FIT AT 50 Eric Bana heads to Italy
The actor enjoys an Italian getaway with his wife and daughter
he may have recently portrayed the psychopathic John Meehan in Netflix’s Dirty John, but Australian actor Eric Bana is nothing like his on-screen character. The father-of-two recently took a trip to the Amalfi Coast in Italy with wife Rebecca Gleeson and daughter Sophia, 17, where he wasn’t shy to pack on the PDA with his wife of 22 years. Despite seeing huge success in Hollywood, the Melbournebased star has said he’s just your average family guy at heart. “I don’t see myself as anything other than just a dad who has an unusual job,” Bana previously told The Daily Telegraph. “I’m very
fortunate to do the work that I do and still live the dream and part of that dream is still being able to live at home, which is great, and I really appreciate that.”
Escaping the Aussie winter to soak up the European sun, Bana and his family (minus son Klaus, 19) enjoyed a day of swimming, boating and relaxing by the water, where the 50-year-old showed off his body, proving that he’s made time to keep fit among his hectic work life. “Training for me is 30 per cent exercise and 70 per cent diet,” he previously told Daily Mail. “My chosen exercise is cycling. I just love it. I occasionally go to the gym, and I lift free weights.”
On June 10, the actor – who has held major roles in The Time Traveller’s Wife, Troy and Lone Survivor – was among 1000 Australians to be recognised on the Queen’s Birthday Honours List. In addition to being a devoted dad and Hollywood heartthrob, Bana has made significant contributions to charities and has been an ambassador for Father Chris Riley’s Youth Off the Streets for 14 years. “I think quite often in the acting world a lot of it’s very personal and selfish, and this sort of feels more like something that’s for the whole family,” he told 2GB radio. “I’m just really thrilled to receive the honour.”
When it comes to his family, Bana has spilled the secrets to his keeping the spark in his decades-long romance to Gleeson. “A girl’s got to be fun, it’s the one bit of advice I always give to friends of mine who are thinking of getting married,” he told Women’s Health US. “My wife and I really, really like each other as well as love each other. We definitely laugh together every day. And I don’t mean chuckle – I can make her really laugh.”
And unlike John Meehan, Bana is well versed when it comes to romance. “Love can come fairly easily and grow – but really liking the core essence of someone is a much harder thing to bottle,” he said. “If you have both, you’re in pretty good shape.”
“We definitely laugh together”
— Eric Bana