Karl Urban, an eternal icon of badassery both on-screen and off, has left an unforgettable mark in some of the most iconic franchises in cinematic history. From Star Trek to Lord of the Rings and the MCU, he is everywhere, embodying characters that are as iconic as it gets.
In the Bourne film series, Urban portrayed Kirill, a menacing threat to Matt Damon’s Jason Bourne in The Bourne Supremacy. One unforgettable moment showcased Urban in an exhilarating car chase scene, where he executed a feat that every boy dreams of achieving.
Karl Urban Pulled This Off with a G-Wagon on the Streets of Moscow Without a Permit!
In a GQ interview, Karl Urban shared insights into the behind-the-scenes antics of filming The Bourne Supremacy’s gripping car chase sequence in Moscow. Urban, who played the role of Kirill, a cunning Russian agent in pursuit of Jason Bourne, revealed that the production team had to get creative due to permit issues.
According to Urban, they had to “borrow” the city streets after failing to secure official filming permits. This impromptu approach turned the shoot into a cowboy-style operation, where the crew had to improvise and negotiate with local authorities on the fly. He explained,
That Moscow car chase, we shot a huge portion of it in Russia. We shot some of it in Berlin. But the Russian stuff was incredible. The production had to pay off the local cops to shut off roads, so we could shoot it. For whatever reason, we didn’t get the permit to shoot.
So we were going around Moscow, literally stealing shots. We’d have one cop on a bike, and he would literally walk out into the street, hold his hand up, stop the traffic and go, okay, go. And I’m in a seven series BMW. And it’s like, and I’m flooring it. Really sort of cowboy sort of stuff.
What’s even more impressive is that despite these challenges, the actor successfully executed a reverse 180 maneuver in a Mercedes G-Wagon, a tough and bulky vehicle. Pulling off such a feat required skill and precision, this just adds an extra layer of excitement to the scene. He said,
They trained me to do a reverse 180 in a Mercedes G-Wagon, and that was a lot of fun. They actually let me do it. If you watch the movie, there is a camera stationed behind me in the G-Wagen as I spin the wheel going in reverse, you’ll see the background going sideways. And that’s not CGI, that’s actually, they let me do it.
Urban continues to surprise fans with his antics, and truth be told, they never seem to get tired of it.
This Is the Craziest Stunt Karl Urban Has Ever Pulled Off, and It Was Obviously on The Boys
Despite mastering a G-Wagon, Karl Urban has revealed that one of the craziest stunts he’s ever pulled off was during the filming of The Boys, a fact that fans would not question even for a bit.
In the GQ video, he recounted the stunt of driving a speedboat into a 60-foot whale in the show’s second season. He explained,
The whale was probably one of the most crazy scenes I’ve ever shot in my career, to tell you the truth. That was me actually driving the speedboat. And the day that we picked was actually a pretty stormy day, and I was going at a considerable amount of speed, I was actually getting air off the waves.
While Urban relished the experience, his co-star Jack Quaid, known for his role as Hughie, clearly wasn’t enjoying himself as much during that particular day on set. As he added,
Poor Jack Quaid had, I think, never been in a speedboat, let alone a speedboat that’s jumping waves and flying through the air. And he was freaked out.
He had a safety word, which was Karl, and he’s sitting at the front of the boat and he’s not facing me, apparently he’s screaming at the top of his lungs, ‘Karl, Karl, Karl!’ I didn’t hear him. But we ended the run, and this poor kid was white as a sheet. And I thought he was seasick or something, but he was terrified.
Quaid was so spooked they had to call in a stunt double for the scene, talk about a real Hughie moment! Urban’s truly a legend! Fans can’t wait to see more of him!
The Bourne Supremacy is available on Apple TV for rent.
