Karl Urban Said the ‘Earth Was Shaking’ Filming 1 ‘Lord of the Rings’ Battle
Karl Urban entered the realm of Hollywood A-listers with his role of Éomer, son of Éomund in Peter Jackson’s sprawling epic The Two Towers, the middle part of his masterpiece The Lord of the Rings trilogy.
It was a big-budget risk, shooting all three movies on an 18-month schedule. But it paid off handsomely with commercial success, critical acclaim, and many Academy Awards, including an 11-nomination clean sweep in 2004 with The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.
Among the complicated scenes and shoots on all three movies, Urban noted one particular battle scene that was literally earthshaking.
Karl Urban called the role of Éomer ‘a dream come true’
In an interview with GQ, Urban laid out a picture of the huge battle for the fate of Middle Earth. In a role the actor called “a dream come true,” Éomer rides a horse alongside his people, the Rohirrim, who are all horsemasters. He enters a last-ditch battle to save Middle Earth at Minas Tirith, the citadel and seat of power for the one true king.
“The battle scenes were pretty insane,” explained Urban. “…They went through some extreme measures to put some serious numbers on the field … They put out a call on the South Island to all able-bodied horse riders to bring your horse.”
The result? Urban elaborates, “Hundreds and hundreds of people turned up. A lot of women turned up. And they slapped beards on them, and put them in these fantastic costumes… Hundreds of riders were charging down the hill.”
Not only did the real riders bring a sense of physical presence to the scene — despite a lot of CGI in use — the riders’ skills were displayed via row after row of horses.
Karl Urban says ‘the earth was literally shaking’ at Minas Tirith
As the riders charged down the hill to meet the awaiting orc armies surrounding the gigantic castle, King Theoden knew he was outnumbered and would likely die. It didn’t matter. He would defend his kingdom or die trying with all of Rohan at his side.
Karl Urban remembers the charge down the hill vividly. “I’ll never forget the sound of it. The earth was literally shaking.”
The native New Zealander was proud of his time on The Lord of the Rings. The Boys star mused that he saw more of his country shooting those movies over three years than in his entire life up to that point. Urban credited a lot of the people surrounding him with the success of the trilogy. It has become one of the most successful franchises of all time.
Will the magic of the Rings of Power live on?
Amazon Prime Video sure hopes tens of millions of Ringers charge down the hill toward Helm’s Deep to watch the streaming-only series. Amazon has invested a whopping $1 billion to bring J.R.R. Tolkien’s universe back to life. The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power premieres on the streaming service on Sept. 1, 2022.
