Bio: 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 ��omer 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).
Tivia: His accent as Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy in Star Trek (2009) was so reminiscent of DeForest Kelley that it reportedly moved Leonard Nimoy (who starred alongside Kelley in the original series and films) to tears.On the set of The Chronicles of Riddick (2004), he passed the time by playing Dungeons & Dragons with Vin Diesel, Judi Dench and Thandiwe Newton.He named his son "Indiana" after Harrison Ford's iconic character Indiana Jones, of whom Karl is a huge fan.Is an ambassador for KidsCan, a charity that supports more than 16,000 disadvantaged children by providing shoes, food, and coats.He is, and has almost always been, very active. He worked on his aunt and uncle's farm for many years doing odd jobs. For filming the Lord of the Rings movies, he realized that Eomer was a consummate horseman and he was nowhere near that level, so he invested a lot of time learning: six to eight weeks, five days a week, two hours a day. He wanted to learn to neck rein, a method of steering a horse using one hand while leaving the other hand free to wield a sword. He wanted to be so at one with the horse that he wasn't conscious or concerned about what the horse was doing. In addition, he also enjoys indoor rock climbing.Was a huge fan of both the Doctor Who and Star Trek franchises long before being cast as Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy in the Star Trek (2009) remake.Has been a huge fan of the 2000 AD Comics' character Judge Dredd since his teens and got to play the character in the film adaptation Dredd (2012).Good friends with co-stars Viggo Mortensen from The Lord of the Rings and Ren��e O'Connor from Xena: Warrior Princess (1995).Enjoys video games, which is what influenced him to take a role in the film adaptation Doom (2005).Very good friends with his Star Trek (2009) co-stars Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto.His hobbies include fishing, surfing, golf and gardening.His father is a German immigrant and owned a leather-goods factory. His mother worked for Film Facilities in Wellington, New Zealand.Has two sons with his ex-wife Natalie Wihongi: Hunter Urban (b. November 2000) and Indy Urban (b. January 2005).Is a huge fan of rugby union; in particular, the New Zealand All Blacks national team.Started his acting career at the age of 8.Has a black Lab terrier named Ire (pronounced eye-ree) after a Bob Marley song (from the album "Uprising").Was introduced in the second installment of each of the three huge franchises he has appeared in: The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002), The Bourne Supremacy (2004) and The Chronicles of Riddick (2004).Has played the younger versions of iconic characters in two "prequels". He plays Woodrow Call in the Lonesome Dove (1989) prequel Comanche Moon (2008), and Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy in Star Trek (2009).Did roles on Xena: Warrior Princess (1995): Emperor Julius Caesar, Kor the caveman, and Mael (biblical character), Icas's brother. Also did roles on Hercules: The Legendary Journeys (1995): Cupid, son of Aphrodite and Caesar.Reportedly received a $400,000 bonus for his work on "The Lord of the Rings" [London Daily Mail, December 5, 2003].His character of Cupid was originally written into the Xena: Warrior Princess (1995) Season 5 finale episode "Motherhood", but Urban was unavailable because he was filming The Lord of the Rings elsewhere in New Zealand. As compensation, Rob Tapert wrote the Season 6 episode "When Fates Collide" specifically for him, this time for his more-popular character of Julius Caesar. Tapert also used this episode as an opportunity to bid farewell to two other fan-favorite recurring characters: Alti and Brutus, portrayed by Claire Stansfield and David Franklin. "When Fates Collide" became one of the most popular episodes of the entire series.Has stated that his favorite Xena: Warrior Princess (1995) episode is A Day in the Life (1997), in which he did not appear.Had a beret and coat to perform self-written Frank Spencer skits at ages 11 and 12 as school assembly entertainment.Has German ancestry on his father's side.Was considered for the role of Kainan in Outlander (2008), which went to Jim Caviezel.Despite sharing a nationality, last name, and first initial, he is not related to singer Keith Urban.Has replaced Tommy Lee Jones as Woodrow Call in the Lonesome Dove series, and Sylvester Stallone as Judge Dredd. Both characters previously appeared in films opposite Diane Lane.Has appeared in The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003), which was previously made as an animated film with the voice of John Huston. Urban later appeared in Comanche Moon (2008), a prequel to Lonesome Dove (1989), which featured Anjelica Huston.Primary school classmates with Jack Yan.