Karl Urban spent his 50th on the Hauraki Gulf enjoying a spot of fishing. Photo / via Instagram
Karl Urban spent his 50th on the Hauraki Gulf enjoying a spot of fishing. Photo / via Instagram
Kiwi superstar Karl Urban headed home for the New Zealand winter to celebrate his 50th birthday in humble Kiwi style in Auckland, after winding up a European press tour promoting season 3 of Amazon Prime Video's The Boys.
Urban has grown yet another huge global fan base with his vigilante character Billy Butcher in the superhero series.
But the down-to-earth actor spent his big 50 on the Hauraki Gulf enjoying a spot of fishing. The father-of-two jokes that his half-century milestone was similar to the Queen's Jubilee.
"I took the whanau out for dinner, then hit the RSA," Urban tells Spy.
A fourth season of the The Boys has been announced, and next month fans will hear him in a new role on Netflix related to his favourite pastime, spending time on the ocean.
In animated film The Sea Beast, Urban voices Jacob Holland, a famous monster hunter who unexpectedly becomes responsible for a little girl, Maise, played by Zaris-Angel Hator.
The feature comes from Oscar-winning film-maker Chris Williams of Moana and Big Hero 6 fame.
This week Urban embraced a new role, joining one of New Zealand's most iconic families, the Whittakers, in a chocolate commercial. He dons a spiffing Victorian-style outfit to play family business founder J. H. Whittaker, travelling in a chocolate time machine from 1896 to present-day Wellington.
The great-grandchildren of J. H., co-chief operating officers Matt and Holly Whittaker, say the new direction is a significant chapter in the chocolate company's history after working for a decade with food goddess Nigella Lawson as brand ambassador.
Karl Urban as J. H. Whittaker in an advertisement for Whittaker's Chocolate. Photo / Supplied
Urban says Whittaker's is his favourite chocolate in the world (Creamy Milk is his first choice) and he's proud to be associated with "the awesome, iconic Kiwi brand".
"I love it so much I had it sent over to Toronto where we shoot The Boys. I also love the Pear and Manuka Honey and the classic Peanut Slab."
Karl Urban spent his big 50 on the Hauraki Gulf enjoying a spot of fishing. Photo / Getty Images
The Lord of the Rings star filmed the ad campaign in his childhood stomping ground of Wellington, where Whittaker's continues to make all its chocolate at its beans-to-bar factory in Porirua.
Urban says the response to the commercial so far has been fantastic.
"We had so much fun shooting these ads and I really enjoyed working with the Whittaker's family to create the eccentric time-travelling chocolatier, " he says.
"And I loved working with the Kiwi crew. I haven't shot anything at home for some time and to shoot in Wellington was so special."
Chocolate is not the only new affiliation for Urban. He has recently become an ambassador for Unicef, an organisation he says he is proud to represent.
"I'll use my time and energy to draw focus to their programmes which help children and families struggling with the consequences of war, famine, disease and climate change."
He is currently working to highlight a "Blue Dot" refugee centre on the Ukrainian border, to help generate awareness for and donations to Unicef's work supporting vulnerable families fleeing the war.
