Fond of acting from an early age, the New Zealand-born actor Karl Urban turned professional after high school in 1990. Famous for playing Éomer in The Lord of the Rings franchise The Two Towers (2002) and The Return of the King (2003), Urban won the Screen Actors Guild Award for the role.
Throughout his acting career spanning nearly 3 decades, the actor has already recorded 55 acting credits. Starting from minor roles in New Zealand-based TV works, Karl saw a career journey to Hollywood fame with Ghost Ship (2002).
After that, he worked in acclaimed films: The Chronicles of Riddick, The Bourne Supremacy, Star Trek, Red, and Thor: Ragnarok.
Moreover, the father of 2 has set his firm step in TV series as well. Since 2019, Urban has portrayed the lead cast Billy Butcher in Amazon’s web TV series The Boys.
What Is Karl Urban Currently Doing?
Ever since Urban was cast as Billy Butcher, the lead cast in Prime Video comic-based TV series The Boys in 2019, he’s been on waves with his character’s approach.. Already with 3 seasons run, he worked in 24 episodes along with co-stars Jack Quaid, Antony Starr, Erin Moriarty, Tomer Capone, Karen Fukuhara, & others.
Its first season premiered on July 26, 2019, while Season 2 and Season 3 premiered on September 4, 2020, and June 3, 2022, respectively. The fourth season is set for June 22, 2024.
Moreover, Karl is set to portray Johnny Cage in the upcoming film Mortal Kombat 2 (under post-production). In 2025, he will reprise his role as Billy in two episodes of Gen V, the spin-off of The Boys, featuring Lizze Broadway, Jazz Sinclair, Maddie Phillips, and Chance Perdomo.
Also, there are rumors that the actor will appear in Doctor ‘Bones’ McCoy in an untitled Star Trek sequel.
Rumors Of Eyeing the Role of Wolverine
The New Zealand actor is no stranger to works in superhero movies including his roles in Dredd and Thor: Ragnarok. With chances of MCU rebooting the X-Men’s notable character with adamantium claws & magnificent healing abilities, online sources state that Karl is really willing to play the next Wolverine.
In addition to that, his beard looks on The Boys get him somewhere to the iconic character of Wolverine. One of the fan art featuring Urban with a cigar & claws added a strong point about how the actor could fit in the role.
Although, Urban, in his late 40s, could see some troubles to snatch the roles as MCU is turning their interest in young casts. But who knows if Karl would get the role & appear in an alternative universe timeline.
Karl Urban’s Net Worth In 2025
With already 3 decades in the acting industry, Karl Urban with 55 acting credits (films & TV series), has earned a tag of a millionaire. According to Celebrity Net Worth, Urban has a net worth of $20 million as of 2025.
Reportedly, he earned $400,000 in bonus only from his work in The Lord of the Rings in 2003. However, the actor is yet to open up his career earnings or payroll from movies. For sure, Urban as Billy Butcher in The Boys probably sums up massive hundreds of thousands per episode.
Online sources break down his alleged earnings at $280,555 per month which turns out to be $9,223.74 per day and $384.32 per hour.
Houses and Cars
Formerly, Karl along with his then-wife Natalie Wihongi owned a 5-bedroom and 5-bathroom house in Herne Bay, Auckland. The property valued at NZ $5.25 million at the time of purchase in January 2013. It came nearly after a year when The Boys actor had sold his Jervois Rd property in March 2012 for NZ $2.28 million
Later, following their split, the couple sold their Herne Bay residence for NZ$6.65 million in December 2014.
As reported, Urban is very fond of Aston Martin and drives a Vantage GT4, with a 4.7 liter V8, naturally aspirated engine. The base price of Aston Marin Vantage is $146,000.
Karl Urban Is the Father of 2 Kids With His Estranged Wife- Is He Dating?
Urban was once a married man & lived with his wife Natalie Wihongi, a makeup artist. They met on the set of the 2000 TV film The Privateers and began dating soon after. Following 4 years of relationship, Karl and Natalie married on September 16, 2004, and were living in Herne Bay, Auckland, New Zealand.
Together, the duo became parents to 2 children, both sons: Hunter Urban (born in November 2000) and Indiana (Indy) Urban (January 2005). His second son’s name resulted due to Karl’s affection for Harrison Ford’s iconic character Indiana Jones.
However, after a decade of their marriage, the couple separated in June 2014, without citing any reason & even more, are yet to file for divorce.
Shortly after, Karl Urban made highlights with his dating story with then-girlfriend Katee Sackhoff, an actress. But after 4 years, they broke up in 2018; it was a year later, he confirmed their split via Tweet in August 2019 while responding to an article of his show ‘The Boys’. He wrote “
“One small inaccuracy… @kateesackhoff and I are no longer together and have not been for over a year.
Since then, he has yet to make an official move on his relationship & is allegedly single.
Karl Urban On-Screen Prominence- From New Zealand To Hollywood
In 1992, Karl made his feature film debut through New Zealand-based Chunuk Bair and then worked in guest roles in the TV series White Fang (1993) and Riding High (1995). Then, he starred as Julius Caesar/Cupid in Hercules: The Legendary Journeys (1996-98) and Xena: Warrior Princess (1996-2001) that gained him notable attention in New Zealand.
Thereafter, he made his Hollywood debut as Munder in the horror film Ghost Ship in 2002. The same year, Urban earned the role of Eomer in the 2nd installment of The Lord of the Rings trilogy The Two Towers (2002) & would star in its 3rd installment The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003).
The latter movie earned him many accolades including the Critics’ Choice Movie Award and Screen Actors Guild Award. There, he shared the screen with Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Liv Tyler, Viggo Mortensen, and Sean Astin.
Work In Acclaimed Movies
After his howling acting prominence with works in 2 films of The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Karl Urban saw career opportunities on his doorstep.
In 2004, the 6 feet 1-inch tall actor was cast as Kirill in the critically & commercially acclaimed movie The Bourne Supremacy starring Matt Damon, Franka Potente, and Brian Cox. Moreover, Urban worked in sci-fi action The Chronicles of Riddick co-starring Vin Diesel, Colm Feore, and Keith David.
An avid fan of the Star Trek franchise, Karl earn the role of Leonard McCoy in the 2009 reboot Star Trek; the 11th installment. After that, he would again portray the same role in Star Trek Into Darkness (2013) and Star Trek Beyond (2014).
The Wellington-born actor’s further prominence film roles include Red (2010), as Judge Dredd in Dredd (2012), Walking with Dinosaurs (2013), Pete’s Dragon (2016), and as Skurge in Thor: Ragnarok (2017).
Mother Exposed Him To Acting Career
Born on June 7, 1972 (49 years old), Karl-Heinz Urban grew up in his hometown Wellington, New Zealand. His father was a German immigrant who owned a leather goods store while his mother worked in Film Facilities. However, no further details on his parents are out.
Reportedly, due to Urban’s mother’s connection to New Zealand cinema, he got exposure to acting from an early age. By the time, he was 8, Karl already made a TV appearance in Pioneer Woman.
Acting Debut After College Graduation
While attending St Mark’s Church School, Karl Urban often worked in school stage productions. After that, he joined Wellington College in 1986 & graduated in 1990; before turning professional. In 1991, Urban got his TV debut with the role of Rohann Murdoch in Shark in the Park (6 episodes).
Although the New Zealand native went to study Bachelor of Arts Program at Victoria University of Wellington, he dropped out after a year to pursue acting. Moreover, he gathered experiences with stints in TV commercials & theater roles throughout the early 90s, having traveled in Auckland and Australia.
Queries:
- What Is Karl Urban’s Nationality?
Born in Wellington, New Zealand, Karl holds New Zealand nationality. - How Old Is Karl Urban In 2025? His Height?
Urban, born on June 7, 1972, stands 6 feet 1-inch (185 cm) tall. The New Zealander actor is 52 years old. - What accent does he have?
The Boys actor has a cockney accent. - Who Played Billy Butcher’s Wife In ‘The Boys’?
Karl Urban is famous as Billy Butcher in the TV series ‘The Boys’. The role of his wife Becca is portrayed by Shantel VanSanten. - Are Karl Urban and Keith Urban Related?
Despite the fact that numerous rumors swirled around about some family connection between Karl Urban and Keith Urban, it turned out to be false. As for a fact, both are from New Zealand.
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