A sturdy lead and character actor with a natural affinity for physical roles, Karl Urban was a New Zealand-born performer who rose to popularity with notable roles in The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002) and The Return of the King (2003), as well as The Bourne Supremacy (2004) and Doom (2005).
Urban excelled at playing men of action, like the proud horseman in Peter Jackson’s fantasy epics and the cold-blooded killer in “Bourne,” but fans who took the time to explore Urban’s cv found more subtle performances in smaller projects like The Price of Milk (2000), which cast him as a romance-minded farmer, or Out of the Blue (2006), where he played a small town policeman caught in the middle of a shootout.
His adaptability in a variety of genres kept him busy in Hollywood features, which reached a high point when he was cast as Dr. McCoy in J. J. Abrams’ origin story for Star Trek (2009). It also made him a capable and highly watchable actor whose star continued to ascend with each subsequent project.
Now, we’re ranking all the movies and shows starring Karl Urban by critics’ scores from worst to best!
Hangman (2017)
Tomatometer: 4% – Metascore: 31
Starring: Al Pacino, Karl Urban, Brittany Snow, Sarah Shahi, Joe Anderson
Directed By: Johnny Martin
Pathfinder (2007)
Tomatometer: 9% – Metascore: 29
Starring: Karl Urban, Moon Bloodgood, Russell Means, Clancy Brown, Jay Tavare
Directed By: Marcus Nispel
And Soon the Darkness (2010)
Tomatometer: 14%
Starring: Amber Heard, Odette Yustman, Karl Urban, Adriana Barraza, César Vianco
Directed By: Marcos Efron
The Loft (2014)
Tomatometer: 14% – Metascore: 24
Starring: Isabel Lucas, Karl Urban, Rachael Taylor, Wentworth Miller, James Marsden
Directed By: Erik Van Looy
Priest (2011)
Tomatometer: 15% – Metascore: 41
Starring: Paul Bettany, Karl Urban, Cam Gigandet, Maggie Q, Lily Collins
Directed By: Scott Stewart
Ghost Ship (2002)
Tomatometer: 16% – Metascore: 28
Starring: Gabriel Byrne, Julianna Margulies, Ron Eldard, Desmond Harrington, Isaiah Washington
Directed By: Steve Beck
Doom (2005)
Tomatometer: 18% – Metascore: 34
Starring: Karl Urban, Dwayne Johnson, Rosamund Pike, Deobia Oparei, Ben Daniels
Directed By: Andrzej Bartkowiak
Walking with Dinosaurs (2013)
Tomatometer: 23% – Metascore: 37
Starring: Animation, Karl Urban, Charlie Rowe, Angourie Rice
Directed By: Barry Cook, Neil Nightingale
The Chronicles of Riddick (2004)
Tomatometer: 29% – Metascore: 38
Starring: Vin Diesel, Thandiwe Newton, Judi Dench, Karl Urban, Colm Feore
Directed By: David Twohy
The Price of Milk (2000)
Tomatometer: 49% – Metascore: 49
Starring: Danielle Cormack, Karl Urban, Willa O’Neill, Michael Lawrence, Rangi Motu
Directed By: Harry Sinclair
Acts of Vengeance (2017)
Tomatometer: 55% – Metascore: 49
Starring: Antonio Banderas, Karl Urban, Paz Vega, Clint Dyer, Cristina Serafini
Directed By: Isaac Florentine
Riddick (2013)
Tomatometer: 57% – Metascore: 49
Starring: Vin Diesel, Jordi Mollà, Matt Nable, Katee Sackhoff, Dave Bautista
Directed By: David Twohy
Heaven (1998)
Tomatometer: 60%
Starring: Martin Donovan, Danny Edwards, Richard Schiff, Joanna Going, Patrick Malahide
Directed By: Scott Reynolds
Red (2010)
Tomatometer: 72% – Metascore: 60
Starring: Bruce Willis, John Malkovich, Morgan Freeman, Helen Mirren, Karl Urban
Directed By: Robert Schwentke
Batman: Death in the Family (2020)
Tomatometer: 75%
Starring: Animation, Bruce Greenwood, John DiMaggio, Zehra Fazal
Directed By: Brandon Vietti
Dredd (2012)
Tomatometer: 79% – Metascore: 60
Starring: Karl Urban, Olivia Thirlby, Lena Headey, Wood Harris, Warrick Grier
Directed By: Pete Travis
The Bourne Supremacy (2004)
Tomatometer: 82% – Metascore: 73
Starring: Matt Damon, Joan Allen, Brian Cox, Karl Urban, Julia Stiles
Directed By: Paul Greengrass
Out of the Blue (2006)
Tomatometer: 84% – Metascore: 70
Starring: Karl Urban, Matthew Sunderland, Lois Lawn, Simon Ferry, Tandi Wright
Directed By: Robert Sarkies
Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)
Tomatometer: 84% – Metascore: 72
Starring: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, Benedict Cumberbatch, Karl Urban
Directed By: J.J. Abrams
Star Trek Beyond (2016)
Tomatometer: 86% – Metascore: 68
Starring: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Karl Urban, Simon Pegg, Zoe Saldana
Directed By: Justin Lin
Pete’s Dragon (2016)
Tomatometer: 88% – Metascore: 71
Starring: Oakes Fegley, Bryce Dallas Howard, Robert Redford, Oona Laurence, Wes Bentley
Directed By: David Lowery
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
Tomatometer: 93% – Metascore: 94
Starring: Elijah Wood, Viggo Mortensen, Ian McKellen, Sean Astin, Andy Serkis
Directed By: Peter Jackson
Thor: Ragnarok (2017)
Tomatometer: 93% – Metascore: 74
Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Cate Blanchett, Tessa Thompson, Mark Ruffalo
Directed By: Taika Waititi
Star Trek (2009)
Tomatometer: 94% – Metascore: 82
Starring: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, Eric Bana, Simon Pegg
Directed By: J.J. Abrams
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
Tomatometer: 95% – Metascore: 87
Starring: Elijah Wood, Viggo Mortensen, Ian McKellen, Sean Astin, Andy Serkis
Directed By: Peter Jackson
The Sea Beast (2022)
Tomatometer: 100% – Metascore: 82
Starring: Animation, Karl Urban, Zaris-Angel Hator, Jared Harris, Dan Stevens
Directed By: Chris Williams
Almost Human (TV Series)
Tomatometer: 69% – Metascore: 62
Starring: Karl Urban, Michael Ealy, Minka Kelly, Mackenzie Crook, Michael Irby
Directed By: J.H. Wyman (Creator)
The Boys (TV Series)
Tomatometer: 93% – Metascore: 76
Starring: Karl Urban, Jack Quaid, Antony Starr, Erin Moriarty, Elisabeth Shue
Directed By: Evan Goldberg (Creator), Seth Rogen (Creator), Eric Kripke (Creator)
