Advertisement

Michala Banas is not Eric Bana's sister

Actress Michala Banas is convinced there's a lot of people who secretly identify themselves with characters in the comedy series Upper Middle Bogan.

Banas straw poll analysis is based on the number of well-dressed and well-mannered women who stop her in the street to say how much they love her street smart and feisty character Amber.

It's got Banas thinking that maybe the phrase `there's a little bit of Bogan in all of us' is very accurate.

"You'd be surprised how many well-to-do women say I love Amber, she's cheeky," Banas told AAP.

"They're all very polite and they say they love Amber because it's probably the voice they wish they had and were upfront and that's what people like about her.

"They relate to it and the character in the series are not all that different from us all."

Being stopped by fans to chat about Upper Middle Bogan, which returns on Thursday on ABC1, is the least annoying or pressing issue in Banas life.

What does frustrate her is the number of times she is referenced as, or asked, if she is actor Eric Bana's sister.

She said the pair worked together many years ago and the question arose then.

Even though he is well known around the world and has one less letter in his last name, she still gets asked the same question today.

"We worked together before he did Chopper and I got asked that question and he used to say everyone asked him if I was his sister," Banas said.

"He's obviously not being asked that now but I get asked all the time and I'd love to say yes because he's a great person and actor."

There's no question though about the well-scripted comedy says Banas.

The cast was already making overtures about a third season because they had so much fun making the eight-episode second season and Banas is a massive fan of the show.

"It's a whole different beast when it's cut together and I watched season one recently with my mum and still got a laugh," she said.

Upper Middle Bogan is one of two series Banas has made this year for the ABC.

After spending seven weeks on the bogan comedy, Banas started the next day on a 12 week shoot on the Australian teen-oriented drama Nowhere Boys which airs on ABC3.

Besides that she also appeared in a play staged by the Kin Collective, in which she is heavily involved after she attending a acting master class with coach-to-the-stars Larry Moss.

Moss's pupils include Leonardo DiCaprio and Hilary Swank.

"The Kin Collective is a group of actors who met doing a masterclass acting workshop with Larry Moss four and half years ago," Banas said.

"We have done a couple of productions in the last couple of years and that's been a massive undertaking."

  • Upper Middle Bogan (season two) returns on Thursday, October 16 at 8.30pm