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Karl Urban

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For the Austrian World War I flying ace, see Karl Urban (aviator). For the Austrian field marshall, see Karl von Urban.

Karl Urban
Urban at the Fantastic Fest in September 2012.
Born
Karl-Heinz Urban

(1972-06-07) 7 June 1972 (age 52)[1]
Wellington, New Zealand
OccupationActor
Years active1990–present
SpouseNatalie Wihongi (2004-present)
ChildrenHunter (b. 2000)
Indiana (b. 2005)

Karl-Heinz Urban (born 7 June 1972) is a New Zealand actor. He is best 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 Star Trek and Star Trek Into Darkness, Caesar on Xena: Warrior Princess, Vaako in The Chronicles of Riddick, and Judge Dredd in the 2012 film Dredd. He won acclaim for his performances in New Zealand films The Price of Milk and Out of the Blue.

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 his mother, the young Urban was exposed to classic New Zealand cinema, and developed an interest in the film industry.[2] 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 appeared in several local TV commercials in addition to theatre roles in the Wellington area. Eventually he moved to Auckland, where he was offered many guest roles in TV shows (one of which was playing a heroin addict in the police drama Shark in the Park). Urban then moved briefly to Bondi Beach, Sydney, Australia in 1995, before returning back to New Zealand the following year.[3]

Career

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. He also made an appearance as Mael in the episode Altared States from the first season of Xena. 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.

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, Star Trek and Doom.

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.[4] The role eventually went to Daniel Craig.

Urban, Zachary Quinto, J. J. Abrams, and Chris Pine, at the Star Trek Into Darkness in Sydney, Australia movie premiere, in April 2013

Urban played John "Reaper" Grimm in Universal Pictures' Doom (based on the 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,[5] 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.[6][7][8][9] A fan of the Star Trek franchise since childhood, Urban actively pursued a role in the film.[10] His performance was widely embraced by the Star Trek fan community for its faithfulness to the spirit of Kelley's McCoy.[11]

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.[12]

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.[13] He portrayed Black Hat, a villainous priest-turned-vampire, in the film adaption of the Korean manhwa Priest, released in 3-D in 2011.[14]

In 2012, Urban starred as law-enforcing comic book hero Judge Dredd in the movie 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 was directed by Pete Travis, with a script by Alex Garland.[15] Though it underperformed at the box office, Dredd was well-received by critics.[16]

Urban will next be seen in the ensemble thriller The 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] He appeared in the sequel to Star Trek, Star Trek Into Darkness, which was released 15 May, 2013.

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 Auckland, New Zealand.

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

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

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
2008 Comanche Moon Woodrow F. Call
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 Post-production[24]
2010 And Soon the Darkness Michael
2010 RED William Cooper
2011 Priest Black Hat
2012 Dredd Judge Dredd
2013 Star Trek Into Darkness Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy
2013 Riddick Vaako Post-production
2013 The Loft Vincent Stevens Post-production
2013 The Wonder Consul William Stanley Announced
2013 Overdrive Announced

Television

Television
Year Title Role Notes
1990 Shark in the Park Rohann Murdoch 6 episodes
1992 Homeward Bound Tim Johnstone
1993 White Fang David 1 episode: "Tough Kid"
1993–
1994 		Shortland Street Paramedic Jamie Forrest
1995 Riding High James Westwood
1996 Hercules: The Legendary Journeys Cupid/Julius Caesar 2 episodes
1996 Xena: Warrior Princess Mael, Julius Caesar, Cupid 12 episodes
1997 Amazon High Kor
2000 The Privateers Capt. Aran Dravyk TV movie
2008 Comanche Moon Woodrow F. Call TV miniseries
TBA Almost Human John Kennex

Video Games

Video Games
Year Title Role Notes
2013 Star Trek (2013 video game) Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy Voice and likeness

References

  1. ^ [1]
  2. ^ "Biography". Karlurbanonline.com. Retrieved 21 August 2011.
  3. ^ Greg Dixon (15 July 2000). "Karl Urban – The price of fame". The New Zealand Herald.
  4. ^ [2][dead link]
  5. ^ Karl Urban rewinds TV favorites, 10 January 2008
  6. ^ And Karl Urban as McCoy!, 17 October 2007
  7. ^ Urban, Pine join Abrams' 'Star Trek', 18 October 2007
  8. ^ Karl Urban: From Comanche Moon's Old West to Star Trek's Exciting Future, 11 January 2008
  9. ^ Urban Talks Trek Characters and Production Design, 11 January 2008
  10. ^ "Karl Urban Was Ready For Star Trek". TrekMovie.com. Retrieved 21 August 2011.
  11. ^ "Happy Birthday, Karl Urban". TrekMovie.com. Retrieved 21 August 2011.
  12. ^ Karl Urban at IMDb
  13. ^ Interview: Karl Urban on the set of RED, 15 July 2010
  14. ^ SD Comic-Con '10: Karl Urban Goes Vampirific in 'Priest'
  15. ^ "Interview: Karl Urban". ShaveMagazine.com. Retrieved 10 September 2010. {{cite web}}: External link in |publisher= (help)
  16. ^ "Dredd Wraps Its Theatrical Run". comicbook.com. Retrieved 11 March 2012.
  17. ^ Extraterrestre (8 June 2011). "Erik Van Looy's Loft Receives Second Remake in Three Years". Twitchfilm.com. Retrieved 20 November 2012.
  18. ^ "Karl Urban Online". Karl Urban Online. Retrieved 21 August 2011.
  19. ^ "Star Trek beams back". Waikato Times. 24 May 2008. Retrieved 8 October 2011.
  20. ^ "Empire Online". Empire Online. Retrieved 20 November 2012.
  21. ^ Atchity, Matt (23 July 2010). "Five Favorite Films with Karl Urban". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 20 November 2012.
  22. ^ "Patrons and Ambassadors". KidsCan. Retrieved 21 August 2011.
  23. ^ Neil Reid (7 November 2010). "Karl Urban plans around World Cup". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 21 August 2011.
  24. ^ Tony Kaye Says Unreleased 'Black Water Transit' Is "Not Finished Yet", 28 April 2011
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