Karl Urban

March 11, 1:28 PMCelebrity Profile ExaminerAndy Williamson

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KARL URBAN

Karl Heinz Urban was born on June 7th, 1972 in Wellington, New Zealand -- he is an actor best known for playing Éomer in The Lord of the Rings, as well as Dr. Leonard McCoy in J.J. Abrams’ reboot of Star Trek.

Karl attended St. Mark’s Church School where he grew enamored of performing early on.  Though at age eight he had a one -line bit-part on a New Zealand television program, he didn’t act again until after high school.  In 1993, Karl was offered the role of gay paramedic Jamie Forrest on the hit NZ TV series Shorthand Steel.  The following year, Karl attended the Victoria University of Wellington -- he left after one year to pursue acting.

After acting in many plays in Wellington over the next few years, Karl moved to Auckland -- there he was offered a slew of television roles, including the police drama Shark in the Park where he played a heroin addict.

Even while finding film and TV work in New Zealand, Karl never left the theater.  In the late 1990s, he appeared in The Herbal Bed, Julius Caesar (as Mark Anthony), and Foreskin’s Lament.  Karl also had recurring parts on Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and its spin-off Xena: Warrior Princess, both of which were filmed in New Zealand -- Karl played Cupid and Julius Caesar.  After appearing in the romance The Price of Milk, Karl was named Best Actor by the New Zealand Film and TV Awards.  He also won raves for his role in Out of the Blue, which detailed New Zealand’s Aramoana massacre -- Karl played Officer Nick Harvey.

After appearing in the American horror film Ghost Ship, Karl received his biggest casting coup to date when director Peter Jackson hired him to play Éomer of Rohan in The Lord of the Rings.  Roles in The Chronicles of Riddick and The Bourne Supremacy quickly followed.  After being considered for the role of iconic role of James Bond in Casino Royale (he lost out, of course, to Daniel Craig), Karl played John “Reaper” Grimm in 2005’s Doom.  Roles in Pathfinder and the Lonesome Dove TV-miniseries prequel Comanche Moon (Karl played young Woodrow Call) followed -- both were considered flops.

In October of 2007, director J.J. Abrams hired Karl to play Dr. Leonard McCoy in his update of Star Trek.  The film opens on May 8th, 2009, and is expected to be one of the biggest blockbusters of the year.  If the film does as expected, Karl (who bears a strong resemblance to a young DeForest Kelley), could be playing “Bones” for a very long time.  Hope he understands the character is a doctor, not a bricklayer.

Up next: roles in Black Water Transit, Relentless, and Tron 2.0