Eric Bana reflects on his long career

Eric Bana has done everything he can to avoid being typecast.

When Eric Bana was setting out as an actor he wanted to give himself the best chance of a long career and avoid the pitfalls of typecasting or of being a flash in the pan.

The star of superhero film Hulk, crime series Dirty John and Australian films as different as Chopper and Romulus, My Father counts himself lucky to have worked across big and small screens for more than a quarter-century.

“I admire actors who can maintain a level of work over a long period of time,” Bana said. “I am lucky and still very much enjoy _ as much as I did way back when _ finding out what my next project is and heading off and doing it.”

Bana is today made a Member of the Order of Australia for his services to the performing arts, and for his support of Chris Riley’s charity for the homeless, Youth Off the Streets.

The Queen’s Birthday honour comes weeks after filming concluded on his latest project, the film adaptation of Jane Harper’s outback crime drama The Dry, set in a drought-ravaged town.

It’s directed by Robert Connolly (Paper Planes) and produced by Bruna Papandrea (Big Little Lies), with Bana as police investigator Aaron Falk.

“It was a wonderful time out in the west,” he said of the shoot in rural Victoria.

“I love the fact that it was very different for an Australian film. I think the subject matter is unexpected.”