Karl Urban (born June 7, 1972), an actor from Wellington, New Zealand, is best known for playing Éomer, in the second and third films of Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings film trilogy based on the books by J. R. R. Tolkien.
Some of his earlier work included roles on New Zealand soap Shortland Street, which apparently interrupted his planned attendance of Victoria University of Wellington, and a guest role on the second season of police drama Shark in the Park.
Urban was seen on the internationally syndicated American television shows Xena: Warrior Princess and Hercules: The Legendary Journeys in which he played both Cupid and Julius Caesar from 1996 to 2001. These shows were filmed in New Zealand. He recently co-starred in The Chronicles of Riddick with Vin Diesel and Judi Dench and The Bourne Supremacy with Matt Damon.
Karl Urban also played John "Reaper" Grimm, one of the lead characters in Universal Pictures' Doom which was released on October 21, 2005.