Fans of the 2012 cult classic Dredd should be pleased to know that Urban does say he was especially excited to play the dystopian mega-city cop, having gotten into the comics in his youth working at a Wellington pizza parlor. That’s an exception, not a rule, for Urban. He didn’t conquer genre by being the most die-hard geek, but by being a professional.
“Genre filmmakers are grabbing Karl because guys like that don’t grow on trees. Those are real unicorns,” The Boys showrunner Eric Kripke says. Urban, he says, gave The Boys instant legitimacy. “Then I realized how committed he is to the character. The questions he was asking. I knew it was gonna be fun to work with him.”
With The Boys ending as Mortal Kombat II hits theaters, Urban’s doing a one-man baton pass as Hollywood turns from superheroes to video games as the next big adaptational rush (see also: Super Mario Bros., Resident Evil, Street Fighter, Sonic, Minecraft). Urban shrugs off these big picture readings: “Hollywood has always pulled from as many different IPs as they can. Whether it’s a comic book, a news article, a video game. The important thing is, ‘OK, so you have an idea. But what’s the story you’re telling?'”