Jun 7, 1972

Wellington, New Zealand

Karl-Heinz Urban is a New Zealand actor. He may be best known for playing Éomer in the second and third films of Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, as well as the roles of Caesar, Cupid, Kor and Mael in Xena: Warrior Princess.<br/><br/>
Some of his earlier work included roles on New Zealand soap Shortland Street, which apparently interrupted his planned attendance of Victoria University of Wellington, and a guest role on the second season of police drama Shark in the Park. As w... ... (read more...) ell as appearing in films and television shows, Urban also had various roles in theatre productions and television advertisements in his native New Zealand and abroad. In February/March 1998, he was in a play called The Herbal Bed at the Maidment Theatre in Auckland, New Zealand (as the character Jett Lane). In August 1998, he played Mark Antony in Auckland Theatre Company's production of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar in Auckland, New Zealand. In 1999, he appeared in the Auckland Theatre Company's production of Foreskin's Lament.

Urban was seen on the internationally syndicated American television shows Xena: Warrior Princess and Hercules: The Legendary Journeys in which he played both Cupid and Julius Caesar from 1996 to 2001. These shows were filmed in New Zealand. He won the New Zealand Film and TV Awards for his role in the 2000 film The Price of Milk.

Urban's Hollywood break did not come until his role in the 2002 horror film Ghost Ship. Since then, Karl has worked on many blockbusters including The The Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Bourne Supremacy and The Chronicles of Riddick with Vin Diesel and Judi Dench. He has also reportedly received a $400,000 bonus for his work on The Lord of the Rings.

Karl Urban portrays Eómer in The Lord of the Rings movie.
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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 film Pathfinder, which will receive a United States release on January 12, 2007. As of August 20, 2006, Urban is in talks to star in the lead role of The Weinstein Company's Outlander, a science fiction film in which he would play an alien who lands on Earth during the Viking Age. Filming is scheduled to begin on October 9, 2006 in Halifax and British Columbia.

Recently, Urban has been rumored to be attached to the role of Black Mask in The Dark Knight.