Rebecca Gleeson reveals why she and actor husband Eric Bana ditched Hollywood to live in Melbourne

Eric Bana is one of Australia’s most recognisable stars and is known for roles including Troy, Hulk and Dirty John. 

And now his wife Rebecca Bana (née Gleeson) has revealed why they ditched living in Hollywood to be based in Melbourne.   

Rebecca, 49, admitted in a candid interview this week that the pair are ‘happier in Australia,’ living an ordinary life in the quiet suburbs of Melbourne with their two adult children. 

Speaking to the Herald Sun, Rebecca explained travelling around the world with her husband for his work was an isolating experience for her and their children Klaus and Sophia, now 20 and 18 respectively.  

‘We’d travel somewhere and I’d be like, “How can I kind of make it like home? How can I get piano lessons and a bit of sport and school?” she said.

‘We’d go to these countries and the kids wouldn’t have a single friend and there was no support, there was no childcare, it was just us buckling down and trying to create a life on our own.’ 

Familiar face: Eric is one of Australia’s most recognisable stars and is known for roles including Troy, Hulk and Dirty John

At first, Rebecca felt it was her ‘job’ to be supportive of Eric’s blossoming career, but later realised their family feeling ‘safe’ and ‘grounded’ was just as important.   

‘We were always happier in Australia,’ Rebecca said, adding that they wanted their children to go to school in Australia. 

Rebecca went on to explain while it seems like the next step for actors to move to Hollywood, Eric found he could go a decade without shooting near Los Angeles.

Eric first became a television star in Australia when he joined the cast of sketch comedy series Full Frontal.

Priorities: At first, Rebecca felt it was her ‘job’ to be supportive of Eric’s blossoming career, but later realised their family feeling ‘safe’ and ‘grounded’ was just as important

But he made the shift into dramatic acting in the 2000 film Chopper, a biopic about infamous criminal Mark ‘Chopper’ Read.

At the time, U.S. movie critic Roger Ebert described the comedian as ‘a future star’. 

This turned out to be prophetic, as he went on to appear in Hollywood films Hulk (2003), Troy (2004), Star Trek (2009) and The Time Traveler’s Wife (2009). 

Eric first met Rebecca in 1995, when she was working as a TV publicist. They married two years later after he proposed during a trip to America.  

Romance:  Eric first met Rebecca in 1995, when she was working as a TV publicist. They married two years later after he proposed during a trip to America