Karl Urban’s 10 Best Movies And TV Shows

The best Karl Urban movies and TV shows encompass a range of genres, including sci-fi, comic book releases, horror, and more. Born in New Zealand, Urban got his start in genre shows, with a role in the New Zealand TV series Xena: Warrior Princess​. He impressed many people and soon made his way to America, landing his first Hollywood movie role in the Dark Castle horror, Ghost Ship. This helped launch a career that has reached great heights in both giant franchises and streaming shows.

While rarely mentioned among the rest of the cast, Urban was part of the original Lord of the Rings Trilogy as Éomer, which made him a star. He moved on to video game movies (Doom), hard sci-fi films (The Chronicles of Riddick), big franchises (Star Trek), and comic book movies (Thor: Ragnarök​​​​​). Urban has also become a major TV star, playing Billy Butcher in Amazon Prime Video’s The Boys. Through it all, he isn’t an award-winning actor, but has built a reputation as a genre favorite.

10

The Chronicles Of Riddick (2004)

Siberius Vaako

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The Chronicles of Riddick

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6/10

9.0/10

Release Date

June 11, 2004

Runtime

119 minutes

Director

David Twohy

Writers

David Twohy

Cast

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In 2004, David Twohy and Vin Diesel brought the world their sequel to the cult classic horror film Pitch Black​​​. However, with the sequel, the two moved the genre away from pure horror to science fiction. In Pitch Black, Diesel’s Riddick had eye transplants that allowed him to see in the dark, which helped him fight creatures that emerged during the pitch-black nights. In Chronicles of Riddick, the fugitive remains on the run from bounty hunters, while he heads to a planet to protect it from religious terrorists.

Karl Urban plays Commander Vaako, a loyal commander working with the religious fanatics who are hired to hunt down and kill Riddick. He remains a follower of Lord Marshal (Colm Feore), and is a fanatic who will stop at nothing to follow orders and kill Riddick. However, Urban plays a more significant role thanks to his wife, played by Thandiwe Newton, who does not share Marshal’s beliefs and seeks to have her husband help Riddick eliminate the threat to the universe. The film received poor reviews thanks to its dense mythology, but it is a solid sci-fi effort.

9

Ghost Ship (2002)

Munder

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Ghost Ship

R

Horror

Mystery

Thriller

7.4/10

Release Date

October 25, 2002

Runtime

91 minutes

Director

Steve Beck

Writers

Mark Hanlon, John Pogue

Cast

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    Gabriel Byrne

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In the early 2000s, Dark Castle was a production studio that specialized in low-budget horror movies. After a pair of sequels to classic horror movies (House on Haunted Hill and Thirteen Ghosts), the studio found its footing. This led to its first original horror film, Ghost Ship, despite a 1952 film of the same name having a completely different plot. The movie featured one of horror cinema’s most gruesome moments when a metal cable snapped, cutting everyone on the ship in half at the start of the film.

Dark Castle Entertainment Horror Films Collage

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The movie follows a haunted ocean liner that a salvage crew discovers in the Bering Sea. The cast was impressive, with Gabriel Byrne and Julianna Marguiles in the lead roles. However, this was also notable as Karl Urban’s first Hollywood movie role, in which he played Munder, part of the salvage crew that meets a gruesome fate in the film. While the film received poor critical reviews, it was still a solid low-budget horror movie with gory kills and a spooky atmosphere.

8

Almost Human (2013-2014)

John Kennex

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Almost Human

Sci-Fi

8.0/10

Release Date

2013 – 2014-00-00

Showrunner

J.H. Wyman

Directors

Joe Begos

Writers

Justin Doble, Cheo Hodari Coker, J. H. Wyman

Cast

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    Mackenzie Crook

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Before taking on the role of Billy Butcher in The Boys​​​, Karl Urban proved himself as a television leading man in the 2013 Fox science fiction series Almost Human. This Bad Robot series stars Urban as a police detective named John Kennex who is reluctantly partnered with an android detective known as Dorian (Michael Ealy). The pairing is uneasy as John distrusts “Synthetics” since one left him behind, believing there was little hope of saving him. However, Dorian thinks too much like a human, differing from other “Synthetics.”

The series only lasted one season, with 13 episodes. Most of the season consists of case-of-the-week episodes. However, there is also an overarching storyline about Dorian and his programming, as well as the theme of how society treats both “Synthetics” and humans genetically engineered to be more. The cancellation was due to low viewership numbers, and thanks to the higher budget, which made it impossible to continue. However, reviews were positive, and it picked up an Emmy Award nomination.

7

Red (2010)

William Cooper

red

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RED

PG-13

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10/10

10.0/10

Release Date

October 15, 2010

Runtime

111 minutes

Director

Robert Schwentke

Writers

Jon Hoeber, Erich Hoeber

Sequel(s)

Red 2

Cast

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    Bruce Willis

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    Morgan Freeman

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Karl Urban took on the role of a reluctant antagonist in the spy movie Red​​​​​. This film was unique as it cast older actors as the main heroes, with Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman, John Malkovich, and Helen Mirren as old-school black ops agents who the U.S. government has targeted for elimination to cover up past war crimes by the country. Urban is William Cooper, a new-era CIA black ops agent sent in to take the lead on the mission to kill Willis’s Frank Moses by a corrupt CIA supervisor.

Urban is great in his role as a man who knows he has to follow orders, since that is his job while working for the U.S. government. However, he also slowly realizes, as the film progresses, that his orders might not be entirely legitimate, and he might one day find himself in the same situation as Frank, who wanted to remain retired and left alone. Red picked up a Golden Globe nomination for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy, and also had a sequel, although Urban didn’t return.

6

The Bourne Supremacy (2004)

Kirill

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The Bourne Supremacy

PG-13

Action

Mystery

Thriller

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9/10

9.0/10

Release Date

July 23, 2004

Runtime

108 minutes

Director

Paul Greengrass

Writers

Tony Gilroy

Prequel(s)

The Bourne Identity

Cast

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    Brian Cox

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    Marton Csokas

Sequel(s)

The Bourne Legacy, The Bourne Supremacy, The Bourne Ultimatum

Franchise(s)

Jason Bourne

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Karl Urban had a role in one of the most successful spy movie franchises of this century when he joined the cast of The Bourne Supremacy. Directed by Paul Greengrass, this was the second film in the series, in which Matt Damon’s Jason Bourne, still suffering from amnesia, tries to live off the grid in India. In this film, Bourne is framed for murder, and the CIA sends out black ops agents to find Bourne. Karl Urban plays Kirill, a Russian Federal Security Service Agent who committed the murders and framed Bourne.

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This film sees Kirill as the main villain, the assassin who goes head-to-head with Jason Bourne. When he kills Franka Potente’s Marie, the love interest from the first movie, it makes him one of Bourne’s most despicable villains. This was Greengrass’s first film in the franchise, and he took the Bourne series to another level, with the follow-up being an even bigger and better action film. However, Urban didn’t return for The Bourne Ultimatum​​​​.

5

Dredd (2012)

Judge Dredd

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Action

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7/10

43

8.4/10

Release Date

September 21, 2012

Runtime

95 minutes

Director

Pete Travis

Writers

Alex Garland

Cast

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Judge Dredd is one of the most successful indie comic book franchises in history. The character first appeared in the comic book 2000 AD in 1977, and that comic is still in production to this day, with over 2,400 issues to date. The series follows Judge Dredd, a law enforcement officer in a dystopian future, who serves as judge, jury, and executioner for any suspects he encounters. There was a movie in the 1990s with Sylvester Stallone, which was a flop, but Karl Urban brought him back in 2012 to great acclaim.

The film was a box office failure, possibly due to the sour taste of the first movie with Stallone, and also because it shared a similar storyline to the very successful action film The Raid, which had been released the previous year. Despite this, critics gave the movie positive reviews, with an 80% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and Urban was praised for bringing the cult-favorite comic book antihero back to life in a film worthy of the character.

4

Star Trek (2009)

Leonard McCoy

Star Trek 2009 Movie Poster

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PG-13

Sci-Fi

Action

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8/10

25

8.0/10

Release Date

May 8, 2009

Runtime

127 Minutes

Director

J.J. Abrams

Writers

Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman, Gene Roddenberry

Sequel(s)

Star Trek Into Darkness, Star Trek Beyond

Cast

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    Zoe Saldana

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Star Trek

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J.J. Abrams rebooted the Star Trek franchise in 2009 with a film that eventually created a new timeline that intersected with stories from the original series. In this new storyline, Chris Pine played James T. Kirk, Zachary Quinto played Spock, and Karl Urban played Doctor McCoy, the trio that served as the heart and soul of Star Trek: The Original Series. This first movie was an origin story, with Kirk and friends getting their chance to join the Federation as students at the Academy.

The first movie was a massive success, making $385 million on a $150 million budget. It also received almost overwhelmingly positive reviews, with a 94% positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and spawned two sequels, with all the primary cast members returning for each. The film also received four Oscar nominations, winning for Best Makeup. While Urban didn’t receive any award nominations for his performance, the movie did win the SAG Award for Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture.

3

Thor: Ragnarök (2017)

Skurge The Executioner

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Thor: Ragnarok

PG-13

Action

Adventure

Science Fiction

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7/10

30

8.4/10

Release Date

November 3, 2017

Runtime

131 minutes

Director

Taika Waititi

Writers

Christopher L. Yost, Craig Kyle, Eric Pearson

Producers

Kevin Feige, Louis D’Esposito, Thomas M. Hammel, Victoria Alonso

Cast

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  • Chris Hemsworth Profile Picture

    Chris Hemsworth

    Thor

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    Mark Ruffalo

    Bruce Banner / Hulk

Prequel(s)

Thor: The Dark World

Sequel(s)

Thor: Love and Thunder

Franchise(s)

Marvel Cinematic Universe

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Karl Urban joined the MCU in the film Thor: Ragnarök, but it was a one-time appearance for the actor. In the movie, Thor returns to Asgard to find that Loki had been there, impersonating Odin. This led to the brothers having to put their animosity behind them as they defended their home from the vengeful Hela, who had returned after Odin’s death. Hela showed up and killed several notable Asgardians, including the Warriors Three, and then demanded that Skurge, the executioner, follow her as a lieutenant.

Split image of The Grandmaster over Hulk and Valkyrie

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Karl Urban played Skurge in the movie, and his role was an interesting one for the god. Skurge, while a villain for much of the film by Hela’s side, was a loyal Asgardian who was doing what he could to survive. However, when the time came, he put his home and people ahead of his survival instincts for a heroic end. Thor: Ragnarök was the first highly acclaimed Thor solo movie and was a highlight heading into the eventual war with Thanos.

2

The Boys (2019-Present)

Billy Butcher

The Boys Season 4 Poster Showing Homelander with Victoria Neuman Surrounded by Confetti

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The Boys

TV-MA

Action

Drama

Crime

Comedy

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7/10

164

8.8/10

Release Date

July 25, 2019

Showrunner

Eric Kripke

Directors

Erin Moriarty, Karen Fukuhara, Karl Urban, Jack Quaid, Eric Kripke

Writers

Eric Kripke

Franchise(s)

The Boys

Cast

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    Karl Urban

    Billy Butcher

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    Jack Quaid

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Creator(s)

Eric Kripke

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For many fans, Karl Urban is Billy Butcher. In 2019, Urban took on one of the lead roles in the Amazon Prime Video show based on the Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson comic book series The Boys. With showrunner Eric Kripke (Supernatural), Urban plays Billy Butcher, the leader of The Boys, a group of former CIA-sponsored black ops agents tasked with bringing down corrupt superheroes, which are almost all of them in this world. He is the one person who can protect the world from the ultra-deadly Homelander.

The series has run for four seasons and 32 episodes, with one more season to finish the story in 2026. It has been critically lauded, and fans seem to love the way it tells the story from the comics, even with the changes it makes to the source material. Critics have praised every season, with the second, third, and fourth seasons all earning over 90% on Rotten Tomatoes. The Boys has earned eight Primetime Emmy nominations and spawned two spinoffs so far.

1

The Lord of The Rings (2002-2003)

Éomer

lord of the riings

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The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

pg-13

Adventure

Fantasy

Action

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10/10

37

9.4/10

Release Date

December 17, 2003

Runtime

201 Minutes

Director

Peter Jackson

Writers

Peter Jackson

Prequel(s)

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

Cast

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  • Headshot Of Elijah Wood

    Elijah Wood

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    Ian McKellen

Franchise(s)

The Lord of the Rings

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The most successful movie that Karl Urban ever appeared in is one where he is often forgotten amid the massive cast. Urban joined The Lord of the Rings franchise in The Two Towers as Éomer and returned for The Return of the King. Éomer was the leader of the Riders of Rohan, a cavalry who worked as part of the Rohan army and fought against Mordor. He was memorably seen in the movie wearing a helmet that was based on the iconic Sutton Hoo helmets from Anglo-Saxon culture.

Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings movies had massive casts, with many actors appearing in all three films in the franchise, which can sometimes overshadow some in more minor roles. However, Urban’s Éomer remains notable thanks to his visual representation and the importance of the Riders of Rohan to the story. Karl Urban was part of the most successful of the three movies, as Return of the King won every Oscar it was nominated for, with a total of 11 wins at the Academy Awards.