The Incredible Hulk is looking like anything but a raging, green beast, driven by repressed anger and inner demons.
Melting into an armchair in his trailer, following a morning of filming on the dusty but spectacular Fort Ricasoli set of Troy, out in the sweltering heat, Australian actor Eric Bana is taking his meteoric rise to fame in his stride... giant ones to boot!
"One thing led to another and before I knew it, the last three years were bang, bang, bang! And here I am.
"The funny thing about it is that when you're in the middle of it, you're in such work mode that you almost don't get time to soak it all in until the end. Probably, when I go home in September, I'll look back and think it was a pretty crazy six months," he says of his busy schedule, promoting the Universal Pictures summer blockbuster The Hulk, in which he stars, while playing Hector in the Warner Bros epic movie Troy.
But the 35-year-old family man is not complaining about "doing both at the same time - making this film, promoting The Hulk and travelling, travelling, travelling... coming back here and travelling, travelling, travelling...
"It's actually been fun... I've been determined to have fun with it," he says in his strong down under drawl.
Bana's experience in Malta on Troy, which is scheduled to wrap next Friday before moving on to Mexico, has been "awesome!" - unlike other shoots, presumably, in particular, the tough six months in Morocco on Black Hawk Down.
Working with the vast and stellar cast on Troy, including A-list actors Brad Pitt, Peter O'Toole, Orlando Bloom and Sean Bean, among others, has been like "summer camp".
"You know," he explains, "it's funny, but movies aren't always fun to make... Troy has been! In fact, it's probably the only film I've worked on that has been a lot of fun."
"Light-hearted" director Wolfgang Petersen seems to be the main catalyst. "He loves his work and is good at it, but he also knows how to have a good time on set.
"This film is everything you ever hoped for in movie-making all rolled into one," says Bana, wondering what is going to happen when it moves to Mexico. "It's a whole other movie over there!"
The beauty of being on location, as opposed to filming in a studio, is also the camaraderie that is created between the cast, he says. "They don't have their own lives on location and everyone's reliant on the other, which is more fun. We tend to live in each other's pockets.
"I'm probably the only one lucky enough to have my family with me" - a subject he constantly brings up.
Bana's feet, still wrapped in complicated leather sandals - in sharp contrast to his 21st-century shorts and sweatshirt - rise comfortably as he relaxes deeper into his chair.
Apart from the odd superficial scratch on his temples, abundant dark locks and the trademark, give-away beard that every Troy actor is sporting, there is little to indicate that Bana, who plays the Trojan hero in the movie, has probably just walked away from a gory battle scene.
The sword fighting and horse riding are, doubtless, strenuous work, but Bana likes the physical side of the job and has been training for the film since last October.
"It's very dangerous and we can really hurt each other. But it's fun and I enjoy working with the stuntmen."
The actors on Troy have to do their own stunts, unless it is a really dangerous shot, he says, stressing that "Brad and I are not allowed to cheat. We have to do everything ourselves."
As regards his role as King Priam's son, "it is probably the most noble character I've ever played.
"Most of my characters have been important, but it's not necessary to like them, whereas I think people would like Hector. I mean, I do. I think he's a really great guy... I'd want him to be my friend," he laughs about his feelings for the mythological man from The Iliad.
"It's a great role, but the reason I like it is probably because Hector's position in the whole structure of the story is really cool, dramatically. He's the voice of reason and the only one in the city of Troy who can see what's going to happen.
"Three years ago, if you told me I was playing Hector in "Troy" I wouldn't have thought it was possible. As opportunities come up, the choices become wider and wider. I keep reading heaps of scripts and try to find something to fall in love with. You have to fall in love with it because you have to work on it for a long time."
Bana has been in Malta for two months, off and on, leaving to promote the Marvel Comics superhero screen adaptation, The Hulk, directed by Ang Lee (Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon), and his face, or that of the mutant mammoth, are gracing the covers of a number of magazines.
The incredible hunk (and that's no spelling mistake) was "nothing other than happy" to share screen time with his computer-generated alter ego monster. "I love the fact that it's him on the poster and that I get to hide."
The actor is low-key and intends to stay that way. "It's not that hard to be a low-key person, although it could get more difficult to maintain... It's pretty easy for me. I'm always chasing the kids around and stuff..."
"Of course, for some, it's impossible, like for Brad - one of the few people in the world for whom it is always going to be more difficult.
"I only ever do press if I'm promoting a film. The rest of the time, I completely disappear, which probably helps."
Bana is not one to be seen at the "right places", or frequent hip parties.
"I wouldn't know what the right places were!", he admits and laughs.
"We (Bana unfailingly uses that pronoun, bringing his family of four into the picture) had a great time in Malta; we rented an apartment and the weather's been fantastic. It's a really good place for the kids because the weather's good and you can always do something.
"We didn't get a chance to do too much holiday stuff because I've been busy on Troy. We spent a lot of time by the pool, but I did take my four-year-old son on a boat ride to the Blue Grotto and the family also took a boat out for the day."
Had he heard of Malta before? The answer is simply, "I'm from Melbourne!" and that says it all.
Having lots of friends from Malta, he was curious to visit. "That's the fun part of the job. You end up in different places and have time to get a feel for them."
Although Bana was one of the few "very, very lucky actors for whom things almost went the other way around" - it was Hollywood that came to him and not vice-versa - one would imagine that having managed to overcome stiff competition and get sucked into that exclusive whirlwind of fame and fortune, he would grab the moment and milk it.
But Bana is after "quality not quantity, preferably," and does not believe in starring in a million movies. He has no idea what to do after Troy, except return home.
"I usually have big gaps in between (films) because I have a wife and two kids and they travel with me. Usually, when we finish a film, we just go home for a while, so I'll definitely do that. I haven't decided what the next movie is going to be yet."
In the last three years, after every film, he has taken at least six months off and just spent time at home. "I have a pretty hard and fast rule not to do one film after another... It's just for balance. Also, I have two children (he says again) and I enjoy spending time at home with them. The travel really takes it out of the family, so by the end of the film, we're usually looking forward to going back home."
But what happens when the children start going to school? "I'll retire," he states - his most prompt reply, leaving no doubt as to his priorities.
"This is going to be my last film!", he says, with a glint in his eye and a teasing half smile...
Judging from the momentum he has picked up, on the contrary, the ball has just about started rolling for Bana and he seems more than capable of juggling with it....
The Hulk is scheduled to be released in Malta on July 30.