The Hour

Eric Bana has described why the chance to go undercover meant he jumped at the chance to be a baddie in Star Trek.

Australian actor Bana, who plays vengeful Romulan villain Nero, said: “It’s physically harder because so much of your expression is toned down and hidden by the amount of prosthetics you’ve got on. 

“You do have to relearn all of that, and spend some time in the mirror and realise that that,” he added, raising his eyebrows, “is nothing. So it does take a little bit of recalibration. 

“But it’s fun, the opportunity to get a role like this, you know, where it’s a bonus that we can’t tell who you are. It’s so rare, so I jumped at the chance.”

After receiving almost unanimous rave reviews Star Trek has grossed £70.9m worldwide in its opening weekend, currently ranking at number one in 23 markets and already dwarfing the entire intake of the last movie in the series.

Directed by Lost and Fringe guru JJ Abrams, who is now being hailed as the new Steven Spielberg, the rebooted Star Trek chronicles the early days of Captain James T Kirk and his crew on the starship Enterprise.

With all this positive buzz, the film's new cast is already signed on for two sequels, and Abrams has said that screenwriters Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman are starting to plan the second film.