Karl Urban

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Karl Urban

Urban at the San Diego Comic-Con International in July 2010.
Born Karl-Heinz Urban
7 June 1972 (1972-06-07) (age 39)
Wellington, New Zealand
Occupation Actor
Years active 1990–present

Karl-Heinz Urban (born 7 June,[1][2] 1972) is a New Zealand actor.

He is known for playing Éomer in the second and third installments of Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy in the 2009 film Star Trek and Julius Caesar on Xena: Warrior Princess. He played Vaako in The Chronicles of Riddick, the Russian assassin Kirill in The Bourne Supremacy, and Ghost in Pathfinder and won acclaim for his performances in New Zealand films The Price of Milk and Out of the Blue.

Contents

[edit] Early life

Urban was born in Wellington, New Zealand. His father, a German immigrant, owned a leather goods store, and his mother once worked for Film Facilities in Wellington, through which the young Urban was exposed to classic New Zealand cinema and developed an interest in the film industry.[3] Urban attended St Mark's Church School, where he showed an early love for public performance. His first acting role came at age eight, when he had a single line in one episode of the New Zealand television series 'Pioneer Woman'. Though continuing to take part in school stage productions, he did not act professionally again until after high school.

He attended Wellington College from 1986–1990, then Victoria University of Wellington in the Bachelor of Arts programme for one year, but left to pursue his acting career. Over the next few years, he landed several theatre roles in the Wellington area, and eventually he moved to Auckland, where he was offered many guest roles in local shows (one of which was playing a heroin addict in the police drama Shark in the Park). The role which launched him to local fame was that of gay paramedic Jamie Forrest in the hit New Zealand TV series Shortland Street. He appeared on the show for the 1993–1994 season.

Urban then moved to Bondi Beach, Sydney, Australia in 1995, returning to New Zealand the following year.[4]

[edit] Career

[edit] New Zealand roles

As well as appearing in films and television shows, Urban had various roles in theatre productions and TV advertisements. In February/March 1998, he was in a play called The Herbal Bed at the Maidment Theatre in Auckland. In August 1998, he played Mark Antony in Auckland Theatre Company's production of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. The following year he starred in the Auckland Theatre Company's production of the New Zealand classic Foreskin's Lament.

Urban was seen on the internationally syndicated American TV series Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and on its spin-off Xena: Warrior Princess, in which he played the recurring roles of both Cupid and Julius Caesar from 1996 to 2001. Both shows were filmed in New Zealand. In 2001 he appeared in the offbeat rural romance The Price of Milk, for which he received his first nomination at the New Zealand Qantas Film and Television Awards. Urban later won acclaim for his portrayal of policeman Nick Harvey in Out of the Blue, a dramatisation of New Zealand's Aramoana massacre, for which he won the Qantas Film and Television Award for Best Supporting Actor in 2008.

[edit] International roles

Urban's first Hollywood role was in the 2002 horror film Ghost Ship. Since then, he has worked on many high-profile movies, including the second and third installments of the Lord of the Rings trilogy (The Two Towers and The Return of the King), The Bourne Supremacy, The Chronicles of Riddick and Star Trek.

The Hollywood Reporter speculated that Urban was one of several actors being considered for the part of British secret service agent 007 in Casino Royale, directed by fellow New Zealander Martin Campbell.[5] The role eventually went to Daniel Craig.

Urban at the premiere of Peter Jackson's King Kong in Wellington, New Zealand

Urban played John "Reaper" Grimm in Universal Pictures' Doom (based on the classic first-person shooter video game Doom), which was released on 21 October 2005. In 2007 he starred in the Viking adventure Pathfinder. A longtime fan of Westerns,[6] Urban appeared as Woodrow Call in Comanche Moon, the CBS miniseries prequel to Lonesome Dove, in January 2008.

In 2009, he played Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy, a role famously originated by DeForest Kelley, in the eleventh Star Trek film.[7][8][9][10] A fan of the Star Trek franchise since childhood, Urban actively pursued a role in the film.[11] His performance was widely embraced by the Star Trek fan community for its faithfulness to the spirit of Kelley's McCoy.[12]

In 2009, Urban appeared as himself in the documentary film Reclaiming the Blade, discussing his sword-wielding experience in films such as The Lord of the Rings.[13]

Urban next appeared as CIA agent William Cooper in RED, adapted from the DC Comics graphic novel of the same name and co-starring Bruce Willis and Helen Mirren.[14] He portrayed Black Hat, a villainous priest-turned-vampire, in the film adaption of the Korean manhwa Priest, released in 3-D in 2011.[15]

In July 2010, Urban was cast as law-enforcing comic book hero Judge Dredd for the upcoming film entitled Dredd. In an interview with Shave Magazine, Urban described it as a "high-octane, action-fueled film... about the day in the life of Dredd." The film is directed by Pete Travis, with a script by Alex Garland.[16]

Urban is currently filming the ensemble thriller Loft, a remake of the Belgian film of the same name. Filmed in New Orleans and Belgium, it is helmed by the director of the 2008 original, Erik Van Looy.[17]

[edit] Personal life

Urban married Natalie Wihongi (who was his makeup artist on The Privateers)[18] in September 2004. Together they have two sons: Hunter, born November 2000, and Indiana ('Indy'), born January 2005[19] and named for the eponymous hero of the Indiana Jones franchise,[20] which Urban has cited as among his favorite films.[21] They live in the Auckland, New Zealand suburb of Herne Bay.

Urban serves as a celebrity ambassador for KidsCan, a charity which currently supports over 16,000 disadvantaged children all over New Zealand by providing them with essentials such as food, coats and shoes.[22]

He is an avid fan of rugby union; in particular, the New Zealand All Blacks national team.[23]

[edit] Filmography

Film
Year Title Role Notes
1992 Chunuk Bair Wellington Soldier
1998 Heaven Sweeper
1998 Via Satellite Paul
2000 The Irrefutable Truth about Demons Harry Ballard Nominated – New Zealand Film and Television Award for Best Performance by an Actor in Film
2000 The Price of Milk Rob Nominated – New Zealand Film and Television Award for Best Performance by an Actor in Film
2002 Ghost Ship Munder
2002 The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers Éomer
2003 The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King Éomer Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Cast
National Board of Review Award for Best Cast
Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
Nominated – Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Cast
2004 The Chronicles of Riddick Vaako
2004 The Bourne Supremacy Kirill
2005 Doom Sgt. John 'Reaper' Grimm
2006 Out of the Blue Nick Harvey Qantas Film and Television Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in Film
2007 Pathfinder Ghost
2009 Star Trek Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy Constellation Award for Best Male Performance in a 2009 Science Fiction Film, TV Movie or Miniseries
Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Ensemble Cast
Nominated – Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Cast
Nominated – Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award for Best Ensemble
2009 Black Water Transit Earl Pike not yet released
2010 And Soon the Darkness Michael
2010 RED William Cooper
2011 Priest Black Hat
2012 Overdrive filming
2012 Dredd Judge Dredd post-production
2012 The Loft Vincent Stevens
2013 Untitled Star Trek sequel Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy announced
TBA The Chronicles of Riddick: Dead Man Stalking Vaako In development
Television
Year Title Role Notes
1990 Shark in the Park Rohann Murdoch Episode: "Suffer Little Children"
Episode: "Thicker Than Water"
Episode: "Et Tu, Brute"
Episode: "Give A Dog A Bad Name"
Episode: "A Sensitive Family Matter"
Episode: "Nothing But The Truth"
1992 Homeward Bound Tim Johnstone
1993 White Fang David Episode: "Tough Kid"
1993–1994 Shortland Street Paramedic Jamie Forrest
1995 Riding High James Westwood
1996, 1998 Hercules: The Legendary Journeys Cupid
Julius Caesar
Episode: "The Green-Eyed Monster"
Episode: "Render Unto Caesar"
1996–2001 Xena: Warrior Princess Mael
Julius Caesar
Cupid
Episode: "Altared States"
Episode: "Destiny"
Episode: "For Him the Bell Tolls"
Episode: "A Comedy of Eros"
Episode: "The Deliverer"
Episode: "The Bitter Suite"
Episode: "When in Rome..."
Episode: "A Good Day"
Episode: "Endgame"
Episode: "The Ides of March"
Episode: "Lifeblood"
Episode: "When Fates Collide"
1997 Amazon High Kor Unsold TV-Pilot
2000 The Privateers Capt. Aran Dravyk TV-Movie/Unsold TV-Pilot
2008 Comanche Moon Woodrow F. Call CBS miniseries

[edit] References

  1. ^ Jimmy Kimmel Live on YouTube, 12 October 2010
  2. ^ According to an interview with Urban in the 26 September 2010 issue of Sunday Star Times magazine, the birthdate listed on his Wikipedia entry at the time of publication, 7 June, is incorrect.
  3. ^ "Biography". Karlurbanonline.com. http://www.karlurbanonline.com/documents/25.html. Retrieved 2011-08-21. 
  4. ^ Greg Dixon. "Karl Urban – The price of fame". http://www.nzherald.co.nz/lifestyle/news/article.cfm?c_id=6&objectid=144085. 
  5. ^ [1][dead link]
  6. ^ Karl Urban rewinds TV favorites, 10 January 2008
  7. ^ And Karl Urban as McCoy!, 17 October 2007
  8. ^ Urban, Pine join Abrams' 'Star Trek', 18 October 2007
  9. ^ Karl Urban: From Comanche Moon's Old West to Star Trek's Exciting Future, 11 January 2008
  10. ^ Urban Talks Trek Characters and Production Design, 11 January 2008
  11. ^ "Karl Urban Was Ready For Star Trek". TrekMovie.com. http://trekmovie.com/2008/01/09/karl-urban-was-ready-for-star-trek/. Retrieved 2011-08-21. 
  12. ^ "Happy Birthday, Karl Urban". TrekMovie.com. http://trekmovie.com/2010/06/07/happy-birthday-karl-urban-2/. Retrieved 2011-08-21. 
  13. ^ http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0881631/
  14. ^ Interview: Karl Urban on the set of RED, 15 July 2010
  15. ^ SD Comic-Con '10: Karl Urban Goes Vampirific in 'Priest'
  16. ^ "Interview: Karl Urban". ShaveMagazine.com. http://www.shavemagazine.com/entertainment/interview-karl-urban/3. Retrieved 2010-09-10. 
  17. ^ Erik Van Looy's Loft Receives Second Remake in Three Years
  18. ^ "Karl Urban Online". Karl Urban Online. http://www.karlurbanonline.com/. Retrieved 2011-08-21. 
  19. ^ "Star Trek beams back". Waikato Times. 24 May 2008. http://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/456599. Retrieved 8 October 2011. 
  20. ^ Empire Online
  21. ^ Rotten Tomatoes: Five Favorite Films with Karl Urban
  22. ^ "Patrons and Ambassadors". KidsCan. http://www.kidscan.org.nz/patrons-and-ambassadors. Retrieved 2011-08-21. 
  23. ^ Neil Reid (7 November 2010). "Karl Urban plans around World Cup". Stuff.co.nz. http://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/film/4317453/Karl-Urban-plans-around-World-Cup. Retrieved 2011-08-21. 

[edit] External links

Personal tools
Namespaces
Variants
Actions
Navigation
Interaction
Toolbox
Print/export
Languages