FED: Hollywood scouts for Aussie talent as Bana makes his mark

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FED: Hollywood scouts for Aussie talent as Bana makes his mark

By Lisa Davies

SYDNEY, Feb 14 AAP - Australian actors look sharp - Hollywood filmmakers are scouting for you.

While Nicole Kidman and Russell Crowe are among Hollywood's brightest and most soughtafter stars, two of the industry's biggest names said today they're still seeking Aussietalent.

Renowned producer Jerry Bruckheimer (Top Gun, Con Air, Pearl Harbour) and directorRidley Scott (Gladiator, Alien, Thelma and Louise) have had plenty of contact with thenew breed of actors.

Mr Scott first noticed Crowe in the 1992 neo-Nazi ideology film Romper Stomper, keptnote of his work and then cast him in the lead role for Gladiator, which won Crowe a bestactor Oscar.

And when the two Americans cast their new film Black Hawk Down, about the 1993 US army'sSomalia campaign, they again looked to Australia for a major role.

It was Australian comic Eric Bana, widely applauded for his performance in Chopper,who earned the role of Sgt First Class "Hoot" Gibson in the film, which opens around thecountry next week.

Mr Bruckheimer acknowledged Australia's acting talent, but admitted Australian's werebenefitting from US television producers snapping young American actors.

"We shy away from them because we're always looking for someone that's fresh and new,"

Mr Bruckheimer said.

"So we look overseas ... to find fresh faces because they haven't been over-exposedon American television."

Mr Bruckheimer said while Bana was well-known in Australia through stand-up routinesand television appearances, he was a nobody in America.

"We weren't aware of him in America so when we saw him in Chopper we said `Here's aninteresting, fresh face, who's a brilliant actor'."

Adam Garcia, 28, was chosen to star in the romantic comedy Coyote Ugly for the samereasons, Mr Bruckheimer said.

"He's young, really talented, well-trained, he's a dancer and has a really light comedictouch - so again he's fresh and interesting to us."

Black Hawk Down yesterday received Academy Award nominations in the categories of bestdirection (Ridley Scott), editing, cinematography and sound.

Its Australian premiere will take place at Sydney's Fox Studios tonight.

Bana would not be attending as he was in the United States filming The Incredible Hulk.

Black Hawk Down tells the story of US marines trapped in Somalia when they went inon a mission to help quell a raging civil war in 1993.

AAP ld/arb/sb

KEYWORD: BLACKHAWK (PIC AVAILABLE)