Detailed Biography

Karl-Heinz Urban is an actor from New Zealand.

He is best known for playing Éomer in the second and third installments of Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings trilogy, and Dr Leonard McCoy in the 2009 film Star Trek. He played Vaako in The Chronicles of Riddick and the Russian assassin Kirill in The Bourne Supremacy, and won acclaim for his performances in New Zealand films The Price of Milk and Out of the Blue.

Early life

Urban was born in Wellington, New Zealand, the son of a leather goods manufacturer. He attended St Mark's Church School where he showed an early love for public performance. His first acting role was when he was eight he had a line on a television show. However, he did not act again until after high school. He then went on to Wellington College. Upon leaving high school Karl was offered a role in the hit New Zealand TV-series Shortland Street playing gay paramedic Jamie Forrest. After appearing on the show for the 1993-1994 season he attended Victoria University of Wellington 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 he was offered many guest roles in local shows. One of his first roles was that of a heroin addict in police drama Shark In the Park.

Career

As well as appearing in films and television shows, Urban had various roles in theatre productions and TV advertisements. In February/March 1998, he was in a play called The Herbal Bed at the Maidment Theatre in Auckland. In August 1998, he played Mark Antony in Auckland Theatre Company's production of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. The following year he appeared in the Auckland Theatre Company's production of New Zealand classic Foreskin's Lament.

Urban was seen on the internationally syndicated American TV series Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and on its spin-off Xena: Warrior Princess, in which he played both Cupid and Julius Caesar from 1996 to 2001. Both shows were filmed in New Zealand. He won the New Zealand Film and TV Awards for his starring role in the offbeat rural romance The Price of Milk. Urban later won acclaim for his portrayal of policeman Nick Harvey in Out of the Blue, a dramatisation of New Zealand's Aramoana Massacre.

International roles

Urban's Hollywood break came with his role in the 2002 horror film Ghost Ship. Since then, Urban has worked on many high-profile films, including in two of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Bourne Supremacy and The Chronicles of Riddick. Urban starred as the protagonist in the 2007 movie Pathfinder.

The Hollywood Reporter speculated that Urban was one of several actors being considered for the part of British secret service agent 007 in Casino Royale, directed by fellow New Zealander Martin Campbell. The role eventually went to Daniel Craig. Urban at the premiere of Peter Jackson's King Kong in Wellington, New Zealand

Urban played John "Reaper" Grimm, one of the lead characters in Universal Pictures' Doom which was released on October 21, 2005. Following his role in Doom, he played the lead in the Viking adventure Pathfinder, which is regarded as a box office disappointment.

A longtime fan of Westerns, Urban appeared in Comanche Moon, the miniseries prequel to Lonesome Dove. In 2009, he portrayed the role of Dr Leonard McCoy in the eleventh Star Trek film.

In 2009, Urban appeared as himself in the documentary film Reclaiming The Blade talking about his past roles in films such as Lord of the Rings where wielding a sword was a main part of his character.