I have been waiting several months to talk about “Almost Human.” I saw the Fox pilot before the Television Critics Association press tour and had to wait until now to bring you my interviews. Karl Urban really appreciated my questions about the series, because he could tell I was into it. Urban stars as John Kennex, a cop in the future reluctantly paired with an android partner, and saddled with a bionic leg after an injury on the job. The show comes from producers J.J Abrams and Joel Wyman of “Fringe” and premieres tonight on Fox.
CraveOnline: Who are some of your favorite robots of science fiction?
Karl Urban: I’m going to go Ian Holm from Alien and Daryl Hannah in Blade Runner. Sean Young from Blade Runner. Peter Weller, Robocop. Who are yours?
Oh, that’s a good one. I love ED-209. I just feel bad for the little guy. And I always go with Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots.
Those are good choices. Good choices.
Are you having fun on “Almost Human?”
I’m having a great time, I really am. We’ve got a phenomenal cast, and really smart, poignant scripts that really, I think, provoke the audience into examining what it means to be human.
How long do you think it will take for Kennex to change his views on androids? Is he starting to already?
Good question. Here’s the thing. Here’s a character who’s been in a coma for two years. He wakes from that coma not only to find that he has a robotic leg, but that the life that he was living for a year, the woman that he loved and was engaged to for a year, was planted by a criminal organization. So he’s beaten up, he is broken down, he is cynical, he is hurt, he’s angry, he’s guilty, he’s full of fear and loathing. That’s the place we start John Kennex and the journey is about reclaiming his life. It’s about taking back what was stolen from him.
But he’s always going to have that leg, right?
Oh yeah, you can’t take that away. That’s the most painful reminder.
He’s going to have to make peace with that.
He will.
Since it’s Joel Wyman, is there a big overall game plan for “Almost Human?”
Oh, most definitely. The thing is mapped out. I know trajectories based on my character. I’m not interested in knowing things about other characters, because as in real life, we don’t know what’s around the corner. I’ve got a general picture of where I’m going but I don’t want to know it until I read the script, because as in life, we don’t know what happens tomorrow.
The pilot had a great tone of all the serious themes you’re talking about, but a great sense of fun. Was that hard to strike that balance?
No, not at all. As I said on the TCA panel, one of the great things about J.J. is he assembles a really fun, great group of people who he knows will work well together. He’s one of the smartest cats working in film and television today, and he’s done it again. We have a great time working, we have a great chemistry and I just can’t wait for an audience to get this.
You’ve been able to bring something different to all the film roles you’ve played, even someone like Dr. “Bones” McCoy who we’ve seen a different incarnation of before. Do you have more or less ability to bring your touches to a character on television?
There’s no difference. Intrinsically it’s you. Some of your character is in some way, shape or form extrapolated from your life experience.
In the past, you’ve said you enjoyed being unrecognizable in every film. Is that going to get tougher when you’re on a series every week?
Oh, we’ll see, touch wood. If this show is successful, as we all hope that it will be, then certainly that anonymity is going to become something of the past. I’ve reconciled myself with that possibility and in a way, judging by the success of the latest Star Trek film, that’s already something that’s foregone.
You’ve been able to be very physical in your movies. There’s a lot of action in the “Almost Human” pilot, but how physical is this going to be day to day?
Well, making a television show is a different kind of physicality. Film is a sprint. Making television is a marathon. You have to be fit, mentally, physically and really the whole endeavor is about preserving and maintaining your energy.
What has been your most physical movie? I’m going to guess Pathfinder.
No. Dredd.
Really? Why is that?
Because it was the most physical movie.
Because of the suit, or just the content of the movie?
All of that, everything. It was, of all the movies that I’ve done, it’s the movie that I’m most proud of. It’s the movie that was most physically taxing and it’s the movie that I feel is the underdog, and that’s why I have such an affinity for it.
There was so much good will for Dredd coming. Why do you think it became such a hard sell?
There are a lot of reasons for that. The primary reason why it didn’t perform as well as it should have at the box office was the fact that there was no awareness for it. You only have to look at the fact that it sold over 650,000 units in its first week of sales when it was released on DVD to realize that there was an audience for this film, but the audience was not made aware that this film existed.
I feel like I saw a lot of ads for Dredd. What would it have taken?
I do not know the answer to that. That is a question for Lionsgate marketing.
I assume at some point they’re going to need you to do a Star Trek 3. Does it help that “Almost Human” is a J.J. Abrams show so they can work out that schedule?
I’m really looking forward to doing a third Star Trek. I love that world. I love working with everybody in that cast, J.J. and the entire cast and crew. I’m elated that Star Trek Into Darkness was such a success. Internationally, we doubled what the first film had done and I couldn’t be more happy that the film found an audience.
But schedule-wise, you’re within the same company so does that make it easier?
Schedule-wise, we worked that into the contracts. Star Trek is going to look after and fans of Star Trek have nothing to worry about.
