The Big Show Chats To Karl Urban!

0:00The Hauraki Big Show with Jace, Mike and Keyzie. Tune in weekdays at four on Radio Hauraki.

0:07Keyzie:Welcome back you massive backbones and fellas. Fellas? Geez I tell you what, what a massive treat. I mean we've had some amazing people on our show it's fair to say. I mean I remember when you two backbones you know you interviewed, who were those guys from that movie that were like megastars? You know the war movie? Oh, Warfare. The Alex Garland film that came out last year. Charles Melton and Will Poulter. Shall we get the intro done and then we can talk about a movie that's not Carl's? Yeah, yeah, that'd be good. Let's kick it off with that. Sure, Jase. Well, no, I was just setting the scene, you know what I mean?

0:46Keyzie:I was going to put you up on another level. Yeah, fair, fair. Okay, let's start again. You're welcome back. I thought we were just doing the podcast. No, no, we were just doing the podcast. Yeah, yeah. It is. G'day, fellas. How's it going? Yeah, good. Special treat. We've got an absolute superstar on this podcast. A very special treat. A sort of New Zealand icon and legend, really. I think I can say that, fellas. And I'm talking of the great Carl Urban joining us in the studio. G'day, you mad bastard. How's life? G'day, fellas. How are you? It's so good to be here. Going pretty grouse, mate. Yeah.

1:21Have you guys, I was wondering actually on my high-speed drive in here, because I was running late, whether you and Jase had ever worked together.

1:29Keyzie:I think we have, Carl, but I'll be buggered if I can remember what it was. It was many, obviously many, many years ago. It was on something, but I do remember working with you. I can tell Carl's got no recollection of it whatsoever. It was probably some half-assed thing. Many moons ago, that's for sure. Yeah, well, yeah, you're sort of in different stratospheres now. Yeah, but I knew even then that you were destined for stardom, man. Because you just had this... Yeah, you called it. You just had this vibe about you. You know what I mean? Have you ever done broken wood, Carl? No, and I need to do that.

2:02That is something that is, you know, I haven't ticked off yet. It's on the list. I'm trying to get to it. Hey, but listen, fellas, before we get too deep. Yeah. Before we get too balls deep, I should say, I've got a bone to pick with you. Oh, God. Wait, I've got the sting. Wait, I've got the sting. I've got a bone to pick. So listen, I'm not one to hold a grudge or anything, but I was listening to the big show August the 27th last year, 5.13pm, and you guys did this segment, right, on who are your A-list international celebrities. I remember. And you said, Mano, you said, you know, like your Taika Waititi's and, to a lesser extent, Karl Urban.

2:47Oh, my God. And I thought, no, but I thought, no, no, fair enough. Okay, you know, I don't put myself out there as much like Taika did. And I'm not married a pop star. You know, I don't have that sexually transmitted fame, which is bloody hard to get rid of once you catch. Totally, mate. You know? Totally. But anyway, then you all went on to compile your lists and completely left me off the list.

3:11Keyzie:I'm going to have to listen to the audio because I don't believe that. I'm pretty certain that you were like second on my list. You listen to it. But can I ask you, man, in all seriousness, as an actor in this country, was it always your ambition to think overseas? Because I think as New Zealand actors, back then, like when I was acting, we did our Hercules and Xena and all that sort of stuff. But for me, I never thought about overseas. But was that always part of the picture for you that you wanted to expand out? Yeah, you know, I mean, listen, I was looking at actors like Sam Neill and Bruno Lawrence and it was pretty clear to me that the New Zealand industry, as amazing as it is and as awesome as it is at telling our stories, if you want a career of some serious longevity, you have to look overseas.

4:00And I always just wanted to work with the best in the business globally and so from a very early point I had my target set over there. Are you from Wellington? Wellington originally, yeah. What part of Welly? Well, all over actually. We moved around. Mount Vic, Oriental Bay, Brooklyn. Yeah, right. Yeah, I moved around a ton. Candala. And then you ended up acting. But briefly, if I remember, there was something that you did and then you went to uni. Yeah, that's right. And then you dropped out of uni. Yeah. And I remember there being Shark Park. Yeah, Shark Park. That might have been the first time.

4:34That's right.

4:35Keyzie:You would have done Shark Park, Jase. Yeah, maybe, actually. Maybe that's what we worked on. What's Shark Park? Shark Park was an old sort of a police drama, wasn't it? Yeah, that's right. They probably recycled the uniforms for your show. They would have done. They would have done, yeah. Although you would have been taken a lot more seriously than I was in my role. So there's all that sort of stuff that you clocked through, but back then it feels like we used to have a hell of a lot more drama being made, TV shows and all that sort of stuff. So even back then, back then it feels like you could have been a bit more of a careerist even in New Zealand, but now you can have a good run, I think.

5:11You can have a good run. But in New Zealand you can have a run, I reckon, for about 10 years, and then somebody goes, you know what, this bastard's been in everything. Yeah, totally. And your fate lies in somebody else's hands. So when you have something like, and it must have been rings that came along, something like that pops up, you've just got to go, fuck, I've got to make the most of this. Yeah, no, totally. And you know what, I think it's actually a strength of actors in this country because the industry is small, and it forces you to do everything from theatre to radio to TV, film if you can get it.

5:46Comedy. Comedy, everything. And I think that makes us stronger as performers, whereas you look at overseas, like actors in the States, they get top-heavy very quickly. They've got stylists and agents and managers and dietitians and all this stuff that's so on the peripheral. So, yeah, but it's, you know, if you want a career of longevity, you've got to think internationally. And the world's gotten to a point now with the Zooms and everything, the meetings you can do, that you can achieve a lot more by just staying here. Yeah. Did you have a swing at Aussie as well? I did for a brief minute, actually.

6:22It was the most dispiriting year of my life. I was after Shorty Street, and I went over there and was basically starting again. And I was working in a bottle store in Double Bay. Oh, yeah. And it was tough. It was brutal. But, yeah, I eventually got offered something back here and came back, and the rest is history. I did three and a half years there as a furniture removalist. Right. That's why he's built like a brick shithouse. Yeah, that's why I'm so mad for it. Stallion physique.

6:46Keyzie:That's right. It was funny you should mention Shortland Street because I was talking to a friend today and I was telling her that we were interviewing you and to her eternal shame, she wasn't quite sure who I was referring to and she said, oh, did he do Shortland Street? And I said, actually, yeah, he did do Shortland Street, but she was thinking of Carl Burnett, you know, the one with the blonde hair. It's an easy conclusion to make. No, they're kind of, it's quite different. He's so similar. He was huge on Shorten Street. How long were you on Shorten Street for? About six months. Yeah, okay.

7:17Yeah, I did six months and out.

7:18Keyzie:And is there, you know, overseas and in the States in particular, is there a sense of community amongst sort of New Zealand actors? Is there a sort of, do you sort of hang out together? What's the sort of situation? Yeah, I've heard that there is. I can't, I'm not part of it. Oh, right, they'll let you know. They'll let me know. I'm on the wait list. But no, to be fair, fellas, I live here. Yes You know And you know I've sort of Really taken my inspiration From the likes of You know Peter Jackson And Sam Neill Who have international careers But work here I thought that's a That's a pretty good way to go Were you living here the whole time?

7:54Yeah Oh wow Never moved Holy And you know Partly it was Because you know When I had I had kids And I didn't want to move them away From their grandparents Yeah

8:04Keyzie:And it's a great place to live That's the best Come on It's so good Yeah Yeah It certainly is And so you've got now about 18 different projects that have come out. Yeah. You've got the last season of the final season of The Boys, which, and I just, there's something good coming, Cale. Just wait. I hate superhero shit. Yeah. And it took me a long time to realise that I did because all of these Marvel things would come out and everyone was raving about them, the Avengers, five stars, five buzies. Sorry, five buzies. Five buzies, maybe. Yeah, and then I go along to it and it's like, it's nine hours long.

8:37I hate it. Yeah. And then I realised that it's just not for me. There's no point in keeping on going, and then eventually you realise that you're either too old, it's for the kids, it's past you by or whatever. Well, that's it. Fundamentally, you've got to realise that the whole comic book genre was designed for 10-year-old boys. It's not for 50-year-old men. But The Boys is brilliant because it sort of tips the whole thing on its head, and it's really mean-spirited, which I love about it, and you get to have a hell of a lot of fun. Yeah. When that came to you, is that something that got offered to you when you're straight into it?

9:08You auditioning for it? Yeah, I was actually, I was driving along here in New Zealand. No, I won't say I was driving. I was at home. And I was checking my phone, as you do. Yes. Yeah, righto. And I saw that my mate Ant Star had been cast in this thing called The Boys. And I like, oh. And I read about the synopsis, went The Boys, and read the synopsis about this satirical look at the superhero genre. I thought, that's a catchy title. It's a good premise. Sounds interesting. and just you know two weeks later a week later I got an offer to um to be in it I read the script was immediately loved the character of of William Butcher um this fun kind of Machiavellian character who could convince people to do anything you know uh sort of a sort of a tough guy but you know not to be trusted uh and uh yeah and and so I went and met with the the producers with um with Seth Rogan and Eric Kripke and those guys and decided to jump on it.

10:08Yeah, it's bloody good, isn't it? Because obviously it's funny. It's hyper-violent as well. Yeah. And satirical. So it sort of mocks the superhero thing, but also holds up a mirror to what's going on, particularly in America, I guess. But weirdly, you can't really keep up because what happens on the show, it should be worse than what's happening in real life. But then all of a sudden, real life catches up. It's the weirdest thing, actually. They call it the Devil's Writers Room because Eric Kripke, I mean, he writes about things that are of concern, of importance to him. So like in the first season, he wrote a lot about sort of sexual assaults.

10:44And in the second season, it was sort of racism and stuff. And when both of those seasons came out, it just happened to coincide with the Me Too movement and Black Lives Matter. So he's kind of like gazing into a crystal ball. And in this season, he's sort of written one of the characters on the show, sort of, you know, thinks he's God and stuff. And literally, you know, on the clock, you know, the President of the United States, you know, issues this picture of him allegedly as Jesus Christ. As a doctor. Yeah, but he was a doctor, Carl. He was a doctor, yeah.

11:23Keyzie:But that's actually really true and a really good point, you know, because the world has got so extreme now, you know. So these characters don't seem as extreme because actually they're parodying themselves now. You know what I mean? These characters. But let me ask you in terms of your career, and you've obviously had a massive amount of success. Is it the point for you now where you simply get asked to play a part or are you still having to audition? Or is it, Carl, would you like this part? Yeah, it's mainly an incoming phone call business. and I get offered a bunch of stuff, the stuff that I'd really like to do, all the stuff with directors that you've admired for so long, that stuff is worth chasing.

12:11And that stuff, yeah, you want to work with a Spielberg or a Chris Nolan or something, yeah, you go and you take the meetings and you go and audition. The Hauraki Beach Show, weekdays from four on Radio Hauraki. The Hauraki Big Show Podcast. Well, that's right, because it is different. There's different kinds of acting as well as, you know, Jason and I to a far lesser extent, no. You know, you're doing pretty big stuff when you're doing what we do in the shadows or particularly a Wellington paranormal and Brokenwood is a different kind of acting to a Gormsby or whatever it might be. And then for you to be doing superhero stuff, so you're doing Dread, you're doing Billy Butcher, You're doing the Immortal Kombat, you know, like these, they have to really fill a space.

13:01You can't be quiet and reserved and real. And so that's sort of the performance that you give in something like Out of the Blue is completely different. Oh, it is. Tonally, it's completely different. I mean, but you always have to find, you know, the truth of the moment and find the reality. But then also, you know, you have to take that artistic license and have fun with it. Otherwise, it's going to be like watching paint dry. You know, you're in the wrong show. Yeah, and is that the sort of stuff, because obviously a lot of Kiwi actors, they go away so they can come back, or they go away and then eventually they'll come back.

13:33Martin, and I'm probably going to say is... Henderson? Nah, Chalkus. Oh, Chalkus. Yeah, Chalkus. Who comes back and he does quite a lot of drama where he's, you know, the father figure. I've never heard the guy talk in my life, but he seems to turn up in quite a lot of, you know, small New Zealand drama stuff. Is that the sort of stuff that you were always open to? Oh, no, absolutely. I'm always... No, no, but I'm serious. I'm actually on the lookout. Because I grew up and I was inspired by the likes of, as I said, Sam and Bruno and obviously Tim and good New Zealand movies that are representative of our culture, whether it be like Utu or Smash Palace or Warriors.

14:11Great movie. You know, the films that Taika made early in his career. You know, those stories that are intrinsically New Zealand. I want to continue to be a part of the New Zealand film industry and I want to find those stories to tell. Yeah. Listen, because I was thinking about it, Carl,

14:28Keyzie:in terms of Broken Wood, for example. I mean, I'm pretty in there now. You could put in a word? I mean, I can put in a word for you. You know, we'll see what happens. I'll audition. You know how this industry is, man. I know. I can't make promises. But it may be that, you know, I get you a part on there. What's your character's name, Jase? Ray. Ray's long lost. Actually, I couldn't even remember. Ray's long lost. I was like, I don't know. He just runs a pub or a pizza place. I can't remember. Ray's long lost twin brother turns up. Yes. There you go, mate. And then you've got Mortal Kombat that's just been doing the rounds as well.

15:04Yeah, that's right. Super excited about this, fellas. It's without a doubt the most physically challenging role I've ever done in my life. I won't like – because I finished the sort of season four of The Boys and I had some fuel in the tank and I said to my agent, find me something with a bit of action. And they came at me with this and I went, oh, this is great. Because it's Johnny Cage. It's Johnny Cage. Which is one of the greats. One of the greats. He's a bit older, right? Yeah, this is an older Cage. It's not. The point in our story is what we find Johnny. He's a washed up actor and he's neglected his training.

15:36The world's forgotten about him and there's this very juncture that gets called upon to save the earth, which I thought was really fun. That's great. So the potential for comedy was amazing. So, yeah, so it was like, it was months and months of training. And when I told my kids that I was going to be Johnny Cage, they would be like, oof, big fan base, don't F it up. No pressure.

16:01Keyzie:Do you, you know, as an actor, you know, I look at someone like Liam Neeson, for example, where he seems to have made a conscious decision somewhere along in his career, I'm doing action. Yeah. You know what I mean? That's who I am now. I mean, is that something that you ever consider that I'm just going to go on this one genre or you still want to stay open to those other roles? No, man, I'm open to anything. And, you know, I'm just interested in playing as many different kind of characters as I can. And I think, you know, people often get caught up in the, oh, you're in this genre and that genre and stuff.

16:36And it's like, I think if you look at my filmography, my work, I like the idea of that, you know, you'd hold these characters up and go, oh my God, that's the same guy. You know? Yeah. And I guess the question is, you know, knowing if it's action of when you should get off that bus, when it's time to stop doing it. Your body will tell you. Yeah. When you can no longer get out of the Porsche with agility, style and grace, that is the time to stop. And what's it like, I've always wondered about this because like Jermaine was overdoing, what was it? what we do in the shadows over in Vancouver, and he was talking about the hours that they do over there compared to what they do here.

17:15It's brutal. So it's sort of like 17, 18-hour days every single day. Yeah. And they're doing nights as well. But asking how, especially with that, with comedy, it's hard to be funny after 10 hours, 12 hours, 14 hours, and they're doing 16, 17, 18 hours. Is that still just standard over there? Those are the days that you're doing? That is a standard day. You know, you've got your 12-hour day, then you've got an hour for lunch, an hour for your hair, wardrobe, make-up, all that stuff. You're travelling an hour to get to work there and back. And then if you're doing overtime, you're working long days.

17:49I've got to tell people how hard we work. You try doing that for seven months in a row, it's a slog. Well, and this is the thing. Every now and again, one of the soundies will release a recording of a Christian Bale or somebody else absolutely exploding on set, and it's like, fuck, there's 30 of those per job. because people are absolutely exhausted. It's exhausting, exhausting work.

18:13Keyzie:It was really interesting when Xena and Hercules and all that stuff was going on and you'd get the American actors over to New Zealand and the mentality was so different. I remember being in a situation and we finished the scene and I was working with an American actress and the crew were picking stuff up and I went to pick something up and she was like, no, no, no, no, no. What are you doing? What are you doing? and I was like, just helping pick stuff up, you know, because they're really staunch about, you know, looking after the actors and the talent and all that sort of stuff. But 17 or 18 nowadays, that's unions.

18:49Keyzie:That's the actual issue. It's all unionised. You know, don't you dare take someone else's job. You would have been viewed as taking someone else's job, Jason. You would have got smacked over by a gaffer or something like that. I was genuinely taken aback by her horror of what I've, and I was simply trying to help pick something up. But that's very indicative of how we are here in New Zealand. That's right. You're shooting a movie, say, on a farm somewhere. It's like you're carrying stuff. Like the crew's carrying stuff to get it done. Well, that was the last time that Jase ever did that. Yeah.

19:17Keyzie:I mean, don't get me wrong. I was stoked to find that out, you know, and never tried to help ever again. Yeah. That's the spirit. That's the spirit. And what other stuff have you got coming up now? Because you come back, and I'm assuming you're trying to do, like, two or three jobs a year. Is that sort of what you look at? Yeah, it's been pretty full on for the last few years. Because how long do the boys take to shoot a season out? The boys was about seven to eight months. MK was about four. And where was that filmed? It was filmed on the Goldie. Oh, yes. I love it over there, I've got to say.

19:50I do like it over there. Yeah, it's pretty good. Like, I'm not going to move, but it's pretty good. It's nice to have it so close. Yeah, yeah. And they worked 10-hour days over there, which is so civilised. Yeah. But yeah, so no, I mean the last thing I filmed actually was a colonoscopy. Nice. Yeah, so that's due to be released later on the year. We're just finishing up some special picks. Cow was big as that. Some music on it and it should be a ripper. I had one of those on my 40th birthday and actually it was an enema. I went and had an enema. And yeah, it wasn't as life-changing as I anticipated or hoped.

20:29I've got to say, I bloody loved it. You know, they took me in there. They knocked me out. When I woke up, I was high as a kite. They brought me a Sammy and said, we don't need to see you for five years. I went, can we do this again next week? This is great.