Karl Urban
Karl Urban
Karl-Heinz Urbanis a New Zealand actor. He is best known for playing Julius Caesar and Cupid in Xena: Warrior Princess and Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, Éomer in the second and third installments of Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy in Star Trek, Star Trek Into Darkness and Star Trek Beyond, and Judge Dredd in Dredd. He won acclaim for his performances in New Zealand films The Price of Milk and Out of the Blue...
NationalityNew Zealander
ProfessionMovie Actor
Date of Birth7 June 1972
CityWellington, New Zealand
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.
Nothing beats a great smile.
One of the crazy things about our job is that we get taught these insane skills that we could never use in real life.
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.
Sometimes it's nice to know that what you've done has been appreciated.
I've turned down a lot of stuff. I've read several scripts and said "That's not me, I'm not interested in doing that." It's got to be something that inspires me and captures my imagination. I want to be able to say "There's a challenge.".
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.
I've got a New Zealand film coming out here called Out of the Blue. It's a very heavy story, and it's the first time I've played a character who is alive.
I love fishing and surfing, and I work out every day.
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" it was truly guerrilla film-making.
I just really hope that Peter Jackson and New Line Cinema can resolve all their differences. I'm hoping that's going to happen, but we'd have to wait and see. I would love to explore Middle Earth again with Peter.
Yeah, I played video games on and off for quite a few years. I played Doom and was a fan of the game and that was my prime reason for doing the film.
There's only so much artistic output that I can actually expel at any one given time.
A lot of the ancient Norse myths and legends are the basis of a lot of the sci-fi, fantasy films out there. Telling these stories in a contemporary medium, it's all good.