Karl Urban Interview For ‘Dredd’

In ’Dredd,’ the future America is an irradiated waste land. On its East Coast, running from Boston to Washington DC, lies Mega City One- a vast, violent metropolis where criminals rule the chaotic streets.  The only force of order lies with the urban cops called “Judges” who possess the combined powers of judge, jury and instant executioner.  Known and feared throughout the city, Dredd (Karl Urban) is the ultimate Judge, challenged with ridding the city of its latest scourge – a dangerous drug epidemic that has users of “Slo-Mo” experiencing reality at a fraction of its normal speed.

During a routine day on the job, Dredd is assigned to train and evaluate Cassandra Anderson (Olivia Thirlby), a rookie with powerful psychic abilities thanks to a genetic mutation.  A heinous crime calls them to a neighbourhood where fellow Judges rarely dare to venture- a 200 story vertical slum controlled by prostitute turned drug lord Ma-Ma (Lena Headey) and her ruthless clan.  When they capture one of the clan’s inner circle, Ma-Ma overtakes the compound’s control center and wages a dirty, vicious war against the Judges that proves she will stop at nothing to protect her empire.  With the body count climbing and no way out, Dredd and Anderson must confront the odds and engage in the relentless battle for their survival. ‘Dredd’ is brought to life by the endlessly inventive mind of writer Alex Garland (28 days later, Never Let Me Go) and acclaimed director, Pete Travis (End Game, Vantage Point). Starring Karl Urban, Olivia Thirlby, Lena Headey, Deobia Oparei, Wood Harris, Jason Cope and Domhnall Gleeson, ‘Dredd’ is out now in the UK and is set for release in the US on September 21st.

As a fan of the character and the comics, how was your first meeting for ‘Dredd‘ when you were discussing to play this character you’ve grown up reading?

Karl Urban: When I heard they were making this reboot I was pretty intrigued, I was very interested because of my history of reading the comics, so I took a meeting with Alex Garland, Andrew MacDonald, Allon Reich and Pete Travis and listened to their take. It became pretty apparent to me that they were very, very focused of what their vision was of what they wanted to create. They wanted to deliver a film that was high-octane, realistic, gritty, hardcore and faithful to the source – which immediately intrigued me! I really love the character of Dredd, he is the ultimate lawman, he is Judge, Jury and Executioner operating in a society where the normal process of justice has changed, a society in decay and distress. There’s no more protracted legal system, it has all been condensed into this one man. I’ve always loved a vigilante-type character and Judge Dredd is one of the best.

Taking this part knowing that the filmmakers never, ever wanted to see Dredd’s full face. How was that process, in giving a performance with limited facial expressions?

Karl Urban: For me, I think one of the great aspects of Dredd has always been that you never fully see his identity. Since he was created in 1977 he has been the faceless representation of the law and an enigma. To do anything else just wouldn’t have been Dredd. The question was, “How do you convey a subtle emotion like doubt or concern when you don’t have the use of your eyes?” It was a very challenging process.

While Dredd lives in this sort of mythic, sci-fi world that takes our own to the darkest, outermost extremes, I read that you approached the character on a very human level….

Karl Urban: You have to play the man and Dredd is a man who has an insanely tough job working in this society that is fragmenting and falling apart. I think his heroism is that of an ordinary person, like a fireman. He’s not a stereotypical superhero. With him, what you see is what you get and he calls it the way he sees it but the huge challenge for me as an actor was to inject as much dynamism as possible into this very stoic character.

That can’t have been that simple, seeing as Dredd is a man who chooses his words carefully and keeps everything locked deep beneath a cold, hard surface?

Karl Urban: Definitely. Dredd is an interesting kettle of fish in that his emotion is completely repressed, and any normal social life that he may have enjoyed has been burned from his psyche. In some ways I think he is tragic because he is charged with the job of protecting these people in society but at the same time he is incapable of functioning normally in that society.

On top of the psychological challenges of the role, physically playing Dredd must have been intensive as well?

Karl Urban: Oh yeah, this was a very physical role. During pre-production, I spent time in the gym getting into the right mindset and physical condition and then I was thrown into boot camp. That involved weapons training, technical movement, learning how to move under fire, learning to bust perps, breach doors and arrest people. One of the insane aspects of what I do is that I am constantly learning skills you rarely get to use in real life!

The cinematography in ‘Dredd’ is stunning, how was it working with Anthony Dod Mantle?

Karl Urban: We were very blessed having Anthony Dod Mantle as the DP, he’s done a lot of amazing films: ‘The Last King of Scotland,’ ‘127 Hours,’ ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ – which he won the Oscar for. It’s quite unusual for a film like this to have a cinematographer of that ilk. He made some really interesting, strong choices – choices you wouldn’t normally expect or associate with a kind of action/adventure style film. Anthony was great.