Karl Urban: ‘The Boys had to be toned down for the screen’

Karl Urban voiced his concerns with the showrunner of The Boys if he thought the graphic show was “crossing a line”.

In the critically-acclaimed show, based on the comic book of the same name by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson, the 47-year-old stars as Billy Butcher, the leader of a group of vigilantes who set out to take down corrupt superheroes who abuse their superpowers.

In an interview with Collider, the New Zealand native, best known for his role as Doctor 'Bones' McCoy in the rebooted Star Trek saga, revealed that the graphic comic had to be toned down by showrunner and writer Eric Kripke in order to be adapted for Amazon.

"It had to be that way. There are some elements of the comic that are just not palatable for television, at all, and certainly not, if you want to reach a wider audience, which is the goal of any television," Karl explained.

However, he confessed that he had to voice his concerns several times as he felt some scenes were going too far.
"Inevitably there were email chains and phone conversations that would get to the point where I would feel like, 'Hey, this is crossing a line here, that is probably a bridge too far. It’s a bridge too far for me, personally.' Sometimes Eric would acquiesce, but other times, he would just say, 'Let’s just give it a go. If it doesn’t work, we’re not gonna use it.' So, it basically an exercise in trust," Karl added.

Jack Quaid, son of Dennis Quaid and Meg Ryan, plays vigilante Hughie Campbell in the irreverent series, and Karl thoroughly enjoyed the dynamic of their onscreen friendship.

"I love working with Jack. We’re so different, not only as people, but as characters, and that is why the chemistry really works, on screen. It’s the odd couple," he shared.

The Boys, which also stars Chace Crawford, Elisabeth Shue, Simon Pegg and Antony Starr, is available on Amazon Prime now.