By definition of the profession, you have to be versatile as an actor.
Yet Eric Bana - born Eric Banadinovic - epitomises that in a way few in the trade do.
Starting out as a stand-up comic in Australia before branching into television with sketch comedy hits Full Frontal and Eric, he made the leap from laughs to lauded performances with serious dramatic roles in everything from Chopper and Black Hawk Down, to blockbusters like Troy and Munich.
"I can't imagine what it would be like to go to work and not have to do an accent," he says.
"I've actually forgotten what that's like."
He has become a truly transformative performer and someone who's very picky about the roles he commits himself to: something that has proved for an interesting and varied body of work.
"I guess there's probably a subconscious tendency to enjoy doing bigger roles in smaller films and smaller roles in bigger films, that seems to be a bit of a pattern for whatever reason," says Bana.
"Because it is fun to go on a big shoot where they've been grinding it for a couple of months and you come and do a few weeks and disappear.
"It's very nice."
Bana has also moved into working behind the camera as well, producing and directing a documentary about his love of cars Love The Beast and serving as executive producer on Aussie drama Paper Planes.
"I guess there's probably a subconscious tendency to enjoy doing bigger roles in smaller films and smaller roles in bigger films"
For his latest, he's teaming up with Ricky Gervais for Netflix movie Special Correspondents - which was also written and directed by Gervais.
"It's part of the joy of the job, I think, putting yourself in someone else's shoes," Bana says.
"I'm not an actor who likes to go and be himself in a film. Inevitably it's always a case of learning something you don't know about.
