Translated by Hitomi

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In "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers," Karl Urban performs a heroic Rider of Rohan, Eomer. A New Zealand native, Urban played leading roles in some of Kiwi movies, such as "The Price of Milk" and "The Irrefutable Truth About Demons," however, he remained relatively unknown until recently. Suddenly, he was cast in a multi-million production largely anticipated to be a global hit. In spite of an immense pressure, he brilliantly carried out his role - We had an exclusive interview with Urban.

Do you use Internet?
No, I actually don't have a computer. I must be the last person on the earth... (laugh)

I think that's something fresh.
(Laugh) Fresh? That's nice.

Your friends and family in New Zealand must have been surprised at your appearance in this big hit movie.
During the shoot, my family and friends were enormous support for me. So I did my best to meet their expectations. And I saw the final product - it was overwhelmingly wonderful. I had the best Christmas last year. My dad was happy, but my mother was extremely pleased.

In the last installment of the trilogy, your part, Eomer will become a key character. He will play an important role in saving the fellowship members, and he will become the king of Rohan.
That's right. Becoming the king is toward the end of the story (laugh). Eomer will support Aragorn, the character Viggo (Mortensen) plays, and his friends to help them accomplish their mission. I think that I've got a great part.

After such an important role, I believe that you will receive many offers from all over the world. Are you particularly interested in working with certain actors or directors?
I have no desire to work with world famous stars. Just like I always did in the past, and as I've always been, I just want to keep improving my acting skills. And it will be great if I will be able to participate in interesting productions.

Your coactors are all excellent performers. Did you get close to any of them?
Viggo. We became friends during the shoot, and we've been in touch since then. I respect him not only as an actor but also as a person. He is incredibly versatile and has various hobbies, and he is extremely talented. He is also very considerate. It's my greatest pleasure to get to know such a wonderful person like him.

You also have various hobbies - fishing, horse riding, surfing, golf and rock-climbing.... It seems that you are good at sports. But I heard that you also like gardening. It's kind of unexpected.
Yes, I like gardening... but I was very busy lately and I didn't have time to work in my garden. I like plowing the ground and growing fruits and vegetables. Recently, I've been very concerned about agricultural chemicals, so I am making chemical-free organic vegetables and fruits. And I'm especially happy when I see crops like tomatoes. You can see that vegetables and fruits respond to your love - I really like that.

So your gardening is more like growing vegetables than decorating a yard with flowers.
Yes. I like flowers too, but I like physical labors like plowing the ground. I pluck weeds in my backyard almost every day... or I cut trees and grasses. I also change soils of ornamental plants quite often. (laugh)

You worked on American films like "Ghost Ship." As a New Zealander, what do you think of U.S. movies?
First of all, I have to say that my comment does not apply to all US movies... but, it seems that many US movies don't have much respect for the audience. And, I also say this as a general observation: many of them don't seem to have a faith in the audience's intelligence or wisdom. A film can hit people's mind by great images alone. But it's all covered up with scripts for verbal explanation - leaving no room for audience to think. I think, sometimes a scene without a script can speak more eloquently.

Thank you very much.
Arigatou (Thank you in Japanese). He is handsome but not snobbish - Urban was frank and friendly throughout the interview. In his pure natural posture, I saw a face of upcoming star.