New Zealand Week: Day 7: Star Profiles: Karl Urban

Karl Urban

Karl Urban is one of New Zealand's stars who has managed to start getting some real footing in the entertainment industry outside of his homeland as well.  Though he is primarily a star of action-type films where Americans are concerned, a review of his career shows an actor also adept at comedic roles, and at deep drama.

Born Karl-Heinz Urban in Wellington, New Zealand on 7 June, 1972, the son of a German-born leather goods manufacturer, Urban showed an early interest in acting.  His first role was a one-line part in a television program at eight years of age.  He did not work again until his late teens.  Shortly after leaving high school he took the role of paramedic Jamie Forrest on the popular soap opera Shortland Street.  He continued in that role for the run of the soap's second season before moving on to a year at Victoria University.

Karl as Cupid on Hercules: The
Legendary Journeys.

Following that short stab at higher education, he continued to pursue his acting career through theatrical roles before moving to Auckland, New Zealand to try his hand at more television and film.  He found luck with guest roles on such syndicated American/Canadian co-production series as White Fang, and, like many of his fellow Kiwi actors, he did time on both Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and its spin-off Xena: Warrior Princess.  Initially he played a rather updated and bratty version of Cupid, the God of Love, but as time went on, he gained a new role that allowed him to truly show his range.  His portrayal of Gaius Julius Ceasar was dark, dramatic, and far deeper than his Cupid.  He would portray both roles (though he more often appeared as Ceasar) off and on from 1996 to 2001.

Karl as Eomer in The Lord of The Rings.

2001 also saw Karl appearing in the hit dramedy The Price of Milk, for which he received a number of excellent reviews.  He had what most consider to be his big Hollywood break in 2002 with a role in the film Ghost Ship.  He then appeared as Eomer in the final two installments of Peter Jackson's adaptation of The Lord of the Rings saga, as well as in the blockbusters The Bourne Supremacy and The Chronicles of Riddick.  In 2005 he took on a leading role in the film Doom, based on the popular first-person shooter video game franchise.

Karl's big film of 2007, the historical action entry Pathfinder, failed to impress the people or the critics, but in 2008 Karl went a long way toward redeeming himself with his 3-episode role as Woodrow Call in the Lonesome Dove prequel Comanche Moon.  He hit big again in 2009 with his portrayal of a young Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy in the Star Trek film franchise re-boot.  He is expected to reprise that role in the as-yet-untitled 2012 sequel, as well as taking on the role of iconic comic strip character Judge Dredd in a planned re-boot of that franchise.