Karl Urban
Birthdate: Jun 7, 1972
Birthplace: Wellington, New Zealand
Karl Urban (birthname: Karl-Heinz Urban) is one of the most successful New Zealand movie actors of his era, appearing in such franchises as The Lord of the Rings, Star Trek, the Bourne trilogy, the MCU Thor movies, the Riddick series, and Star Wars. Urban’s first movie credit was in the New Zealand-produced WWI movie, Chunuk Bair (1992), followed by a supporting role in director/writer Scott Reynolds’s New Zealand-U.S. thriller, Heaven (1998), and New Zealand director/co-writer Anthony McCarten’s comedy, Via Satellite (1998), as well as a starring role in the New Zealand horror movie, director/writer Glenn Standring’s The Irrefutable Truth about Demons (2000).
Urban’s first Hollywood studio credit was Warner Bros. Pictures’ $68-million-grossing Ghost Ship (2002), produced by Joel Silver, Robert Zemeckis and Gilbert Adair, and then Urban took on his first role in a movie franchise, as Éomer, in Peter Jackson’s epic adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkein’s The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002) and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003), for which Urban won his first acting awards as part of the acting ensemble (from National Board of Review, Actors Awards, Critics’ Choice Awards and the Broadcast Film Critics Association) and which grossed a cumulative $2.1-plus billion. Urban was cast in a major role in director/writer David Twohy’s sci-fi thriller, The Chronicles of Riddick (2004), starring and produced by Vin Diesel, with Thandiwe Newton, Colm Feore, Linus Roache and Keith David, and then Urban appeared in Twohy’s sequel, Riddick (2013), again produced and starring Diesel, earning a cumulative $214 million for Universal Pictures.
Karl Urban played a heavy in director Paul Greengrass’ spectacularly successful sequel, The Bourne Supremacy (2004), adapted from Robert Ludlum’s novel by screenwriter Tony Gilroy, with Franka Potente, Brian Cox, Julia Stiles, and Joan Allen, and grossing $311 million for Universal Pictures. Urban co-starred with Dwayne Johnson in the video game-to-movie, Doom (2019), with Rosamund Pike under Andrzej Bartkowiak’s direction, and earned a poor $58.7 million for Universal (based on estimated costs).
Urban starred in New Zealand director/co-writer Robert Sarkies’s true-crime drama, Out of the Blue (2006), premiering at the Toronto Film Festival, and then Urban starred a Viking warrior in North America in Pathfinder (2007), with Moon Bloodgood, Russell Means and Clancy Brown under Marcus Nispel’s direction, grossing a disappointing $30.8 million for producer Mike Medavoy’s Phoenix Pictures and 20th Century Fox. Urban played McCoy on the Starship Enterprise for director/producer J.J. Abrams’s reboot, Star Trek (2009), joining John Cho, Ben Cross, Bruce Greenwood, Simon Pegg, Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Winona Ryder, Zoe Saldana, Anton Yelchin, Eric Bana and Leonard Nimoy; Urban returned in the sequels, Star Trek Into Darkness (2013) and Star Trek Beyond (2016), grossing a cumulative $1.20 trillion globally for Paramount Pictures.
Karl Urban joined co-leads Amber Heard and Odette Annable in director/co-writer Marcos Efron’s horror remake, And Soon the Darkness (2010), and then Urban was cast in the starry ensemble of the action comic book adaptation, Red (2010), co-starring Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman, John Malkovich, Helen Mirren, Mary-Louise Parker, Brian Cox and Richard Dreyfuss under Robert Schwentke’s direction, and which grossed a robust $200 million box office (based on estimated costs) for Summit Entertainment. Urban co-starred with Paul Bettany in the action vampire movie, Priest (2011), based on Hyung Min-woo’s Korean comic book, with Cam Gigandet, Maggie Q, Lily Collins, Stephen Moyer, and Christopher Plummer under Scott Stewart’s direction, earning a poor $78.3 million gross (based on estimated costs) for Screen Gems/Sony Pictures Releasing.
Urban was part of the cast of the feature film version of BBC Television’s Walking with Dinosaurs (2013), with John Leguizamo, Justin Long, and Angourie Rice under Neil Nightingale’s and Barry Cook’s co-direction, and delivered a $126.5 million global gross for 20th Century Fox (Select Territories)/Reliance Entertainment (India). Urban starred in director Erik Van Looy’s English remake of his Dutch original, The Loft (2014), with James Marsden, Wentworth Miller, Matthias Schoenaerts, and Rachael Taylor, and released by Open Road Films (after it was dropped by Universal Pictures) for an $11 million return.
Karl Urban was cast in a major supporting role in director/co-writer David Lowery’s non-musical fantasy adventure remake of the 1977 Disney musical, Pete’s Dragon (2016), co-written by Toby Halbrooks, starring Bryce Dallas Howard, Robert Redford, Oakes Fegley, Wes Bentley, and Oona Laurence, produced and released by Walt Disney Pictures for a $143.7 million return. Urban was Skurge the Executioner in the MCU sequel, Thor: Ragnarok (2017), starring Chris Hemsworth (as Thor), Tom Hiddleston, Cate Blanchett, Idris Elba, Jeff Goldblum, Tessa Thompson, Mark Ruffalo, and Anthony Hopkins under Taika Waititi’s direction, and grossing an excellent $855 million for Disney/Marvel (based on estimated costs).
Urban joined Antonio Banderas, Paz Vega, and Cristina Serafini in the little-seen thriller, Acts of Vengeance (2017), directed by Isaac Florentine and released by Saban Films, and then Urban played in another barely-seen Saban Films release opposite Al Pacino, Hangman (2017), with Brittany Snow, Sarah Shahi, and Joe Anderson under Johnny Martin’s direction. Urban starred in another minor thriller, director/writer Robert Moresco’s Bent (2018), with Sofia Vergara and Andy Garcia, and then co-starred in a string of streaming movies before returning to the big screen as Johnny Cage in director/producer Simon McQuoid’s martial arts sequel, Mortal Kombat II (2026), with Adeline Rudolph, Jessica McNamee, Damon Herriman, Tadanobu Asano and Hiroyuki Sanada, and released wide by Warner Bros. Pictures.
Karl Urban, as star/producer, collaborated with director/writer/producer Andrew Niccol for the New Zealand/Canada-backed fantasy movie, I, Object (date to be announced), co-starring Anna Faris, and which was produced by Scythia Films/Southern Light Films.
Personal life
Karl Urban was born and raised by his parents, German-born father Jurgen (leather goods manufacturer) and mother Lorraine (staff member for Wellington’s Film Facilities). graduated from school. Urban was married to makeup artist Natalie Wihongi from 2004 to 2014, when they divorced; the couple has two sons, Hunter and Indy. Urban’s height is 6’ 1”. Urban’s estimated net worth is $20 million.
Known For
Karl Urban Movies
actor
Previous (30)
- 2026 |
Mortal Kombat II
asJohnny Cage
The Earthrealm champions are back, and this time the tournament has officially begun. Johnny Cage joins the fight as Shao Kahn, the warlord of Outworld, makes his move. With Kitana and Jade drawn into the conflict and the fate of two worlds at stake, the battle pushes every fighter past their limits. A martial arts fantasy action film, the direct sequel to Mortal Kombat (2021), for fans of the franchise and the video game series.
- 2022 | The Sea Beastas Jacob Holland
- 2020 |
- 2018 | Bentas Danny Gallagher
- 2017 | Acts of Vengeanceas Strode
- 2017 | Hangmanas Det. Will Ruiney
- 2017 |
Thor: Ragnarok
asSkurge
Imprisoned on the planet Sakaar, Thor must race against time to return to Asgard and stop Ragnarök, the destruction of his world, at the hands of the powerful and ruthless villain Hela.
- 2016 |
Pete’s Dragon
asGavin
The adventures of an orphaned boy named Pete and his best friend Elliott, who happens to be a dragon.
- 2016 |
Star Trek Beyond
asDoctor 'Bones' McCoy
The crew of the USS Enterprise explores the furthest reaches of uncharted space, where they encounter a new ruthless enemy, who puts them, and everything the Federation stands for, to the test.
- 2014 | The Loftas Vincent Stevens
- 2013 |
Walking with Dinosaurs 3D
asUncle Zack
See and feel what it was like when dinosaurs ruled the Earth, in a story where an underdog dino triumphs to become a hero for the ages.
- 2013 |
- 2013 |
Star Trek Into Darkness
asBones
After the crew of the Enterprise find an unstoppable force of terror from within their own organization, Captain Kirk leads a manhunt to a war-zone world to capture a one-man weapon of mass destruction.
- 2012 |
- 2011 | Priestas Black Hat
- 2010 | And Soon the Darknessas Michael
- 2010 | REDas William Cooper
- 2009 | Black Water Transitas Earl Pike
- 2009 | Reclaiming the Blade
- 2009 | Star Trekas Bones
- 2009 |
- 2007 | Pathfinderas Ghost
- 2005 | Doomas John Grimm
- 2004 | The Bourne Supremacyas Kirill
- 2004 |
The Bourne Supremacy
asKirill
When Jason Bourne is framed for a CIA operation gone awry, he is forced to resume his former life as a trained assassin to survive.
- 2004 | The Chronicles of Riddickas Vaako
- 2002 | Ghost Shipas Munder
- 2000 | The Price of Milkas Rob
- 2000 | Truth About Demonsas Harry Ballard
- 1998 | Via Satelliteas Paul
self
Previous (1)
- 2016 |
For the Love of Spock
An examination of the enduring appeal of Leonard Nimoy and his portrayal of Spock in Star Trek (1966).
Facts About Karl Urban
Film Culture: Karl Urban learned about cinema in and outside of New Zealand through his mother, who worked at the Wellington-based Film Facilities, which regularly screened classic movies.
Down on the Farm: Urban, while pursuing an acting career, also worked in numerous capacities on his aunt’s and uncle’s New Zealand farm.
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