Karl Urban

"Here's the process. I had the good fortune to go and visit J.J. Abrams while he was shooting The Rise of Skywalker. While I was there, he put me in a stormtrooper uniform and we had a really fun day on set. It's been one of my life-long goals to be a stormtrooper, so I can tick that off now."

―Karl Urban^[2]

Karl Urban (born June 7, 1972)^[1] is a New Zealand actor who portrays a Steadfast First Order stormtrooper in the 2019 film Star Wars: Episode IX The Rise of Skywalker, although in the movie credits, he is merely listed as providing "additional voices".^[2]

Urban is known for playing the Rohan soldier Éomer in the second and third installments of The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Starfleet medical officer Leonard McCoy in the Star Trek reboot film series (which was also directed by J.J. Abrams), the Necromonger commander Vaako in the Riddick film series, and starring as Judge Dredd in Dredd and the antihero Billy Butcher in the Amazon web television series The Boys.

In 2013, when asked if he would appear in Star Wars, Urban stated that he would never do a Star Wars movie because he was recognizable from Star Trek and he felt that seeing a Star Trek actor in a Star Wars movie would be a big turn-off for the audience.^[3] However, in 2018, he stated that if he was given the opportunity, he would be glad to be part of it, commenting on the way fellow Star Trek actor Simon Pegg was completely unrecognizable in The Force Awakens and that there were ways and means to make a Star Wars appearance happen.^[4] Urban ended up portraying a stormtrooper in the 2019 film The Rise of Skywalker. According to the actor, he visited director J.J. Abrams while the latter was shooting the film and Abrams put him in a stormtrooper uniform, resulting in what the actor referred to as "a really fun day on set" for both of them.^[2]

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Notes and references[]

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 Karl Urban on www.britannica.com: "Birth Date June 7, 1972 Birthplace Wellington, New Zealand" (archived from the original)
↑ ^2.0 ^2.1 ^2.2 The Boys and Star Trek star reveals secret Rise of Skywalker cameo by Susannah Alexander and Adam Tanswell on www.digitalspy.com (July 18, 2020): "Confirming that the Karl Urban listed in the 'additional voices' section of the end credits of the 2019 film is indeed him, the actor explained how his cameo came about. "Here's the process," he said. "I had the good fortune to go and visit JJ Abrams [the film's director] while he was shooting The Rise of Skywalker. While I was there, he put me in a stormtrooper uniform and we had a really fun day on set. "It's been one of my life-long goals to be a stormtrooper, so I can tick that off now." He also pinpointed the moment in which he is seen (or rather, his stormtrooper costume is) and heard, which is during a scene set on Kylo Ren's (Adam Driver) spaceship. "What is in the cut is my voice saying 'Knights of Ren' as Kylo Ren walks down a hallway past two stormtroopers. I am one of those stormtroopers," he said." (archived from the original)
↑ Star Trek's Bones, Karl Urban, on Why He Would Never Do a Star Wars Movie And Hopes For An Original Story For Star Trek 3 by Cornet, Ruth on www.ign.com (August 3, 2013): "During the course of our conversation we asked the actor if, given the close nature of his relationship with Abrams, he'd lobbied to be a part of Star Wars: Episode VII and he replied immediately, "No, absolutely not." Somewhat taken aback by the total clarity of his denial, we asked if he was a fan of the Star Wars franchise. "Oh my God, yes," Urban replied immediately. "I grew up watching it. That was the Holy Grail for me. I was a fan of Star Trek growing up. Star Wars was it. Star Wars was like…I remember waiting for two/three years for that next installment, for Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. I've seen every single Star Wars film, even the animated, The Clone Wars, and all that sort of stuff. I just love that universe, but that being said, I have no desire to be part of it. I don't see the worlds of Star Trek and Star Wars joining. I've made a commitment to Star Trek and I'm going to keep it. It wouldn't feel right to me. Being in Star Trek, to suddenly be in Star Wars wouldn't feel right to me." When we pointed out that Star Trek and Star Wars have been joined to some degree now that Abrams is set to helm Star Wars: Episode VII, Urban replied, "J.J. is behind the camera. There's a difference when you're putting a face and a personality in front of the camera, and I wouldn't want to do that do an audience. I, as an audience member, wouldn't want to see an actor from Star Trek in Star Wars. I just wouldn't. When I go into a Star Wars movie I want to be completely enveloped. I don't want to be taken out of the picture by going, 'Oh my God, there's Scotty, what's he doing in Star Wars?'"" (archived from the original)
↑ Star Trek's Karl Urban Would Love To Join A Star Wars Movie by Medina, Joseph Jammer on lrmonline.com (March 6, 2018): ""Hell, yeah! I would consider it for sure. If I was blessed with that opportunity—I would glad to be a part of it. I've said it in the past that I would never do Star Wars, because I'm so recognizable as Leonard McCoy. Now Simon Pegg was in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. There are ways and means to make this happen obviously. [Laughs]"" (archived from the original)