Karl Urban

Birthday: 7 June 1972, Wellington, New Zealand

Birth Name: Karl-Heinz Urban

Height: 185 cm

Originally from Wellington, New Zealand, Karl Urban now lives in Auckland. Born on June 7, 1972, he is the son of a leather-goods manufacturer (who had hoped that Karl would follow in his footsteps). His first acting role was when he was 8 -- he had a line on a television series. However, he did not act again until after high school. He was offered a role in the NZ soap opera Shortland Street (1992) as he was preparing to attend Victoria University. After appearing on the series for the 1993-1994 season, he attended the university for one year, then left to pursue his acting career. Over the next few years, he landed several theater roles in the Wellington area. Eventually, he moved to Auckland, where a number of guest roles in NZ television followed. One of his first roles was that of a heroin addict in the drama series Shark in the Park (1989). He was in a movie as well, entitled Once in Chunuck Bay (aka Chunuk Bair (1992)). Other television roles followed, including a guest-starring role in the series White Fang (1993). Karl's biggest roles include Éomer in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, as well as Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy in Star Trek (2009), William Cooper in RED (2010) and Judge Dredd in Dredd (2012). Show less «

I was a fan of the Dredd comics when I was a teenager.

It's such a small industry here, you inevitably end up working with the same people over and over ag...Show more »

It's such a small industry here, you inevitably end up working with the same people over and over again. There are only so many actors to go around, which is good for us. Show less «

Nothing beats a great smile.

When I work, I try to eat as much vegetarian as possible. When I do Cupid, I eat vegetarian because ...Show more »

When I work, I try to eat as much vegetarian as possible. When I do Cupid, I eat vegetarian because I need the energy. I've got those wings on my back. Show less «

I don't believe I could work as effectively at what I do without the support of my wife.

There's only so much you can do until you get on set and see the aesthetics of what you're dealing w...Show more »

There's only so much you can do until you get on set and see the aesthetics of what you're dealing with. Then you see what the other players are giving to you. It's all about the transfer of energy between different actors. Show less «

It was always something I knew I was capable of and from an early age my mother was involved in the ...Show more »

It was always something I knew I was capable of and from an early age my mother was involved in the film industry. She used to work at a production company. So I was exposed to a renaissance period of films in New Zealand back in the early 80s. Show less «

Now I'm this far up the ladder and I've got so much farther to go with what I want to achieve with i...Show more »

Now I'm this far up the ladder and I've got so much farther to go with what I want to achieve with it. Show less «

[on his fondest memory of working with Peter Jackson while shooting the Lord of the Rings trilogy] P...Show more »

[on his fondest memory of working with Peter Jackson while shooting the Lord of the Rings trilogy] Peter's really open to the humor in the day-to-day. One time, we were referencing a line in the book, "We counted all the slain and despoiled them, then we piled the carcasses and burned them." Of course, we went on all sorts of disgusting tangents about what else these Rohan soldiers did to the poor Orcs. Show less «

My philosophy is whatever you do, you've got to invest in yourself. If you don't, there are a lot of...Show more »

My philosophy is whatever you do, you've got to invest in yourself. If you don't, there are a lot of people out there who will get the job because they're more prepared than you. Show less «

I don't see a benefit in accepting every single little morsel of work that comes along because I thi...Show more »

I don't see a benefit in accepting every single little morsel of work that comes along because I think, in essence, what you're doing is you're raping yourself really. Show less «

I'm high-energy.

When you work so hard on making a film, it's all worthwhile when you get to experience seeing that f...Show more »

When you work so hard on making a film, it's all worthwhile when you get to experience seeing that film with an audience who thoroughly enjoy it and react to the movie. Show less «

I never envisioned when I was reading that comic as a 17-year-old that I would have the opportunity ...Show more »

I never envisioned when I was reading that comic as a 17-year-old that I would have the opportunity to actually play the character. Show less «

I did a little theater work after that and the following year I got another part in a television ser...Show more »

I did a little theater work after that and the following year I got another part in a television series. Then it was almost to the end of the year before I got more work. That was coming to terms with the reality of the vocation I had chosen. Show less «

I'll need every ounce that I have to drive it through. Film and TV require that energy. Sometimes fi...Show more »

I'll need every ounce that I have to drive it through. Film and TV require that energy. Sometimes fight scenes can be pretty intense. When I was shooting Heaven (1998), it was truly guerrilla filmmaking. Show less «

Dredd (2012) represented a failure in marketing. I saw the tracking of that film weeks before it cam...Show more »

Dredd (2012) represented a failure in marketing. I saw the tracking of that film weeks before it came out and the fundamental problem was no one knew it was being released. Once it came out on DVD and it sold 750,000 copies in the first week alone in North America alone, it was very clear that the audience had discovered it. [2016] Show less «

That is a big danger, losing your inspiration. When I work in film and television I try to do each t...Show more »

That is a big danger, losing your inspiration. When I work in film and television I try to do each take a little differently. I never want to do the same thing twice, because then you're not being spontaneous, you're just recreating something. Show less «

If I read a script and find it engaging and I start making choices in my mind on how to approach the...Show more »

If I read a script and find it engaging and I start making choices in my mind on how to approach the work, than that's a good indication that it is something worth pursuing. Show less «

I love fishing and surfing, and I work out every day.

[on a Dredd (2012) sequel] It's not off the agenda. Clearly everyone has woken up to the fact that a...Show more »

[on a Dredd (2012) sequel] It's not off the agenda. Clearly everyone has woken up to the fact that an audience has found this movie and loves it. It's entirely possible, and if people want to see another installment then they should be vocal about that, because it can happen. The power of fandom can resurrect projects. In fact, that's what happened with Star Trek (1966). They weren't going to do a third season until fans did a letter-writing campaign and they continued that series. Show less «

I like the time frame involved in being an actor.

That's always an interesting concept when you try to make your dream into a reality and you come up ...Show more »

That's always an interesting concept when you try to make your dream into a reality and you come up against the facts of exactly what it is you're attempting to do. Show less «

Karl Urban

Karl Urban's FILMOGRAPHY

Karl Urban'S roles

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