Karl Urban: Kiwi actor on the final season of The Boys, the changes in the media landscape

There’s no doubt ‘The Boys’ is one of the biggest shows on television at the moment. 

It’s in its fifth and final season and has been one of Amazon’s biggest hits – season 4 drawing in 55 million viewers. 

The satirical superhero show is helmed by two well-known Kiwis, Antony Starr, who plays Homelander, and Karl Urban, who plays Billy Butcher. 

Urban is actually in the midst of one of the busiest stretches of his career, playing not only Butcher, but starring in ‘The Bluff’ and the upcoming Mortal Kombat II.  

“This year has just been one nonstop sequence of hopping on planes and travelling around the world, talking about all these shows,” he told Mike Hosking. 

“It’s a good spot to be in.” 

The media landscape has changed tremendously over the span of Urban’s career, and while there are some downsides, there are also some “real positives”.  

“I mean, the advent of streaming, for example, has allowed us to tell stories in a tone that you never would have been able to tell on television, or even in movies for that fact, before,” he explained. 

“On one hand there’s been this amazing expansion in possibilities, but then also, you know, there’s also a certain contraction going on ... but at the moment I’m in a great position, and just really enjoying playing these characters and delivering something fun to the audience.”  

The arrival of streaming has also allowed projects like ‘The Boys’ to gain global recognition and reach a wide audience, something that wasn’t possible in the past. 

“In the old days it used to be a very, sort of finite number of networks globally, and they had a sort of, a certain audience,” Urban said.  

“[The Boys is] a global phenomenon. I’ve never experienced anything like it,” 

“You know, the fan base is so supportive of this show, and it’s really incredible to get to the end of this sort of nine-year journey, and to be going out on top.”  

But all things must come to an end, and for Urban, it’s bittersweet. 

“It’s been a hell of a ride,” he said. 

“I’m really gonna miss it, but I’m also very grateful that we have the opportunity to tell the story that we want to tell and go out at the point that we want to go out.” 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
If you're under the Boys. The fifth and final season
can be found on Amazon. One of the biggest hits,
last season pulled in fifty five million viewers. Started based
on a lesser known comic book series, stars Anthony Starr,
of course, who plays the evil superman like character called Homelander,
and Carlban who plays Billy Butcher in Carl Urban is
with us. Good morning, good body, Mike, how are you.
I'm very well, indeed, so I don't know where to start.

(00:21):
I mean, you appear so busy. Does it feel like
you're busy?

Speaker 2 (00:24):
It feels like I haven't stopped to tell you the truth,
This year has just been one NonStop sequence of hopping
on planes and traveling around the world talking about all
these shows. Good it's a good spot to be in.

Speaker 1 (00:35):
And how have you landed yourself in this particular dilemma
of busyness?

Speaker 2 (00:40):
I think just a confluence of circumstance that, you know,
a lot of these shows and movies that I've done
happened to be being released at the same time. But
you know, I, you know, I just I can I
take it, you know, existentially really right back to you know,
being in Lord of the Rings and how grateful I
am for to Peter Jackson and Fran Waller for putting
me in that, because that really set the set the

(01:02):
stage for the whole show.

Speaker 1 (01:03):
So isn't that amazing? I was reading something about you
the other day, So you go back to the beginning
of like Lord of the Rings, maybe even Star Trek,
and how the world has changed, and there'll be many
people watching you today. Back then there was no social media,
there was no streaming world. I mean, just in your time.
I mean, how radically has it changed?

Speaker 2 (01:19):
Eh? Oh, the landscape has changed tremendously, and I see
some you know, real positives with it. I mean, the
advent of streaming, for example, has allowed us to you know,
tell the kind of stories and tell the stories in
a tone that you never would have been able to
tell on television or even in movies for that fact before.

(01:41):
So you know, on one hand, there's been an amazing
expansion in possibilities. But then also you know there's also
a certain contraction going on. So but at the moment,
I'm in a great position and just really enjoying playing
these characters and delivering some fund of the audience.

Speaker 1 (02:01):
Is there a commonalyty you see the three things I'm
talking about, so the Bluff, Mortal Kombat, and of course
the Boys. Is there a commonality in the I don't
know what you'd call it the genre? Is it sci fi?

Speaker 2 (02:11):
Is it marvel?

Speaker 1 (02:12):
I mean, what is it?

Speaker 2 (02:13):
Yeah? I do, it's an interesting one. It's because you know,
you know, naturally, you know, I find that, you know,
there is this sort of desire to try and you know, categorize,
but you know, I just like to do projects that
I find creatively interesting. A lot of them happened to

(02:35):
be in rather large behemoths that sort of connect with
a big audience.

Speaker 1 (02:43):
So yeah, and given streaming, is the workout there? I mean,
as the landscape changed in that sense, are there a
million people pitching a million ideas because there's lots of
outlets now?

Speaker 2 (02:53):
Yeah, most definitely. I mean, you know, you know it
is you know, in the old days, it used to
be a very sort of finite number of networks sort
of globally that and they had a sort of a
certain audience. But with the advent of streaming, you know,
particularly as it relates to the Boys, it's a global hit.
It's a global phenomenon. I've never experienced anything like it,

(03:16):
and you know that the fan base, you know, is
so supportive of this show, and it's really incredible to
get to the end of this sort of nine year
journey and to be going out on.

Speaker 1 (03:28):
Top exactly Dixie speaking to that, how do they explain
this card? You know, at the very start of this
because a fifth and final season, was that an arc
or not?

Speaker 2 (03:37):
Yeah? There was. I think there was always you know,
I was aware from the graphic novels where this was
always going to go. But my first point of introduction
actually was reading in the in the In the Trades
that my friend and fellow Kiwi Anthony Starr had been
cast in this project, and so I read about it
and I'm like, oh, damn, that sounds really fun, catchy
title The Boys. The the whole sort of premise of

(04:01):
it was, you know, corrupt superheroes and a group of
vigilantes trying to bring them down. I thought that's interesting.
I read the initial pilot and immediately was drawn to
the character of Billy Butchers, this sort of mysterious and
mischievous character who has this ability to bend other people
to his will and get into a lot of trouble.

Speaker 1 (04:22):
And it was just fun and you're said it's done.

Speaker 2 (04:25):
Yeah, it's definitely bittersweet. It's been a hell of a ride.
And you know, I've become very close to the cast
and crew who were up and shooting up in Toronto
for the last few years, and I'm really going to
miss it. But I'm also very grateful that we have
the opportunity to tell the story that we want to

(04:45):
tell and go out at the point that we want
to go out at, and not when somebody else says, okay,
get stage.

Speaker 1 (04:51):
And did it change? But you know, did you gather
each season the old faces were back. There was a
bit of camaraderie, bit of chemistry. The oil was turning
the wheel a bit more easily as each season went on.

Speaker 2 (05:02):
Yeah, I certainly. I think that's one of the benefits
of shooting a show like this over multiple seasons is
that you get the opportunity to not only explore your
characters a lot more in depth, and you know, the
very multifaceted characters. You know, nothing's black and white, and
particularly as it pertains to Butcher, but then also the
sort of the chemistry, chemistry and the relationships between the

(05:26):
cast and the crew. You know, can only help but deepen.
When you know you've been in the proverbial trenches for
so long, what.

Speaker 1 (05:32):
Did you do to butcher yourself? Were you allowed to
do a lot?

Speaker 2 (05:35):
Yeah, it was a very collaborative process with our show runner.
I mean, you know, typically you would get a draft
of an episode, you know, I would read it, and
then I would write down just some thoughts and ideas
and pitch them to the show runner and he would go, oh,
that's great, we'll take that. No, let's not do that,
but oh I like this idea. How about if we
build upon it? And so you know it. Consequently, I

(05:58):
think all of us felt incredibly invested in the show.
But ultimately, the vision of the show is Eric Kripkey,
And you know, he writes about things that are of
importance for him, and he writes these things often two
years before the show actually air is, and he has
this amazing ability of just tap into the zeicheist of

(06:18):
you know, really what's going on in so in the
forefront of social conscious, whether it's Black Lives Matter or
you know, the Me Too movement, it's quite it's quite scary.

Speaker 1 (06:30):
And how did that balance between you know, those sort
of messages and the comedic side, and you didn't want
to lean in one way too much over the other.

Speaker 2 (06:38):
Yeah, well, you're right. That's very important to get that
balance right because at the end of the day, it
is fundamentally a show that's designed to entertain, and it
sort of holds up this satirical sort of fun house
mirror look at society and but you know, at the
heart of it, it's a show about characters, and it's
a show about you know, it's a show about hope ultimately.

Speaker 1 (07:03):
And are you one of those actors that want things
to go on forever, you know, like Shortland Street of
Coronation Street, and you're happy to come and go it was.
It was good for what it was.

Speaker 2 (07:12):
Yeah, listen, I'm really happy to end it here. I
think that there's something there's something admirable about telling the
story that you want to tell and not sort of
riding the horse till the horse runs out of energy.
And I think that that will historically lend the show

(07:34):
a degree of potency and you know, leave the audience
hopefully wanting a bit more and want to rewatch it,
you know, at their own at their own leisure.

Speaker 1 (07:44):
And did it get adjusted budget wise? You know, when
you see your show at the beginning, it looks a
little bit Indian. By the time you get to season five,
six or seven, you know, the budgets increased and everyone's
had a massive glow up. Did you get a bit
of that?

Speaker 2 (07:55):
I certainly. I mean that those are conversations that sort
of happen in rooms that I'm not in, but I
certainly can see from the schedule of the show. When
we started, I think we were shooting maybe sixteen days
an episode, and then that ballooned out to like twenty
twenty eight twenty four days an episodes. So in order
to do that you have to have more money. So
I think as the show connected with an audience as

(08:17):
it grew in popularity from season to season, and I
think there was also, you know, a demand for us
to keep pushing the envelope and deliver something that that
sort of topped what we've just done in the previous season.

Speaker 1 (08:32):
So the rest of the year, what's lined up?

Speaker 2 (08:34):
Well, the thing I've gotten coming out next is Mortal
Kombat Too, which is a huge studio movie which I'm
super excited about. I can't wait for an audience to
see that. So that drops on May the eighth, So
I will literally finish talking to you and hop on
a plane and go off and start promoting.

Speaker 1 (08:53):
That living the dream.

Speaker 2 (08:55):
Living the dream. Yeah, but you know, ultimately, for me,
the dream is back home in New Zealand, and that's uh,
that's where my heart is.

Speaker 1 (09:03):
Good on you, lovely to talk. I appreciate it very much.

Speaker 2 (09:05):
Go well with it, Thanks Mike.

Speaker 1 (09:07):
There we go, Carl Uban, The Boys, The Bluff, Immortal
Kombat too.

Speaker 2 (09:12):
For more from the Mic Asking Breakfast, listen live to
News Talks.

Speaker 1 (09:15):
It'd be from six am weekdays, or follow the podcast
on iHeartRadio