Karl Urban is forever known as a badass actor, both on and off screen, and has left an indelible mark on some of the most iconic franchises in film history. From Star Trek to The Lord of the Rings to the MCU, he’s been everywhere, playing some of the most iconic characters.
The Boys’ Karl Urban / Amazon Prime Video
In the Bourne films, Urban played Kirill, the menace to Matt Damon’s Jason Bourne in The Bourne Supremacy, and one of his most memorable scenes featured Urban in an exhilarating car chase sequence, accomplishing a feat every boy dreams of.
Karl Urban did just that by driving a G-Wagon without a permit on the streets of Moscow!
In an interview with GQ, Karl Urban spoke about what happened behind the scenes while filming The Bourne Supremacy’s thrilling car chase scene in Moscow. Urban, who plays Kirill, the cunning Russian agent pursuing Jason Bourne, revealed that clearance issues forced the production team to get creative.
According to Urban, without an official permit to film, they had no choice but to “rent” the city’s streets. This improvisational approach led to a cowboy-style production, with the crew having to improvise and negotiate with local authorities. He explained:
The Moscow chase scene was shot mostly in Russia, with some in Berlin, but the Russian scenes were amazing. The production had to pay the local police to close off the roads so they could film there. For some reason, they couldn’t get permission to film there.
So we were walking around Moscow, literally taking candid shots. There was one cop on a motorbike, and he literally went out into the street, put his hand up, stopped traffic, and said, “OK, go ahead.” I was in a BMW 7 Series, and I was stomping on the gas. It was really cowboy-like.
Karl Urban in The Bourne Supremacy |Universal Pictures
Even more impressive is that, despite all these obstacles, the actor managed to complete a 180-degree turn in a sturdy and bulky Mercedes G-Wagon. The skill and precision required to pull off such a feat adds an extra layer of excitement to the scene. He said:
I was trained to do a 180-degree turn in a Mercedes G-Wagon, which was a lot of fun. They actually let me do it. When you watch the film, you’ll see that there’s a camera behind me as I’m reversing in the G-Wagon, turning the wheel, and the background is panning sideways. That wasn’t CGI, they actually let me do it.
Urban continues to amaze fans with his antics, and in truth, they never seem to get bored of him.
This is the craziest stunt Karl Urban has ever done, apparently on The Boys
Despite driving a G-Wagon, Karl Urban revealed that one of the craziest stunts he’s ever pulled was while filming The Boys, and fans won’t doubt it for a second.
In a video for GQ, he talked about a stunt that saw him ram a speedboat into a 60ft whale in the show’s second season.
Honestly, the whale scene was probably one of the craziest scenes I’ve ever shot in my career. I was the one driving the speedboat. It was a pretty stormy day and I was going pretty fast and getting blown around by the waves.
The Boys Season 2 Whale Scene | Amazon Prime Video
While Urban enjoyed the experience, his co-star Jack Quaid, known for playing Hughie, wasn’t as enjoying the day’s filming.
I don’t think poor Jack Quaid had ever been in a speedboat, much less one that flew through the air over the waves, and he was freaking out.
He had a safety word, Carl. He was sitting at the front of the boat, facing away from me. I think he was yelling at the top of his lungs, “Carl, Carl, Carl!” I didn’t hear him. But we finished the race and this poor boy was white in the face. I thought he was seasick or something, but he was scared.
Quaid was so shocked they had to call in a stuntman for the scene. A true Hughie moment! Urban is truly a legend! Fans can’t wait to see more of him in action!
The Bourne Supremacy is available to rent on Apple TV.
