See (and Hear) Karl Urban Talk Texan January 2, 2008
by Anthony Pascale , Filed under: ST09 Cast , trackback
On January 13th Karl Urban (Dr. McCoy in the new Star Trek) will follow in the footsteps of his predecessor Golden Boot-winner DeForest Kelley by appearing in a western, the CBS mini-series Comanche Moon. If you were wondering if the New Zealand-born actor could do a southern drawl, then check out clips of him playing Texas Ranger Woodrow Call at the Official Site. [Click "VIDEO" and select clips 5 & 8].
Karl Urban as Woodrow F. Call in “Comanche Moon”
The 3-part mini-series Comanche Moon begins on CBS Sunday, January 13 (9pm et/pt)
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I’m really hoping he’s gonna be a great McCoy. Looks promising.
Huh. Passable, but a bit cartoony.
I hope he’s a good McCoy too.
Needs less Texas and more Mississippi twang…….but very promising.
clip 8..reminds me of Brokeback Mountain
am I the only one??
Interesting. Not how McCoy should sound, but I think he’s good enough to do the part. Promising indeed.
pics of Deforrest Kelly in western tv/movies:
http://s2.supload.com/free/mont.jpg/view/
R.I.P DeForest Kelley! i think Karl Urban is gonna be great Dr.Bones
I think he’ll be okay. Gonna be a different portrayal though.
He’s too good looking to be bones.
This is going to be stud-muffin McCoy, before he started eating the replicated muffins on The Enterprise and lost a lot of his muscle mass and younger good looks. And encountering all those alien dialects in space, it’s easy to have your accent change over time. (See, it works!)
You know, this is the McCoy that Dax said had hands like a surgeon. (I’m guessing it wasn’t Curzon — but if it was the host before, wouldn’t she had been an old woman? Oh well, to each his own).
Unless this new movie will be Brokeback Trek. Which I kinda don’t think will be the case.
Looks good. If anything it shows Urban call play another actors take on a character. He’s suppoed to be a younger Tommy Lee JOnes and he’s doing it quite well. And props to the other guy for his adaption of some of Robert Duval’s mannerisms and vocal cadence.
As far as the accent goes, this is a Texan’s accent, not “southern”. McCoy, when he got excited or drunk, was more of the southern gentleman type, from Georgia, or Alabama. Think Scarlet from Gone with the WInd. McCoy won’t, or at least he shouldn’t, be sounding anything like these boys from South Texas,
#10 jonboc
So, is this Ubran western t.v. movie a prequel to a Tommy Lee Jones/Robert Duval western?
p.s. I’m not really into Westerns at all! Being a Sci Fi fan, I can’t really stand them(I’m not saying you can’t be a fan of both). So I don’t know much about them. Hence why the movies I like go the opposite way in time, the future.
Even though it ain’t the real McCoy, I think I’ll take this McCoy! Gotta thing for cowboys & southern drawls of any kind.
Anthony, I posted this before, but for youtube, could you additionally post just the link for videos for all us mobile users? Most of us can’t see the video on the webpage & need an actual link. It would make your site more mobile friendly for Windows Mobile & iPhone. ‘Preciate it!
*11 Ever watch Firefly? It blended SciFi & Westerns pretty dang perfectly. If the new McCoy had some of Mal Reynolds take no sh!$ swagger, it’a be real nice. lol
#13 Moto….
Ah, yeah, I love Firefly and Serenity. I don’t know why I didn’t remember that. Probably because I didn’t get into it until recently. I guess I should rephrase myself. I, myself, can not really get into ’straight up’ westerns. The only way I’ll take to them is if they have an element of futuristic sci fi to them such as Firefly(don’t anyone mention that Will Smith flop lol, I didn’t like it).
#13 Moto…
I totally forgot about Firefly/Serenity. I love that show! But, that is technically a sci fi show. I guess I should rephrase myself by saying that I can’t really get into ’straight up’ westerns.
#11 -SIlver Express57- Yeah, this is a prequel to the outstanding CBS mini-series Lonesome Dove that starred Tommy Lee Jones and Robert Duval.
And you really should give the westerns a chance. Russell Crowe’s recent 3:10 to Yuma and Brad Pitt’s ASsassination of Jessie James were great. After all, what is Star Trek TOS but, as Gene put it, Wagon Train to the Stars. That’s how he sold the show, explorers venturing out into the dangers of the unknown with adventures at every stop. Take away the tech and they are more alike than not.
Sorry about the double post. As I hit ‘Say It’, my comp pooped on me. When I returned to the board, my post wasn’t there. So I thought It didn’t go through. Oh well.
#16 jonboc
Yeah, I’m aware of Gene’s ‘Wagon Train’ pitch. But, what drew me to Star Trek in the first place(as a kid) was the technology. I was fascinated by what was to come. The wonder… Knowing(hopefully) that things would turn out alright for us.
I just can’t get that from somthing set in the 1800’s. Now I’m not knocking all period films. I do like them from time to time. It is just western’s in particular. I have watched some good ones and enjoyed them on some level though. But I’m not drawn to them, nor could watch them repeatedly like my sci fi movies.
Just to clarify, I’m not saying Westerns are bad. Just not my cup of Earl Grey.
#18- no biggie, you like what you like, it’s all just personal taste. Me, I like just about anything that takes me out of “today” and puts me in another time and place…add to that six shooters, cat houses, lawlessness and the eternal struggle of the white hats over the black hats and I’m a happy camper.
Deforest Kelly had more of a Piedmont accent, the soft, aristocratic, Virginia-to-Georgia kind.
Great!!
I found this pic at google… and the new cast actually looks pretty good:
I can really imagine Urban as McCoy here too..
http://s2.supload.com/free/ST_cast_600×771-20080102082431.jpg/view/
Great Job JJ!
^^ great, its a broken link.. :(
can someone please delete my previous post for me…thanks :(
# 20, Picard, is right. Kelley’s accent, when he did one, was a Piedmont accent. It’s the one you hear most often in Hollywood productions when people are faking a “Southern” accent, and it’s usually done very poorly (Ah declayuh! Yawll show ah awflee kand!). You don’t hear many of those anymore (I live in Atlanta, where the predominant accent is some kind of Yankee). My neighbor down the street has a real one. It’s lovely to listen to.
The most interesting thing about the link to the clip is that CBS still has a link to StarTrek.com at the bottom of the page. Sigh.
Scott B. out.
^23 Scott, it is a simple pleasure to hear it from a native speaker. Reminds me somewhat of the English West Country accent in certain ways, although that’s harder to find now as well. The sad fact of Hollywood is the diminishment of regional and local accents. I hope the Piedmont variety is never replaced with an “estuary english” imposter!
In Star Trek, Dr. McCoy was from Georgia (Atlanta). I hope they’ll keep that in the story line, though I’m sure they will.
Karl Urban always has those concerned looking/serious eyes, all of his characters are like that. But McCoy is a light hearted jovial guy most of the time.
At least Urban shouldn’t have a problem playing a McCoy that’s mad at Kirk.
I agree he look very tough and with a constant mean disposition. I just rewatched The Bourne Supremacy where Urban is a Russian assassin. Not a very kindly old country doctor there!
Urban was the only one of the new cast that I had some doubts over, but after seeing the clips, I can see him as McCoy a bit more. He actually has the same facial structure as De Kelly and damn if he doesn’t resemble Kelly in his western days in that promo pic above. But the key to McCoy is to bring that warm sense of humanity to the performance. And while I don’t think he’s as acerbic as De Kelly, John Kelly on “New Voyages” does a fine job at bringing that human quality to his performance as Dr. McCoy.
Concerning the accent, McCoy is from Georgia, Kelley was from Georgia too. He was “encouraged” to drop his accent when coming to Hollywood. In Star Trek, most of the time, we can’t discern his accent anyway, except when he’s drunk or very upset, or in an informal situation. I think personnally that Urban will pull it off just fine, if he doesn’t overdo it, because it was very discrete in the shows or the movies most of the times.
#8 If you think he’s too good-looking to be a young McCoy, you are either blind or have bad taste ;-) In his youth, Kelley was a very handsome man. I happen to have a copy of his biography, and there are a few pics in it, like an official photograph probably part of an actor portfolio. I’ll have you know he was quite handsome ;-) In the book, it is also stated that he had something about him that drew all eyes on him. Looking good is not reserved only for Kirk, you know. Sometimes I feel as though people can’t handle the fact that the others could be as handsome (or even better-looking) than Kirk :-) Anyway, Will Shatner has never been my type, even in his youth ;-) Besides, in the miniseries, Urban plays a young Tommy Lee Jones, and nobody can say that Jones is a really good-looking man. But everybody seems to think it works out all right ;-)
#9 the host you are reffering to is Emony Dax, I think SHE was the second host. She was a gymnast who came to Earth to judge a gymnastics competition. She must have been older than McCoy, but not by that much (come on…! :-P)
#26 A jovial, light-hearted kind of guy? Really? He was constantly complaining, whining, worrying, thinking the worst… I think Karl Urban fits just right. His “look” is just right :-)
Hey, Happy New Year to all!! :-)
I always consider McCoy as a very grumpy/ canky fellow…
I just check imdb and..
Karl Urban’s latest movie is called “Black water transit”
He plays Earl Pike-and its set in New Orleans after katrina hit
Hmmm do I see a pattern with this guy…
He must be in his southern phase …
I agree with Mary Jay….. the more stud-muffins, the better. We girls need some eye candy too, and Karl Urban oozes sex appeal. It will be interesting to see how he handles this role.
#19
Rustlers Rhapsody ??
^^
…ok..so maybe the genre doesn’t thrill me ALL the time…
In saying a TX accent we should hear Mexican right? ;)
#18
being reminded now of sc-fi/western.
how about matsumoto’s Harlock/Galaxy Express/Emeraldas
oh. and I too am a Browncoat
Yum, yum, yum! I hope the very, very best for his appearance as McCoy. And may he be as droolworthy in Trek as in this Western outfit :)
#24 – Picard — I’m sure you have to endure listening to a lot of bad English accents attempted by American actors. Few can pull it off well. It’s typically either a bad posh accent, or a bad Cockney accent. :)
Scott B. out.
Mary Jay gets the award for most smilies in a single post :)
Ok, I’ve got it – this is about very young, very beautiful, very sexy people, some of them with fake accents, en route to their apogee in a glossy fabric softener film.
Thank goodness – nothing to bear in mind but to keep your glasses clean and to make sure that Prof. Higgins is coming with you.
#38 Well, you know, I’m a very smily kind of person so… :-)
Man, I love Star Trek. It’s just that simple. Greatest show ever.
Re: #41. Not sure what prompted that comment in this particular thread, but…agreed. Totally agreed.
Scott B. out.
Scott, I think Daniel was just “feeling the love” I agree with the sentiment; no other tv show has generated such passion from me for such a long period of time as ST.
Janice B.S. out
People…I was not suggesting McCoy was from Texas, although I am not sure it was ever said where in the South he was from. I think he went to school in MS. Regardless, TX is a lot closer to wherever McCoy is from than Auckland. It is likely that he is doing another accent for McCoy. The above clip was just to show his first time doing anything from the South.
Wow… he’s kinda hot… *drools*
And for #4, you’re NOT the only one who thinks it looks like Brokeback Mountain. Being gay is great…
Anyways, he should make a good McCoy. He better. Though, it’s impossible to live up to the original “Dammit, Jim!” or “I’m a doctor, not a(n) [INSERT OCCUPATION HERE]“
Yeah, so, um…the first clip I watched had no southern accents, just a wonderful scene of someone getting scalped. Yeah… Anyway, make sure you click on the correct clips.
Makes for a convincing southern accent to me. And he will be kind of a beefy McCoy, no?
back to the original Lonesome Dove -it’s very much like Trek TOS, Firefly, Buffy/Angel in that the interesting relationships between the main characters are what makes it appealing and timeless.
This is the casting that I thought missed the target. I cannot see him as McCoy. At all. No other casting worries me the way this one does. Visually, I also think he’s the worst of the casting.
Urban, the as-of-yet-unrevealed ship & Uniforms are really my biggest worries at this point.
#42 & #43
Yeah, I was just feeling the love. I really don’t get into other TV shows. But Star Trek owns me. I started watching TNG when I was 8, but have recently starting watching TOS for the first time. They are just all awesome.
Great accent. This comes from someone who has actually been around people from Texas and been in Texas. Not someone who just sees people with Texas accents on TV.
I’m a big fan of the original Lonesome Dove, so I’m definitely looking forward to Comanche Moon. I remember reading Lonesome Dove way back in the day, thinking how great it would be if they would do a prequel. I think they made another prequel miniseries about their earlier early days, but I missed that. I’m looking forward to this one.
Oh yeah, this is about Urban. Loved his work in Pathfinder and LotR, so I expect that he’ll be an excellent Bones McCoy.
You geeks need to shut up. Star Trek will be fine with or without you.
Tyajn (and the other names you post under) last warning for flaming and trolling…next time = permaban
So… anyone think Urban is… the real McCoy?
*******************
Oh, and 52: get lost.
#51, there were several fairly mediocre miniseries based on McMurtry’s LD books, and one non canon minseries and a terrible syndicated non canon series.
many actors have played Call already, including Jon Voight, James Garner, and Lee Majors.
The prequel miniseries you’re thinking about is Dead Man’s Walk, Jennifer Garner was in it, and David Arquette was surpringly good as a young Duvall.
After listening to the clips, that’s more Texas twang than it is Georgia drawl. He’ll be fine, though. Hell, the only non-Southern folks who could do a proper accent were mostly British actors.
Oh, yeah, and Dan Ackroyd in “Driving Miss Daisy” is the only American actor I’ve ever heard do a proper Southern accent. Now, *that’s* an old-Atlanta accent, spot ON! When I saw his intro scene, I had to look around the room to make sure that it wasn’t my uncle I was hearing.
Peace. Live long and prosper.
The Vulcanista }:-|
“there were several fairly mediocre miniseries based on McMurtry’s LD books, and one non canon minseries and a terrible syndicated non canon series.
many actors have played Call already, including Jon Voight, James Garner, and Lee Majors.
The prequel miniseries you’re thinking about is Dead Man’s Walk, Jennifer Garner was in it, and David Arquette was surpringly good as a young Duvall.”
-Kahless – January 2, 2008
Lee Majors???
‘Return to Lonesome Dove’ with Jon Voight, is the one McMurtry had nothing to do with ( and it shows). In fact he wrote ‘Streets of Laredo’ (the mini-series stared James Garner as Call) to counter the history of it.
‘Comanche moon’ is a good book, but violent as all get out!! The main character in it is actually Ranger Inish Scull, who goes through an experience that makes Willard’s time in Col. Kurtz’s camp in ‘Apocalypse Now’ look like Disney Land! The best of the LD books after the original is Streets of Laredo which takes place twenty years after Lonesome Dove.
‘Dead Mans Walk’ and ‘Comanche Moon’ were good books but McMurtry completely tossed the established history of the characters from Lonesome Dove. He changed places and times of events, ages of characters etc…
As for Urban’s accent as McCoy. Well, there is a difference between a Texas drawl and a “Deep South” style accent…
I’m sure Urban will get it right. Or at least close enough…
Besides, it’s just acting….
Lee Majors played Call in one episode of the ‘94 LD series, the less said about that, the better, lol.
Voight was ok, didn’t really care for James Garner’s portrayal, Jonny Lee Miller (Angelina Jolie’s ex husband) wasn’t very good as a young Call in Dead Mans Walk.
I hate fake accents, this will be tough to sit through.
#56
Vulcanista, Dan Aykroyd is Canadian… Not that it matters ;)
#56 Dan Ackroyd is Canadian :-P
#56
He is from the Sens Country (Ottawa) where I live in. :D
I want to provoke Harry Ballz for fun since he is in the Laffs Nation. ;)
#60-62
Well, I’ll be! I had no idea Ackroyd was a Canuck. Still, an amazing job he did in “Daisy.” It’s like listening to all my older relatives in the old days.
So there is *no* American actor that can do a proper Southern accent.
Peace. Live long and prosper, y’all.
The Vulcanista }:-|
#62 Captain Hackett “He is from the Sens County”
‘course, they call it Sens Country ’cause anybody with ANY common sense left that place years ago! Hi-yo!! :)
Lonesome Dove was a wonderful book and movie, Dead Man’s Walk, not so good book or movie. I did not see or read the others. I hope this movie is up there with Lonesome Dove, I have yet to read this book also.
Urban was good in LOTR and as much as I hate to admit, on Xena. But as McCoy? I hope my doubts are not met.
Tommy Lee Jones, by far the best portrayal of Woodrow F. Call.
I have an old book titled “The Making of Star Trek” written by Stephen E. Whitfield and Gene Roddenberry, the book was written during or just after the 2nd season. The book has a brief biography of the charactors and Gene sayes that McCoy is from Georgia. He was married once and has a daughter. His divorce sent him into Starfleet service.
Kelly himself is from Georgia.
Hollywood is absolutly filthy with Australian and New Zealand actors. Most of them not well known in the US but all well known to us Downunder, I notice them all them time on TV and Films. You guys just never notice it cause they all pull off the accent so well. Most the time even the casting directors don’t even know.
66. How come I can tell when someones faking…. an accent.
“Lee Majors played Call in one episode of the ‘94 LD series, the less said about that, the better, lol.
Voight was ok”,
58. Kahless – January 3, 2008
I forgot about the series…
Voights a good actor, just doesn’t come across as a Captain Call.
They actually softened Call’s character for the movie Lonesome Dove. In the book Call didn’t get too weepy over McCrae’s death. He was more irked, lol…
‘Return to Lonesome Dove’ isn’t really considered official cannon…
“Lonesome Dove was a wonderful book and movie, Dead Man’s Walk, not so good book or movie. I did not see or read the others. I hope this movie is up there with Lonesome Dove, I have yet to read this book also.”
65. Absoroka – January 3, 2008
In my opinion ‘Streets of Laredo’ , the book, was the best follow up to the original.
‘Dead Man’s Walk’ though, as I said, completely tossed the history of the characters (as does Comanche Moon), made for the best follow up mini-series to the original. But that ain’t saying much….
I think they really did capture lightning in a bottle with the original mini-series. Lonesome Dove is probably the only movie that was as good as the Pulitzer Prize winning novel it was based upon…
hopefully the original will get the restoration it deserves, the dvd is soft and only vhs quality, and people that haved compared it to their tapes of the original broadcast say it has been cropped badly on all four sides.
#68 Fireoftime
I didn’t fully read your first posting indicating that Comanche Moon tossed aside most of the timeline from Lonesome Dove, now that I know I may be less disipointed in the movie if I didn’t get the “heads up”. But it could still make for an entertaining western.
“hopefully the original will get the restoration it deserves”
69. Kahless – January 4, 2008
Amen to that!!!
“I didn’t fully read your first posting indicating that Comanche Moon tossed aside most of the timeline from Lonesome Dove, now that I know I may be less disipointed in the movie if I didn’t get the “heads up”. But it could still make for an entertaining western.”
70. Absoroka – January 4, 2008
It’s been a while since I read the books, but one of the most glaring changes was the Call and Maggie relationship.
In ‘Lonesome Dove’, Call was around 50 or 51. Newt (his son with Maggie) was 16, about to turn 17. In the book, it strongly infers the Maggie was the first and only woman Call had ever been with, and that their relationship (his visiting her in a prostitute/customer relationship) took place over just a few weeks. That means Call would have been about 33 or 34 when their relationship took place. Yet in Dead Man’s Walk, where Call is around 19, he and Maggie begin their “love affair”, and it continues on for over a decade into ‘Comanche Moon’ where Call is around 31.
Another thing is Deets. In ‘Lonesome Dove’ Call makes the grave marker which states that he and Deets served together for 30 years, yet in ‘Comanche Moon’ (which is set around 18 years before Lonesome Dove, Deets is introduced as making just his 2nd outing with the Ranger Company. Same thing with Pea-Eye..
I also believe McMurtry changed the location of most the ‘city-action’ to Austin from Lonesome Dove.
Like I said before though, aside from the Apocalypse Now style hell that Inish Scull goes through in Ahumado’s camp, I enjoyed the book as an adventure in and of itself…
#71
I noticed in Dead Man’s walk Call would call her Maggie, and In Lonesome Dove her biggest pain was he would not call her by her name.
I read a review the other day for Streets of Laredo, Pea Eye Marries Lorie?!! That sounds bazaar. I would of thought Dish got her finally.
Yet in Dead Man’s Walk, where Call is around 19, he and Maggie begin their “love affair”.
I guess Jake Spoon was tossed out the window, he was a rival and many years younger.
#71
I noticed in Dead Man’s walk Call would call her Maggie, and In Lonesome Dove her biggest pain was he would not call her by her name.
I read a review the other day for Streets of Laredo, Pea Eye Marries Lorie?!! That sounds bazaar. I would of thought Dish got her finally.
Yet in Dead Man’s Walk, where Call is around 19, he and Maggie begin their “love affair”.
I guess Jake Spoon was tossed out the window, he was a rival and many years younger.
-Absoroka – January 5, 2008
Yeah McMurtry, for what ever reason, rewrote much of the history.
SPOLIERS!!!
As for ‘Streets of Laredo’, it reveals the fate of the other characters from LD. Newt was killed by the HellBitch (the horse Call gave him) a few weeks after Call left Montana for Texas. It fell on him crushing him. Call went back to Montana, sold off everything, then returned to Texas where he made a living as a bounty hunter.
July Johnson went to work for Clara, but drowned several years latter leading horses across a river.
Pea Eye shows up and goes to work for her, and Clara encourages Lori to marry him as he would always be hardworking and loyal to a wife. -Clara was a woman who (ironically much like Call) looked at life from a practical point of view-. Towards the end of the book we find out she suffered a fate similar to her former husband Bob Allen.
Call is about 70 in the book, which is set about 18 years after Lonesome Dove. He doesn’t go down in a blaze of glory either. He ends up badly crippled, living in Pea-Eye and Lori’s barn where local people bring him various farming tools (knives, sickles et..) to sharpen out of mostly pity for the once famous Ranger.
That was one thing I actually liked about that book. It was achingly realistic in its treatment of its very realistic characters from Lonesome Dove.
BUT, one thing that did irk me, was that McMurtry changed Pea-Eye’s age. In LD he was supposed to have been around the same age as Call and McCrae, yet in ‘Streets of Laredo’ he is said to be considerably younger…
LD got me into westerns which is why I noticed all the changes in the books. McMurtry used real events and people in his books and had his characters interact with them.
In LD McCrae mentions the death of Custer, who died in 1776, suggesting LD was set some time after that. Yet in ‘Dead Man’s Walk’, Call and McCrae take part in the Santa Fe Expedition which happened in 1841. They were Rangers for 30 years, yet the Santa Fe Expedition would have taken place nearer to 40 years before LD is set.
In Lonesome Dove McCrae is said to be 2 years older than Call yet in DMW they are the same age.
I also think in LD -the book- it mentions that McCrae went to college for a year in Tennessee before moving west.
And Jake Spoon does show up in Comanche Moon, but his time with Call and McCrae is so insignificant you’ll wonder why they seems so happy to see him return in Lonesome Dove…
# 73
Thanks for the Spoilers, true to the word. I have lost all interest in reading any of the other books of the series. It would drive me crazy, all the things mixed up from the original story. Killing off Newt (stupid, character with great potential), Pea Eye a younger husband, dumb. July drowning, dumb, another character with great potential.
You want a good western story, did you see Jeremiah Johnson, with Robert Redford? There is a book that the movie is based on called “Crow Killer”. The book is much better then the movie, and the main character John Johnston was a real Mountain Man, the best of them all. He led a real colorful life fighting Indians and the mountains.
# 73
Thanks for the Spoilers, true to the word. I have lost all interest in reading any of the other books of the series.
-Absoroka
Sorry about that. I would say that the books have entertaining stories, you just have to look past their superficial connection to the original Lonesome Dove…
“You want a good western story, did you see Jeremiah Johnson, with Robert Redford? There is a book that the movie is based on called “Crow Killer”. The book is much better then the movie”
-Absoroka
Thanks for the tip. Yeah I liked the movie so I’ll try to find the book…
Although Karl is known for a tough action star in the US, you can really see how he takes on a softer sweet character in his 2 NZ films The Price Of Milk and The Truth about Demons. Both quirky indie films and no trace of the tough guy he portrays in his bigger ones. He is a very versatile actor. Cupid was sweet too. :)
I have no doubt he will pull off a great Bones.
76. Kitt.
Exactly what I wanted to say :). There’s more to him than the tough guy he often portrays… I absolutely *adore* his role in the Price of Milk!