Karl Urban

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. 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 in 1986–1990. He then enrolled at Victoria University of Wellington in the Bachelor of Arts programme but left after one year to pursue a career in acting. 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 to New Zealand the following year.

Career

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) as Éomer, The Bourne Supremacy (as Russian Federal Security Service agent Kirill), 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 James Bond in Casino Royale, directed by fellow New Zealander Martin Campbell.

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, he starred as Woodrow Call in Comanche Moon, a television miniseries that aired in early 2008 as a prequel to the Lonesome Dove miniseries based on Larry McMurtry's book series of the same name.

In the 2009 film Star Trek, he played Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy, a role originated by DeForest Kelley in the original Star Trek TV series. A fan of the Star Trek franchise since childhood, Urban actively pursued a role in the film. His performance was widely embraced by the Star Trek fan community for its faithfulness to the spirit of Kelley's McCoy. Urban reprised the role in the 2013 film Star Trek Into Darkness and the 2016 film Star Trek Beyond.

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

In 2012, Urban starred as law-enforcing comic book character Judge Dredd in the film 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. Though it underperformed at the box office, Dredd was well received by critics.

In 2013, Urban starred as Detective John Kennex in Almost Human, a TV series created by J. H. Wyman. The series was set 35 years into the future when cops in the L.A.P.D. are paired up with lifelike androids. Urban played a detective who has a dislike for robots but ends up being teamed up with one with emotional feelings. Urban next appeared in the ensemble thriller The Loft, a remake of the Belgian film of the same name. It was filmed in New Orleans and Belgium by the director of the 2008 original, Erik Van Looy. In January 2015, Urban replaced Michael C. Hall as the main antagonist in the 2016 remake of Pete's Dragon. In 2017, he played Skurge in Thor: Ragnarok. Also in 2017, Urban played a psychotic cop in the action thriller Acts of Vengeance opposite Antonio Banderas and Robert Forster. Urban had a cameo as a stormtrooper in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker in 2019. He voiced the lead role in The Sea Beast in 2022.

Since 2019, Urban has starred as William "Billy" Butcher in the Amazon Prime Video series The Boys. He is set to star as Johnny Cage in the upcoming Mortal Kombat II film.

At one point Karl Urban was considered as the lead in an untitled gothic western apparently proposed to proudction company A24 but the project was never completed.

Personal life

In September 2004, Urban married his longtime partner, Natalie Wihongi, who was his makeup artist for the 2000 television film The Privateers. Together they have two sons, Hunter and Indiana. His second son was named for the eponymous hero of the Indiana Jones franchise, which he has stated is one of his favourite movie series. They lived in the affluent Herne Bay section of Auckland, New Zealand. The couple announced their separation in June 2014.

From 2014 to 2018, he was in a relationship with actress Katee Sackhoff.

Philanthropy

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

In May 2022, UNICEF Aotearoa New Zealand welcomed Urban as an official Ambassador to support in raising awareness on children's rights both in New Zealand and around the world.

On 1 June 2020, Urban, together with Sean Astin, Sean Bean, Orlando Bloom, Billy Boyd, Ian McKellen, Dominic Monaghan, Viggo Mortensen, Miranda Otto, John Rhys-Davies, Andy Serkis, Liv Tyler, and Elijah Wood, plus writer Philippa Boyens and director Peter Jackson, joined Josh Gad's YouTube series Reunited Apart which reunites the cast of popular movies through video-conferencing, and promotes donations to non-profit charities.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

References

References

1. (7 June 2009). "Miami Herald: Search Results".
2. (5 April 2018). "Karl Urban to Star in Amazon Superhero Drama Series 'The Boys'".
3. "Biography". Karlurbanonline.com.
4. "St Mark's Church School Magazine 1983".
5. (18 July 2000). "Karl Urban - The price of fame". The New Zealand Herald.
6. link. (1 September 2007)
7. Strauss, Gary. (10 January 2008). "Karl Urban rewinds TV favorites". [[USA Today]].
8. (18 April 2006). "CBS Western 'Comanche Moon' Goes Urban". [[Chicago Tribune]].
9. Bellafante, Ginia. (11 January 2008). "Out West, Where the Ladies Are Consumptive and the Men Confused". [[The New York Times]].
10. [http://www.startrek.com/startrek/view/news/article/2310434.html And Karl Urban as McCoy!] {{Webarchive. link. (3 July 2010 , 17 October 2007)
11. [http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/film/news/e3id8e5364152f5fc45f22c9f376098ef3b Urban, Pine join Abrams' 'Star Trek'], 18 October 2007
12. [http://www.tvguide.com/news/karl-urban-comanche/080111-03 Karl Urban: From Comanche Moon's Old West to Star Trek's Exciting Future], 11 January 2008
13. [http://trekmovie.com/2008/01/11/urban-talks-trek-characters-and-production-design Urban Talks Trek Characters and Production Design], 11 January 2008
14. "Karl Urban Was Ready For Star Trek". TrekMovie.com.
15. "Happy Birthday, Karl Urban". [[TrekMovie.com]].
16. Collura, Scott. (24 July 2016). "Star Trek Beyond's Karl Urban on Why He Almost Didn't Return After Into Darkness".
17. [http://www.joblo.com/index.php?id=31762 Interview: Karl Urban on the set of RED], 15 July 2010
18. (22 July 2010). "SD Comic-Con '10: Karl Urban Goes Vampirific in 'Priest'". Bloody Disgusting!.
19. "Interview: Karl Urban". [[Shave (magazine).
20. "Dredd Wraps Its Theatrical Run". ComicBook.com.
21. Brown, Todd. (8 June 2011). "Erik Van Looy's Loft Receives Second Remake in Three Years". [[ScreenAnarchy]].
22. (29 January 2015). "Karl Urban to Replace Michael C. Hall in Disney's 'Pete's Dragon' Remake". TheWrap.
23. "Marvel Studios Confirms Stellar New Cast Members of the Highly Anticipated 'Thor: Ragnarok' - News - Marvel.com".
24. Harvey, Dennis. (26 October 2017). "Film Review: 'Acts of Vengeance.'Antonio Banderas buffs up for a bit of revenge in this pedestrian B-level action thriller.".
25. (28 July 2020). "The Boys and Star Trek star Karl Urban had secret Rise of Skywalker cameo". [[Digital Spy]].
26. Monson, Leigh. (30 June 2022). "The Sea Beast offers fun—and complexity—for seafarers of all ages".
27. Petski, Denise. (21 September 2020). "'The Boys' Renewed For Season 2 By Amazon; Aya Cash Closes Deal As Stormfront".
28. Kim, Matt. (11 February 2025). "Mortal Kombat 2: First Look at Karl Urban's Johnny Cage".
29. (11 February 2025). "Lit 19: Untitled Gothic Western (Karl Urban)". Internet Archive.
30. "Karl Urban Online". Karl Urban Online.
31. "The 33 Greatest Movie Trilogies". Empire (film magazine).
32. Atchity, Matt. (23 July 2010). "Five Favorite Films with Karl Urban". Rotten Tomatoes.
33. . (28 June 2014). ["Karl Urban and wife separate"](http://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/news/article.cfm?c_id=1501119&objectid=11283309). *[[The New Zealand Herald]]*.
34. Glucina, Rachel. (9 January 2015). "The Diary: Karl Urban's new romance gets serious". [[The New Zealand Herald]].
35. "Patrons and Ambassadors". KidsCan.
36. "Karl Urban appointed as new UNICEF Aotearoa New Zealand Ambassador". UNICEF.
37. Robertson, Ian. (31 May 2020). "Peter Jackson reveals story behind Sean Bean 'walk into Mordor' meme in 'Lord of the Rings' reunion".
38. [http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/tony_kaye_claims_unreleased_black_water_transit_is_not_finished_yet Tony Kaye Says Unreleased 'Black Water Transit' Is "Not Finished Yet"] {{Webarchive. link. (30 September 2012 , 28 April 2011)
39. (17 March 2009). "Urban Joins And Soon The Darkness".
40. Smith, Michael. (15 October 2010). "Filming 'Red' painful for Karl Urban".
41. Weintraub, Steve 'Frosty'. (19 April 2010). "Karl Urban Talks PRIEST and STAR TREK 2".
42. Trenholm, Richard. "What a 'Judge Dredd' show needs to learn from the Stallone film". CNET.
43. (5 September 2017). "Karl Urban Nearly Didn't Return After Star Trek Into Darkness".
44. Goldberg, Matt. (23 September 2011). "Karl Urban to Reprise His Role as "Vakko" for RIDDICK".
45. Debruge, Peter. (20 December 2013). "Film Review: 'Walking With Dinosaurs'".
46. Foutch, Haleigh. (12 December 2014). "New THE LOFT Trailer Takes Karl Urban and Wentworth Miller to the Height of Paranoia".
47. (8 August 2017). "Why Karl Urban Almost Didn't Return For Star Trek Beyond".
48. (16 August 2016). "Why Karl Urban almost wasn't in Pete's Dragon, one of his best roles yet". The New Zealand Herald.
49. (26 October 2018). "'Thor: Ragnarok': Karl Urban on How He Was Convinced to Play Skurge".
50. Harvey, Dennis. (26 October 2017). "Film Review: 'Acts of Vengeance'".
51. (21 December 2017). "'Hangman': Film Review".
52. Knight, Jacob. (16 May 2018). "BENT Review: Karl Urban Wants To Know Who Set Him Up".
53. (30 March 2022). "Netflix's 'The Sea Beast' Rises from the Depths with Teaser, Cast & Date Reveal".
54. Gonzalez, Umberto. (4 May 2023). "Karl Urban in Final Talks to Play Johnny Cage in 'Mortal Kombat 2' at New Line".
55. Grobar, Matt. (15 June 2023). "'Mortal Kombat 2': Martyn Ford, Desmond Chiam, Ana Thu Nguyen & Damon Herriman Join New Line Sequel".
56. Stedman, Alex. (15 June 2023). "Mortal Kombat 2 Rounds Out the Rest of Its Cast".
57. Paz, Maggie Dela. (26 June 2023). "Mortal Kombat 2 Photo Features New & Returning Cast Members".
58. (10 January 2008). "Karl Urban: From Comanche Moon to Star Trek". IGN.
59. Del Rosario, Alexandra. (11 December 2020). "'Ark: The Animated Series': Vin Diesel, Michelle Yeoh & Elliot Page Among Voice Cast Members In New Video Game-Inspired Show".
60. (5 September 2017). "Karl Urban's Star Trek Performance Moved Leonard Nimoy To Tears".
61. IGN Global Studios. (1 April 2024). "ARK: Survival Ascended Set to Add a Free Desert Map and DLC Starring Karl Urban's Bob".