I wanted to play the part. I could tell in the script that I would be unrecognizable, and those opportunities in Hollywood are so rare. It was amazing, the first time you put it on and you realize that you can’t read facial expressions, so you go like that and it just stays still, so initially as an actor you’re recalibrating.

Everything you’ve done before is in the bin because if you do that, the audience won’t see your face move at all. So you’re sort of having to push through the prosthetics. As amazing and cutting-edge as they were, the advancements in prosthetics have changed, but they also haven’t. It’s a piece of latex glued onto your head. So it was fun. Each morning we’d sit there and get high off the chemicals, and after three hours go on the set. We don’t recall much that happened before lunch on the film, but after lunch I remember some things. It was interesting.

Q: How much of the power of the franchise did you feel was on your shoulders, as this is supposed to revive the franchise?

Eric: Do you mind if I go first, because I want to stick up for your guys. I think the reality is that every time you do a film as an actor, there’s crazy pressure, and I think that pressure comes from within, comes from yourself, and I think taking on external pressure is like the biggest creative killer. When I read this script not only did I want to get involved immediately, but I turned to my wife and I said, “The crew of the Starship Enterprise have got the coolest roles for like coming out character performances ever. I mean, I hope they cast these roles well, because there’s amazing potential in all of these characters.”

I cockily thought that I would be the free-est because I was playing a villain who’d never been seen before, and the other guys are going to have all this baggage and weight and pressure, and I was completely wrong. All of the crew of the Starship Enterprise have done the most comprehensive, respectful, re imagining of characters and I think all of them had the hardest job in Hollywood this year without a doubt, and I think they’ve done the most incredible job of like – by the end of the film I was like, that’s it, that’s them. So I think it’s an amazing thing that they’ve done, that they’ve been able to brush that pressure off. But I think the reality is it’s there on every movie.

Q: Why do you think we love villains so much?

Eric: I think we only love them when they’re good. Hopefully Nero is a worthwhile adversary for the crew of the Starship Enterprise. That was all that I was interested in, because I realized very early on that this really is a hero’s movie, not a villain’s movie, but you also need the villain to be strong enough to pose a threat. I think we have to be interested in them because it just makes the drama more dramatic and makes the peril more perilous and so forth. I don’t know how to answer your question specifically, but I guess, I think we only love them if they’re good and if they don’t work that can just be a bit of a thorn. Hopefully Nero’s not a thorn.

Q: You’re now in a big franchise that the world loves. You’ve done that before with Marvel characters, can you talk about what the reaction was to fans of that role, and Chris, once you put on that gold shirt, was there a real feeling that the role had become yours?

Eric: I think rabid fans is a bit of a myth really. I’ve only ever encountered pretty calm, reasonable fans. The Star Trek fans that we’ve come in connect with the last few weeks have been unbelievably polite and very excited. I see all that stuff as nothing but a positive. It’s like when you go into a film and there’s already an established awareness and fans, whether they’re saying good things, bad things, I think all that energy is just great. It’s a walk up start for a production to have that you can’t take for granted, so I see all that stuff as a huge positive, and obviously the dream come true for us is that at the end of the second week they’re all thrilled.

JJ Abrams Star Trek is in theaters this Friday. You can read my early Review of Star Trek