Karl Urban: Kiwi actor on the final season of The Boys, the changes in the media landscape

There’s no doubt ‘The Boys’ is one of the biggest shows on television at the moment.  It’s in its fifth and final season and has been one of Amazon’s biggest hits – season 4 drawing in 55 million viewers.  The satirical superhero show is helmed by two well-known Kiwis, Antony Starr, who plays Homelander, and Karl Urban, who plays Billy Butcher.  Urban is actually in the midst of one of the busiest stretches of his career, playing not only Butcher, but starring in ‘The Bluff’ and the upcoming Mortal Kombat II.   “This year has just been one nonstop sequence of hopping on planes and travelling around the world, talking about all these shows,” he told Mike Hosking.  “It’s a good spot to be in.”  The media landscape has changed tremendously over the span of Urban’s career, and while there are some downsides, there are also some “real positives”.   “I mean, the advent of streaming, for example, has allowed us to tell stories in a tone that you never would have been able to tell on television, or even in movies for that fact, before,” he explained.  “On one hand there’s been this amazing expansion in possibilities, but then also, you know, there’s also a certain contraction going on ... but at the moment I’m in a great position, and just really enjoying playing these characters and delivering something fun to the audience.”   The arrival of streaming has also allowed projects like ‘The Boys’ to gain global recognition and reach a wide audience, something that wasn’t possible in the past.  “In the old days it used to be a very, sort of finite number of networks globally, and they had a sort of, a certain audience,” Urban said.   “[The Boys is] a global phenomenon. I’ve never experienced anything like it,”  “You know, the fan base is so supportive of this show, and it’s really incredible to get to the end of this sort of nine-year journey, and to be going out on top.”   But all things must come to an end, and for Urban, it’s bittersweet.  “It’s been a hell of a ride,” he said.  “I’m really gonna miss it, but I’m also very grateful that we have the opportunity to tell the story that we want to tell and go out at the point that we want to go out.”  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.