/Film Interview: Karl Urban, The Star Of ‘Dredd 3D’
Earlier this summer, Lionsgate exhibited extreme confident inPete Travis' comic book filmDredd 3Dwhen they screened it for fans at San Diego Comic-Con. The gamble paid off. Buzz was solid for the film, which is an incredibly tight, focused, hard R-rated, violent throwback to the simple, bad ass action movies of the Eighties.Watch our review here.
Karl Urbanplays Dredd, a no-nonsense Judge in a futuristic city called Mega City One. He and other Judges serve as judge, jury and executioner when dealing with the criminal element. Dredd is asked to help break in a new recruit (Olivia Thirlby) and the pair get stuck in a massive apartment complex run by a drug czar named Ma-Ma (Lena Headey). She decides to shut the entire building down and tell everyone to bring her the two Judges dead or alive. And that’s where the fun begins.
Yes,Dredd 3Dsounds like the plot ofThe Raid: Redemptionand Karl Urban is well aware of that fact. We spoke to the star while at Comic-Con and he discussed the similarities between the two films, acting without ever showing your face, the seemingly simple scope of the film and the mind games he was then playing with fans when being asked aboutStar Trek 2. Read our interview after the jump then seeDredd 3Don September 21.
/Film:Dreddwas not what I expected; it was a lot more focused. I really liked it. But before I talk about that, how small is your ego that you can star in a whole movie and not show your face once?
I don’t think so.
I’m sure there’s something, but not for a movie like this, a comic book movie. So what were some of the challenges? Was it easier in any aspects? Was it more difficult to not use your face?
You are absolutely right, all of that is in the movie, but I felt like because the narrative is so focused it almost gave you less room to play with the character, because usually in a movie like STAR TREK you start and you meet him before he’s even this and he’s got this full arc. Was that a challenge or did you just sort of embrace being this almost “one day” movie?
Sure. Was the movie always, from the first time you read the script, this focused? When I first heard that you guys were doing another Judge Dredd movie you expect it to be he’s flying around Mega City One the whole time and not being in this one building. Was it always that, just taking place in ne building?
Also I wanted to touch on what you were saying as without your face you had to use a lot of body language. What specifically did you keep in mind or do? Was it anything with the arms, with the legs? Was it a posture thing? What body language characterizes Dredd?
A lot of movie sites like ours saw the second trailer and then the movie and it really reminded us of this film, THE RAID. Have you seen THE RAID?
Right. They are different enough, but comparisons can be made. Last thing, and you can’t say anything aboutStar Trek, but are you like messing with us with all of these quotes we’ve been seeing in the press the last two days or are you just tired, like you said?
Okay, cool. That’s great. Thank you so much.Dredd 3Dhits theaters September 21. Check it out.
