Karl Urban talks about RED’s incredible cast

RED is a completely entertaining film, in part to the great work that Karl Urban does in the film. I loved how he made me wonder if he was a good guy or bad guy throughout the movie.

He spoke to Speakeasy about the incredible cast he got to work with, how he got the part and more.

This film has a pretty spectacular ensemble of performers. When did you join the cast of “Red?” Was most of the cast already in place?

Bruce was attached. But it was a simple process: I read the script and had a meeting with [director] Robert Schwentke. I had worked with the producer before. And I was interested in the material – it’s as simple as that. I found the character to have a really good, interesting dynamic; he’s a CIA officer-slash-hitman, and he’s also trying to balance that life out with a family. It was just a really interesting character.

Your character kind of has to prove himself in a way that the other ones already have. Given the pedigree of the actors you were working with, did you feel a similar pressure to step your game up, or did they create an environment that made you feel at ease?

It was a very comfortable environment, and also at the same time you’re acutely aware that collectively there’s a bunch of Oscars on set and you’d better turn up with your ‘A’ game. I think even Bruce reiterated that sentiment. But it was a hell of a lot of fun to shoot, and it was just one of those great opportunities to work with actors whose work I had admired for such a long time.

You have a really powerful scene where you’re on the opposite end of the phone with Bruce Willis’ character, who is in your house. Were you two even on the phone with one another?

Yes, yes we were. I think that one of the great things about this cast was that everybody was there for each other. They were certainly very supportive, for me anyway, and it was great. Because very often when you see these very famous people, which Bruce certainly is, and you have a certain expectation of who they are, and it was really wonderful to actually meet him and get to work with him and discover who he was. The reality of who he was really exceeded my expectations.

Given the different kinds of films you’ve done, it seems like pretending on one end of a phone is not terribly difficult in comparison to imagining an entire fantasy world, like you had to do in “Lord of the Rings.” Are there specific kinds of acting challenges that you feel are more difficult than others, or is it all using the same kind of imagination?

That’s kind of part and parcel with modern filmmaking. You are constantly having to react to elements that are not there, and you can be in a small independent film or a large special-effects extravaganza. Maybe you’re working with a child who can only work for x-amount of hours so they shoot their stuff first and then they go and you have to react to a pillow (laughs). But that’s just part of the job.

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