Karl Urban answered a few questions while on a press tour for Priest and amongst those questions were two Star Trek-related ones.

The question that the Star Trek actors seem to be asked the most recently concerns the start date of filming for the next Trek movie. According to Urban, “I’m hearing that it’s going to be September or November this year.”

Like everyone else, Urban is waiting to hear if J.J. Abrams will be returning as director for Star Trek 2. “I certainly hope so,” he said, when asked if he thought that Abrams would return. “He’s a phenomenal director and we had such a great time working with him on the first one so I really hope so.”

Next month, the post-apocalyptic Priest will debut, featuring Star Trek XI‘s Karl Urban as the evil leader of the vampires.

Priest is the story of a world ravaged by war between humans and vampires.

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Fans waiting to see how Karl Urban will look as Judge Dredd need wait no more, as the first image of the actor in costume has surfaced.

The outfit is based on the 2000AD comic’s Dredd look, complete with helmet, which Urban will not be removing. “I think somewhere along the line [Sylvester] Stallone‘s film [in 1995] was a missed opportunity,” said Urban. “As soon as he took the helmet off, the enigma was blown.”

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A fight scene in RED between Karl Urban and Bruce Willis resulted in consequences for Urban.

The scene featuring Urban and Willis began with Urban picking up Willis, throwing him across the room and smashing pieces of furniture. “That was a good day at the office,” said Urban about the fight scene, which actually took three weeks of training and ten days of shooting. “Bruce and I went for it, and it was no-holds-barred, and he gave as good at he got.”

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Following DeForest Kelley‘s Leonard McCoy was a challenge for Star Trek XI‘s Karl Urban.

Being a long-term Star Trek fan gave Urban a different perspective on playing McCoy than might have been true for actors who were not fans of the original series. “Yeah, well I have to say that it was daunting from the perspective that I was already a long-term fan of the show,” said Urban. “I was one of the older cast members who actually was into it and knew the original series, so for me to approach such an iconic character that was so wonderfully-crafted by DeForest Kelley for over forty years was daunting to say the least.”

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Karl Urban finds his New Zealand roots to be an asset when it comes to growing as an actor.

Unlike Hollywood-based actors, those from Australia and New Zealand can’t be as picky in what projects they choose to work, but that works in their favor. “Why a lot of Australasian actors are finding success offshore is because the industries [at home] aren’t that big,” explained Urban, “but it forces you as an actor to accept work in all the mediums to make a living and it strengthens you as an artist.”

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Union demand for better working conditions for actors has won the backing of Star Trek XI‘s Karl Urban.

Urban is backing the New Zealand Actors Equity, which has joined with Australian-based unions such as the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA) in calling for a boycott of Sir Peter Jackson‘s The Hobbit movies.

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Karl Urban‘s portrayal of Judge Dredd will be much darker than the one portrayed by Sylvester Stallone back in 1995.

Urban explained that there was a reason they would be able to make the film darker than the 1995 version. “We’ve got the benefit of modern filmmaking and technology to help us,” he said.

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A rumor from last month that Karl Urban would play the lead role in Judge Dredd has turned out to be confirmed.

Judge Dredd producers Andrew Macdonald and Allon Reich confirmed that Urban had been cast for the role in the film, which will begin shooting soon in South Africa.

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As Comic-Con continues, Star Trek actors speak up about the sequel due out in 2012, with Karl Urban being the latest to offer his thoughts on progress of the film.

Urban, who is in negotiations for the role of Judge Dredd in the movie of the same name after being offered the part by director Pete Travis, spoke about his various projects, either confirming or denying his involvement with several movies.

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The Judge Dredd reboot may feature Karl Urban (Star Trek XI‘s Dr. McCoy) in the lead role.

According to Bleeding Cool, Judge Dredd,  played by Sylvester Stallone in 1995, has been offered to Urban.

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Karl Urban, best-known to Star Trek fans as Doctor McCoy, was the one inflicting the injuries, not healing them, in RED.

In RED, Urban plays CIA agent William Cooper, who is hunting down Frank (Bruce Willis) to kill him. “I am an adversary for Frank,” said Urban. “But, you know, as far as having an evil intent, the character is devoid of that. He is just doing his job.”

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The Fourth Annual Constellation Awards ceremony was held several days ago with Star Trek XI winning three awards.

Nominated for five awards in four categories, awards went to the movie, to Bruce Greenwood and to Karl Urban. Zoë Saldana won an award for her work in Avatar.

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Karl Urban has taken lessons from another actor on how to handle being recognized in public, and is ready to see where Star Trek XII will go.

After the success of Star Trek XI, Urban has to deal with people recognizing him, and uses a strategy that Bruce Willis uses. “Yeah, I do get [recognized] a bit,” he said. “But it wouldn’t be like Bruce walking down the street. I mean, he would attract a crowd of people. He’s got the rule of  ‘no eye contact.’  That’s it. Think about it, if you make eye contact with someone, then they will, more likely than not, come up to you and want to interact with you. So that’s how he gets through situations like that.”

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Karl Urban is ready to step into Doctor McCoy’s shoes again, and he wouldn’t mind if the Star Trek movies continue past the two sequels for which he has already signed.

Urban doesn’t know if Star Trek will continue past the third movie, but he’s open to more than two more Trek movies if the right people are involved in creating them.

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