Editing Eric Bana (section)

===1993–1997: Beginnings===
In 1993, Bana made his television debut on [[Steve Vizard]]'s late-night talk show, ''[[Tonight Live with Steve Vizard|Tonight Live]]''.<ref name="BIO"/> His performance gained the attention of producers from the [[sketch-comedy]] series, ''Full Frontal'', who invited him to join the show as a writer and performer. During his four years on the show, Bana wrote much of his own material, and based some of his characters on members of his family. His impressions of [[Columbo (TV series)|Columbo]], [[Arnold Schwarzenegger]], [[Sylvester Stallone]], [[Tom Cruise]], and Australian TV personality [[Ray Martin (television presenter)|Ray Martin]] made Bana popular with the show's audience.<ref name=":26">Devlyn, Darren. "First Impressions" . ''TV Weekly''. 10 February 1993.</ref> This success led him to record the comedy album ''[[Out of Bounds (Eric Bana album)|Out of Bounds]]'' in 1994 and to host his own television special, titled ''Eric'', in 1996. The show, a collection of sketches featuring everyday characters, prompted him to launch a sketch comedy series ''The Eric Bana Show''. The series, written and performed by Bana, featured skits, stand-up, and celebrity guests, but failed to attract a substantial audience and was cancelled after only eight episodes due to low ratings.<ref name="Under">Halfpenny, Kate. "Under the Gun". ''Who Magazine''. 8 August 2000.</ref> Even so, in 1997, he received a [[Logie Award]] for "Most Popular Comedy Personality" for his work on the show.<ref name="management">{{cite web|year=2014|title=Eric Bana|url=http://www.laurenbergman.com.au/eric_bana.htm|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070828193841/http://www.laurenbergman.com.au/eric_bana.htm|archive-date=28 August 2007|access-date=10 June 2016|website=Lauren Bergman Management}}</ref>

In that same year, Bana made his film debut in the Australian film ''The Castle'', which tells the story of a Melbourne-based family's struggles to keep their home by Melbourne's airport, as the airport authority force them to move. He was featured in a supporting role as Con Petropoulous, a kickboxing accountant who is the householder's son-in-law. ''The Castle'' was a surprise critical and financial success, earning [[A$]]10,326,428 at the box office in Australia.<ref name="BIO"/>