Karl Urban knows a thing or two about making big movies. And Star Trek Into Darkness will, he predicts, be a mind blowing cinematic spectacle. “When you are making a Star Trek film it feels big and this one felt very big,” he says. “But I was completely shocked by how epic it actually was.”
Directed by J.J. Abrams, Star Trek Into Darkness is a roller coaster ride of special effects and action sequences that will take the sci-fi adventure genre to a whole new level of excitement.
“The Starship Enterprise set itself is bigger and better than it’s ever been before in the whole history of Star Trek,” he says. “The scale of it was immense. During filming you could walk down miles of corridors extending from The Bridge, to The Sick Bay, the Transporter Room and beyond.
“It was also a fully functioning environment, which was amazing. When special effects and action sequences were added to the mix, the final effect was mind blowing.”
In the hands of a lesser director the project might have felt too huge to handle. “There are many filmmakers out there who could lose their way with a big film like this,” Urban agrees. “But J.J really delivers bang for your buck.
“He’s one of the best film makers currently working. He’s super smart, super talented and he just has a very keen instinct for what works. He knows, instinctively, how to infuse a scene with energy and vitality.
“He knows how to take each moment and make it the most that it can possibly be. The stakes are always raised and the characters are always going to be pushed to the furthest reaches of their abilities.”
This includes his own character, Dr Leonard ‘Bones’ McCoy. “For Bones, Into Darkness is all about coming to terms with the life and death stakes that exist in the world of being a chief medical officer on board a Starship.
“And as much as he loves Captain Kirk like a brother, and they are best mates, really, he comes face-to-face with the high stakes reality of the game that they are playing.
“It’s life or death, and gone are the days when he could just blindly follow his best friend into situations. Now McCoy has big responsibilities too – he is responsible for the lives of 350 people onboard the Enterprise as much as Kirk is. “
Captain Kirk (Chris Pine) leads the Enterprise and its crew into a pitched battle with a highly intelligent terrorist, John Harrison (Benedict Cumberbatch). Each character must play his own vital role in dealing with this enemy.
“The entire crew of the Enterprise is pushed to the limit and beyond and they come to terms with what it means to be part of the crew of a starship. Everybody earns their stripes on this mission. It’s very much a coming of age for all of them.
“They have been together for a little while but this is the mission that really forges
them together as a unit and tests them. And the thing that I really love about it is that everybody, all of the characters, has their moment to shine; everybody has their moment to contribute.
“There’s no one individual whose abilities out -weigh another because everybody has a part to play. Indeed the success and failure of the mission depends on everybody’s contribution.”
Urban’s impressive CV includes roles in two of the movie world’s most successful movie franchises – Star Trek and Lord of the Rings. Born and now living once more in New Zealand, he took the role of Eomer in two of Peter Jackson’s highly acclaimed trilogy of movies based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s much loved books.
He worked on the first, The Two Towers more than a decade ago and has witnessed, first hand, the huge technological advances available to filmmakers on big budget movies.
“You notice it with small things like the pre-vis (pre visualisation). For a lot of action sequences they have it completely animated out on a computer and you can watch specifically the shots that you are doing and get a grasp of the sequence.
“When I started years ago on Lord of the Rings they didn’t have that. Back then it would have been a storyboard but now you will see a computer generated animation of the sequence, especially if it’s an action sequence or if there are special effects involved. And that’s truly incredible.
“And of course in Star Trek Into Darkness there’s the 3D element, which looks fantastic. J.J. also shot this on film and I’m an ardent believer in film. It would be sad if it were completely relegated in favour of digital because there is something magical about it.”
The Star Trek cast became firm friends on the first film and have stayed in touch in the intervening years before they reunited for Star Trek Into Darkness.
“It’s a real bond to be a part of something like this,” he says. “And J.J. has assembled a really talented and fun group of guys and girls. So there are various email chains that go on and then when we all come to town we make an effort to catch up and see each other and you know, that’s not always the case with every film. But to me these guys feel like a family.”
The group welcomed the two British newcomers, Alice Eve, who plays scientist Dr Carol Marcus, and Benedict Cumberbatch, who plays the villain, John Harrison, to the ensemble.
”They immediately became part of the family,” Urban says. “And that says as much about them as it says about J.J. He’s done it time and time again – from Alias to Lost to Star Trek.
“He recruits a really talented, fun, smart group of people and he definitely knows that the guys who he chooses will get along well together and I think when that happens it improves the work. We’re a team. “
Cumberbatch, Urban says, was hugely likeable in real life, while managing to be a truly terrifying villain on screen.
“What makes him so scary is that you actually come to understand the reasons why he is the way he is and why he chooses to act in the way that he does. And you can understand his objective and what he is trying to do.”
There again, three-dimensional characters have always been part of Star Trek’s stock in trade – one of the reasons that Urban was a childhood fan of the TV show.
“For me, Star Trek was always about the characters, not the science fiction element, and I tuned in to see how these characters, who didn’t always see eye-to-eye, would overcome their differences in order to conquer a foe and an adversary.
“That was the heart of it for me – it was a character driven story and that’s why it was so successful and that’s what J.J. and Bryan (Burk, producer) and Bob (Orci) and Alex (Kurtzman) understand and have worked so hard to get right.”
He recalls avidly watching re-runs of the show on television in New Zealand when he was growing up. “Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined that I would have the opportunity to be part of the next reincarnation of that. I feel so incredibly lucky,” he says.
The original series was ground breaking television often tackling contemporary, socially relevant themes and showing a multi cultural crew working together in harmony.
“Star Trek was responsible for the first inter-racial kiss on American television and you know they were able to use the background of science fiction to explore contemporary themes and issues, whether it was Vietnam or race issues and that’s what I think a good Star Trek story is still able to do. Star Trek Into Darkness definitely honours that tradition in the best possible way.”
So, onto the Q&A
Q: What was it like making this movie?
A: It was phenomenal. It was fantastic to get back together with everybody and continue to tell the story of these characters and really, to take the whole show to the next level. I love working with J.J. and I found J.J. this time to be just that much more comfortable and confident in the world and the characters and what he was doing. He just knew exactly what he wanted to do.
Q: You came back together having enjoyed a great success with the first movie. Does that give you a solid base to build on or does it increase the pressure?
A: It certainly gave us a great base to build on. I think everybody – J.J., the actors, the producers – had seen what worked in the first one and were able to just take everything to the next level.
Q: If the first film was an origins story, how would you describe this one?
A: In the first film part of the story was about Kirk obtaining the captaincy of the Enterprise and this movie is about Kirk earning it. It’s about Kirk learning what it really means to be the captain of a starship. He has a big lesson to learn. For much of his life he has gotten by on charisma and bravado and he was able to bully and bluff his way through situations but in this film he finds that he is now a captain and he has to take on the responsibility of the ship.
Q: And where is your guy, Bones, in the mix this time?
A: For Bones, it’s about coming to terms with the life and death stakes that exist in the world of being a chief medical officer on board a starship. And as much as he loves Kirk like a brother, and they are best mates, really, he comes face-to-face with the high stakes reality of the game that they are playing. It’s life or death and gone are the days when he could just blindly follow his best friend into situations. Now McCoy has big responsibilities too – he is responsible for the lives of 350 people on board the Enterprise as much as Kirk is.
Q: What’s it like being on the Enterprise set? Give me an idea of the size and scale of it…
A: The Starship Enterprise set itself is bigger and better than it’s ever been before in the whole history of Star Trek. The scale of it was immense. During filming you could walk down miles of corridors extending from The Bridge, to The Sick Bay, the Transporter Room and beyond. It was also a fully functioning environment, which was amazing. When special effects and action sequences were added to the mix, the final effect was mind blowing. When you are making a Star Trek film it feels big and this one felt very big. But I was completely shocked by how epic it actually was. There are many filmmakers out there who could lose their way with a big film like this but J.J really delivers bang for your buck. He’s one of the best filmmakers currently working. He’s super smart, super talented and he just has a very keen instinct for what works. He knows, instinctively, how to infuse a scene with energy and vitality. He knows how to take each moment and make it the most that it can possibly be. The stakes are always raised and the characters are always going to be pushed to the furthest reaches of their abilities.
Q: You’ve mentioned the special effects. You’ve been working on some big films over the last few years – Lord of the Rings and Star Trek – which have harnessed it to extraordinary levels. Is there a significant technological step forward from say, the first LOTR film you did, to Into Darkness?
A: Yes. You notice it with small things like the pre-vis (pre visualisation). For a lot of action sequences they have it completely animated out on a computer and you can watch specifically the shots that you are doing and get a grasp of the sequence. And when I started years ago on Lord of the Rings they didn’t have that. Back then it would have been a storyboard but now you will see a computer generated animation of the sequence, especially if it’s an action sequence or if there are special effects involved. And that’s truly incredible. And of course with this there’s the 3D element, which looks fantastic. J.J. also shot this on film and I’m an ardent believer in film. It would be sad if it was completely relegated in favour of digital. I think there is something magical about it that thus far I fail to see with the digital technology and J.J. is a firm supporter of film so we shot this with film. And I think that’s fantastic.
Q: Do people ask you about the new film? Can you feel the buzz building on it?
A: Oh yes, most definitely. And particularly now that the extended footage has been shown in front of The Hobbit, it’s only going to build. But again that comes back to the brilliance of J.J. There’s no other filmmaker quite like him. He really delivers bang for your buck. There are many filmmakers out there who could lose their way with a big film like this but not J.J. – he’s super smart, super talented and he just has a very keen instinct for what works.
Q: J.J.’s creative hub is Bad Robot. What’s it like?
A: Oh it’s amazing. It’s a place that’s full of toys and memorabilia that you know and can identify whether it’s from Star Wars films or Jaws or whatever. It’s a fun creative environment.
Q: Is it like an Aladdin’s Cave of creativity?
A: (laughs) Yes, it is. It’s incredible what they do there. J.J. and those guys he works with are at the height of their creative powers and it’s just fantastic to see guys like that succeed.
Q: Do you still live in New Zealand?
A: Yes, I do. It’s a lifestyle choice that I’ve made for my family and perhaps I could get more traction if I lived in LA just by virtue of the fact that I’d be available to take more meetings but that’s what I’ve chosen to do. And you know, I do like it in LA too, I’ve got some great friends here and for me it’s a creative hub and that’s the way I look at it. I come to town and I’m very grateful to have the opportunity to work here. For Star Trek Into Darkness I was here for three, almost four months. My character is in and out of the story so I would come into town for two weeks and then go back home for a week sometimes two. And you know, it was definitely one of those sets that you wanted to spend time on because it was just so incredible to be a part of this film.
Q: You said that you had all become close when you made the first Star Trek film. Had you stayed in touch?
A: Yes we had. It’s a real bond to be a part of something like this. J.J. has just assembled a really talented and fun group of guys and girls and we all stay in touch. There are various email chains that go on and then when we all come to town we make an effort to catch up and see each other and that’s not always the case with every film. But to me these guys feel like a family.
Q: So what was it like for the new actors, Benedict and Alice, to come into that tight knit group?
A: It was fantastic. They were immediately welcomed and they became part of the family. And that says as much about them and it says a lot about J.J. and his ability to get a lot of like-minded people together.
Q: That’s part of what he does?
A: Oh absolutely. Just look at it and he’s done it time and time again – from Alias to Lost to Star Trek. He recruits a really talented, fun, smart group of people and he definitely knows that the guys who he chooses will get along well together and I think when that happens it improves the work. We’re a team.
Q: What does Benedict’s character bring to the movie?
A: He brings an intelligent danger. He is a very intelligent but dangerous man. This film really raises the stakes – the entire crew of the Enterprise is pushed to the limit and beyond and they come to terms with what it means to be part of the crew of a starship. Everybody earns their stripes on this mission. It’s very much a coming of age for all of them. They have been together for a little while but this is the mission that really forges them together as a unit and tests them. And the thing that I really love about it, is that everybody, all of the characters, have their moment to shine; everybody has their moment to contribute. There’s no one individual whose abilities out- weigh another because everybody has a part to play. Indeed the success and failure of the mission depends on everybody’s contribution.
Q: When did you first watch Star Trek?
A: As a kid I grew up watching re-runs on television in New Zealand and never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined that I would have the opportunity to be part of the next reincarnation of that. I feel so incredibly lucky. For me, Star Trek was always about the characters, not the science fiction element, and I tuned in to see how these characters, who didn’t always see eye-to-eye, would overcome their differences in order to conquer a foe and an adversary. And that was the heart of it for me – it was a character driven story and that’s why it was so successful and that’s what J.J. and Bryan (Burk, producer) and Bob (Orci) and Alex (Kurtzman) understand and have worked so hard to get right.
Q: We mustn’t forget too, that this was ground breaking television, especially in terms of the multi-cultural crew…
A: Yes it was. Star Trek was responsible for the first inter-racial kiss on American television and you know they were able to use the background of science fiction to explore contemporary themes and issues whether it was Vietnam or race issues and that’s what I think a good Star Trek story is still able to do. Star Trek Into Darkness definitely honours that tradition in the best possible way.
