Eric Bana "always" goes to the cinema the night before he starts shooting a new film to combat his nerves.

Eric Bana

Eric Bana

The 48-year-old actor gets "very anxious" before he starts filming a new production, and to help him calm down he spends the evening before he graces the set watching a new movie on the big screen, although it "doesn't matter" what movie he sits down to watch.

Speaking about his apprehension and how he deals with it to Empire magazine, the dark-haired hunk said: "I get very nervous in pre-production. I have a thing where I always try to go to the cinema the night before my first day of filming.

"I try to get my prep out of the way, and it doesn't matter what I see."

However, the Australian star believes he has started to cope with his constant worrying.

He added: "I've gotten better at putting it aside and being able to turn up for work on day one. But I have gone to work on no sleep on day one."

But, the 'Hulk' star believes the overwhelming filming is "really important" for him, and he believes if he ever stops feeling nervous about a new project his career will be "all over".

He explained: "I think that anxiety is really important. If you lose that feeling of not being able to sleep and questioning yourself, I think it's all over.

Meanwhile, Bana - who has 14-year-old daughter Sophia and 17-year-old son Klaus with his wife Rebecca Gleeson - avoids describing himself as a "full-time actor" and believes he would be "lying" if he used the term for himself because he doesn't work on series or soaps.

He said: "Well, it's the truth. It's the God's honest truth. I'm not trying to be a smartarse about it. Full-time actors are people who work on series and soaps in television. I'm a guy who occasionally picks up a script and goes to work. If I called myself a full-time actor, I'd be lying."


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