In honor of Mortal Kombat II coming out, I thought I would take a look back at Karl Urban's career and talk about his best performances.
Urban is an excellent actor who I don't think has ever really gotten his due. He should be an A-lister with his talent and charisma. I find that he elevates everything that he is in, especially his most recent work.
So here are his top 5 performances. To be clear, I am not saying that these movies or shows are good or bad. Some of them are amazing and some are awful. But Urban is fantastic in all of them.
5. Eomer - The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
While he does not have nearly as much screen time as much of the cast, he carries with him a seething anger at the injustice happening to Rohan while maintaining a powerful presence and strength. In the extended edition, it was very powerful to see how that stoic exterior broke down at the sight of his injured sister.
4. Johnny Cage - Mortal Kombat II
He is the heart of this film. A reviewer recently said that his Johnny Cage is the Jack Burton of this movie and that fits perfectly. He is funny and charming in every scene, using all of his charisma to light up the scenes he is in.
3. Butcher - The Boys
I really don't like this show at all. I dropped out in season 1 because of the content. But that is not a reflection of Urban's performance which is excellent. He is ostensibly a protagonast, but he has all the characteristics of a villain. And that edge is something he constantly plays with so that the audience doesn't quite know what to make of him.
2. Dr. "Bones" McCoy - Star Trek, Star Trek: Into Darkness, Star Trek Beyond.
His impression of DeForrest Kelly is spot on with his cadence and mannerisms. But if that is all that it was, it would only be an empty impression. Instead, Urban gets at the heart of the character so that you really feel how he sees and feels about the world. My favorite moment is in Star Trek Beyond when he says that at least he won't die alone. But then Spock gets beamed away and there is this wonderful frustration and sadness and resignation when he responds by saying, "Well, that's just great!"
1. Judge Dredd - Dredd
One of the great things about this performance is its degree of difficulty. Most of his face is covered for the entire movie. Some of the most important acting tools are taken out of his arsenal. But he gives us the best onscreen version of the character with his amazing control of voice and body language. If it was not for Urban, this movie would not be nearly as good as it is. After this, I thought he deserved to be a star, and I maintain that I am not wrong.
Thoughts?
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