Karl Urban facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Karl Urban
Urban at the 2022 South by Southwest
Born	Karl-Heinz Urban (1972-06-07) 7 June 1972 (age 53) Wellington, New Zealand
Education	St Mark's Church School,Wellington College
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1990–present
Spouse(s)	Natalie Wihongi ​ ​ (m. 2004; separated 2014)​
Partner(s)	Katee Sackhoff (2014–2018)
Children	2

Karl-Heinz Urban (born on June 7, 1972) is a famous actor from New Zealand. He started his acting journey in New Zealand TV shows like Xena: Warrior Princess. His first big role in Hollywood was in the 2002 movie Ghost Ship.

Since then, Karl Urban has starred in many popular films. He played Éomer in The Lord of the Rings movies. He was also Leonard McCoy in the Star Trek reboot films. You might also know him as Judge Dredd in Dredd (2012) or Skurge in Marvel's Thor: Ragnarok (2017). Since 2019, he has been playing Billy Butcher in the superhero TV series The Boys on Amazon Prime Video.

Early Life and First Roles

Karl Urban was born in Wellington, New Zealand. His dad owned a leather shop. His mom worked for a film company, which helped young Karl get interested in movies.

He went to St Mark's Church School. There, he loved performing for others. His very first acting job was at age eight. He had just one line in a New Zealand TV show called Pioneer Woman. After high school, he started acting professionally.

Karl attended Wellington College from 1986 to 1990. He then went to Victoria University of Wellington. But he left after a year to focus on acting. For a few years, he appeared in TV commercials and plays in Wellington. In 1995, he moved to Australia briefly. He returned to New Zealand the next year.

Acting Career Highlights

Karl Urban's first big Hollywood movie was the horror film Ghost Ship in 2002. After that, he became very busy in Hollywood.

He played Éomer in The Two Towers and The Return of the King. He was also Kirill in The Bourne Supremacy. In 2005, he starred as John "Reaper" Grimm in Doom, based on the video game.

Karl Urban (far left) with Zachary Quinto, J. J. Abrams, and Chris Pine at a Star Trek Into Darkness movie premiere in Sydney, Australia in 2013.

In 2009, Karl Urban took on the role of Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy in the movie Star Trek. This character was first played by DeForest Kelley in the original Star Trek TV show. Karl Urban was a big fan of Star Trek growing up. He worked hard to get this role. Fans loved his performance because it felt very true to the original character. He played McCoy again in Star Trek Into Darkness (2013) and Star Trek Beyond (2016).

He also appeared as CIA agent William Cooper in Red (2010). This movie was based on a graphic novel. He played a villainous priest-turned-vampire, Black Hat, in the 2011 film Priest.

In 2012, Urban starred as the comic book hero Judge Dredd in the movie Dredd. He described the film as "high-octane" and full of action. Even though it didn't make a lot of money, critics really liked Dredd.

Karl Urban at Phoenix Comicon in May 2015.

In 2013, Karl Urban played Detective John Kennex in the TV series Almost Human. The show was set 35 years in the future. Police officers in Los Angeles were paired with lifelike robots. Urban's character didn't like robots, but he ended up working with one that had feelings.

Later, he was in the thriller The Loft. In 2016, he played Gavin Magary in the remake of Pete's Dragon. In 2017, he played Skurge in Marvel's Thor: Ragnarok. He also had a small role as a stormtrooper in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker in 2019. In 2022, he voiced the main character in the animated movie The Sea Beast.

Since 2019, Karl Urban has been starring as William "Billy" Butcher in the popular Amazon Prime Video series The Boys.

Personal Life

In September 2004, Karl Urban married Natalie Wihongi. She was a makeup artist he met on a TV film set. They have two sons, Hunter and Indiana. His second son was named after the Indiana Jones movies, which are some of Karl's favorites. The couple separated in June 2014. From 2014 to 2018, he was in a relationship with actress Katee Sackhoff.

Helping Others

Karl Urban is an ambassador for KidsCan. This charity helps over 16,000 children in New Zealand. They provide kids with important things like food, clothes, and shoes.

In May 2022, UNICEF Aotearoa New Zealand made Karl Urban an official Ambassador. He helps raise awareness about children's rights in New Zealand and around the world.

In June 2020, Karl Urban joined many other actors from The Lord of the Rings movies. They reunited online for a YouTube series called Reunited Apart. This show brings together casts of popular movies. It also encourages people to donate to charities.

Filmography

Film Roles

Television Roles

Video Game Roles

See also

In Spanish: Karl Urban para niños