Dredd Q+A with Karl Urban

Dredd Q&A with Karl Urban

Judge Dredd is a comics icon. The original strip started off over 35 years ago and was created by icons Carlos Ezquerra and John Wagner.
Kiwi Karl Urban has now taken on the mantle of the famous character, Dredd in a brand new film hitting cinemas from October 4th.
Karl was generous enough with his time to answer the following questions about his current role, what inspired him to take it and how he feels to get the official nod from the lawman's creator, John Wagner.
Dredd 3D opens October 4th in New Zealand. And head back to this blog on September 21st for the Dredd 3D movie review..

The big question is – asidefrom the Stallone film – how much did you know about Dredd before taking therole?
My first introduction to JudgeDredd was as a teenager - a friend switched me on to the Quality Comics serieswhich was being published in the early 90s. I really liked Dredd, stoic Lawmanwith a dry sense of humour. The comics provided a richtapestry of morality tales set in a futuristic totalitarian society where thejudges have stepped out of the court room and onto the streets.

What was it about taking onsuch an iconic British comics character that appealed to you?I guess being a long termfan of Judge Dredd was a big factor in my decision to take the role, but alsothe fact that writer Alex Garland had delivered a really solid, action packed,character driven narrative.As a long term Dredd fan,I felt pretty confident that the sum of the creative elements involved wouldensure a real quality in its execution. Also, I was drawn toDredd's brand of heroism.

Were you aware of the 30 plusyear history of the character before you took it on? And if not, what kind ofresearch did you do?My research consisted ofreading every Judge Dredd comic that I could lay my hands on. It was funreconnecting with characters and stories that I had enjoyed as a teenager, butthe real bonus was discovering  new material that was written after I hadstopped buying the comic.Stories like Tale of aDead Man, through to Necropolis. Origins is a fantastic story about the birthof Dredd and his world. What I discovered was that a wonderful maturity haddeveloped in the writing, the stories and characters attained a much greaterdepth.

Tell us a little more aboutthis incarnation of the character – who is Dredd and what kind of man is he?Dredd is the lawpersonified. He's a walking judge, jury and executioner. His job is to protectthe citizens of Mega City One and uphold the law. He's enigmatic, fearedand respected, Dredd has no "superpowers", just an extraordinaryskill set, a versatile gun and a cool bike. He is the type of man who walkstowards a disaster when everyone else is running in the opposite direction. He is a laconic man offew words with a dry sense of humour.


What more can you tell us about the film's story?Dredd is about a day inthe life of Judge Dredd as he puts his rookie Anderson through her paces tosee if she has got what it takes to become a full judge. The day takes a turnfor the worse when Dredd and his rookie are trapped in a mega block by Ma-ma, leaderof a brutal Mega City One gang. The assessment turns intoa brutal fight for survival.

Fans of Dredd will be wantingto know if you are going to avoid the furore of the helmet issue – and keep iton at all times?The helmet stays on theentire film - it wouldn’t be a true Dreddmovie if I took it off!

What was the shoot like?It was a tough shoot, even beforethe cameras started rolling, 13 weeks of intense gym work, a tough 2 weekmilitary style boot camp.The uniform was basically aleather motorbike suit and body armour and we shot through the South Africansummer so at the end of a day, you'd have to peel the uniform off.But, as uncomfortable as it couldbe, it was well worth it when we shot scenes like the bike chase. 
There are afew points in your career where you can’t believe that they're actually lettingyou do this. The Moscow car chase with Matt Damon in The Bourne Supremacy wasone, and riding that bike in full Dredd mode through the streets of Cape Townwas definitely another.

You’ve had the blessing of thecharacter’s creator, how does that feel?To have Mr Wagner’s blessingwas a fantastic endorsement, and a testament to the hard work and attention todetail that everybody involved in bringing Dredd to the big screen. We all strived to achieve it.

Give us a secret from thefilming on set – and tell us what you all got up to after filming finished onthe day?The virtue of a secret isthat is that the contents of the secret remain secret!After work finished, I'dhit my favourite restaurant, play poker with my driver and good friend throughdinner, then head back to the apartment and look at the next days work. Prettylow key.

Rumour has it this may be the first of a series of Dredd movies –would you want to do more of them?
Sure, if this movie findsan audience at the box office, then I'd love the opportunity to continue thestory. But, if Dredd is a stand alone film then I'm equally happy with that,it’s an instant cult classic.

How would you describe Dredd to the people who’ve never heard of it?It’s the must see movieof 2012 - definitely a film that you need to take your friends to at leasttwice.

We’ll see you back on the screen in the next Star Trek film, whatmore can you tell us about that?It’s going to be so epic,multi-coloured and awesome.