1. Mark 'Chopper' Read - Chopper (2000)
First Look PicturesBack in 2009, a then-unknown Tom Hardy appeared in Bronson, Nicolas Winding Refn's electrifying drama about notorious prisoner Michael Gordon Peterson. The film drew widespread critical acclaim and gave Hardy a springboard, from which he would go on to become a mainstream star in the likes of Inception and Warrior. Nine years before Bronson, a similar fate befell Bana when he took on the title role in Chopper. It's the role which made the world take the former comedian seriously as an actor, and it remains his finest performance. Chopper is based on the autobiographical accounts of real-life prisoner Mark 'Chopper' Read. Having been in and out of jail since the age of 16, Chopper begins the film serving a 16-year sentence for kidnapping a judge in an attempt to extort his friend's release from Pentridge Prison. Upon being released from jail in 1986 (after losing both his ears), he goes on a violent rampage against friends and enemies alike, eventually ending up back in jail and writing a bestselling book about his life in Melbourne's underworld. Chopper is the debut feature of Andrew Dominik, who went on to helm the brilliant Killing Them Softly and The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. Each of his three films to date explore the brutal repurcussions of violence and how criminality can corrupt individuals beyond recognition, and Bana conveys this corruption with extraordinary panache. Read suggested Bana for the role having seen him on the sketch show Full Frontal, and Bana completely throws himself into the part, transforming his physical appearance and going so far as to live with Read for two days so he could better mimic his behaviour. The highest praise of all, however, came from Roger Ebert, who said quite rightly in his review: "He has a quality no acting school can teach and few actors can match."
Having seen Bana at his absolute best, now let's move into choppier waters and look at some of his weakest work...