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Eric Bana reveals the advice Robert Duvall once gave him during an exclusive interview with PEOPLE
The Australian actor starred alongside the Oscar winner in the 2007 film Lucky You
“I’ve always taken that advice and lived by it,” he shares of Duvall’s advice
Eric Bana is reflecting on the best advice he’s received throughout his career in Hollywood.
Speaking exclusively to PEOPLE while promoting his new miniseries, Untamed, now streaming on Netflix, Bana credits legendary actor Robert Duvall for imparting an important lesson to him when they worked together “many, many years ago.”
“I’ve always really loved working with older actors,” Bana, 56, says before adding that Duvall, 94, is “maybe my favorite all-time actor.”
Arturo Holmes/Getty; Roy Rochlin/Getty
Eric Bana (L); Robert Duvall (R)
The two starred in the 2007 Curtis Hanson-directed drama Lucky You together, playing an estranged father-son relationship, alongside Drew Barrymore.
“I remember asking him some advice on how he survived a period in which so many of his peers didn’t or kind of went downhill, and I loved his response,” Bana recalls of the Tender Mercies actor. “It was, ‘You gotta have hobbies.'”
“I’ve always taken that advice and lived by it, and I think it’s a great survival instinct,” he adds. “It was great to hear that from someone like Robert Duvall.”
When he’s not starring on the big or small screen, Bana is a car enthusiast who has taken part in races in his native Australia and New Zealand.
He’s also a passionate life-long fan of his hometown Melbourne’s local Aussie rules football team, the Saints, even being named their “Number One Ticket Holder” in 2010.
Robert Cianflone/Getty
Eric Bana at the F1 Grand Prix of Australia at Albert Park Circuit on March 24, 2024 in Melbourne, Australia
Bana, who got his start in comedy in Australia, also reveals he hasn’t ever been asked to host Saturday Night Live.
“No, I don’t know why,” he shares. “Maybe because I did so much sketch comedy back in the day, that’s kinda never really been a huge priority for me.”
Bana appeared on the Australian sketch comedy series Full Frontal in the mid-’90s before making his film debut in the 1997 comedy The Castle.
These days, the Munich actor admits he doesn’t get offered a lot of comedies, noting that 2009’s Funny People and 2016’s Special Correspondents are a few of the exceptions.
“There’s no doubt that my desk has more drama on it than it does comedy,” he says of the scripts that he is offered. “There’s not much I can do about that.”
Despite never having been asked to host SNL, Bana doesn’t close the door on the opportunity, saying he would “never say never.”
Ricardo Hubbs/Netflix
Eric Bana as Kyle Turner in ‘Untamed’
For now, though, Bana is sticking in the drama genre with his latest role in Untamed.
The miniseries, created and written by Mark L. Smith and Elle Smith, stars Bana as Kyle Turner, a special agent for the National Parks Service.
Kyle, while dealing with his own inner demons, embarks on a case filled with twists and turns after a body is discovered in Yosemite National Park.
The show also stars Sam Neill, Wilson Bethel, Lily Santiago and Rosemarie DeWitt.
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All six episodes of Untamed are streaming now on Netflix.
Read the original article on People
