The actor behind Johnny Cage says he shouldn’t have trained in his apartment: “I smashed a bunch of crockery. So that was the last time I practiced that at home.”

Karl Urban reveals the ‘most challenging’ fight scene of his life during Mortal Kombat II trailer breakdown (exclusive)

The actor behind Johnny Cage says he shouldn't have trained in his apartment: "I smashed a bunch of crockery. So that was the last time I practiced that at home."

By Wesley Stenzel

Wesley Stenzel is a news writer at **. He began writing for EW in 2022.

EW's editorial guidelines

October 30, 2025 2:48 p.m. ET

Leave a Comment

- Karl Urban cites one particular *Mortal Kombat II* fight scene as "the most challenging fight stunt combat sequence" of his career.

- The *Boys* star says that he "smashed a bunch of crockery" while rehearsing the scene in his apartment.

- Filmmaker Simon McQuoid, *MK *creator Ed Boon, and actors Tati Gabrielle, Adeline Rudolph, and Martyn Ford join Urban in the trailer breakdown.

Karl Urban has kicked ass on the USS Enterprise in *Star Trek*, in Middle Earth in *The Lord of the Rings*, and on Asgard in the Marvel Cinematic Universe — but none of those proved as difficult as picking up Johnny Cage's bo staff.

The *Dredd* actor tells ** about the most difficult fight choreography he's ever executed during a trailer breakdown for *Mortal Kombat II* alongside director Simon McQuoid, *Mortal Kombat* creator Ed Boon, and costars Tati Gabrielle, Adeline Rudolph, and Martyn Ford.

"Oh my god," Urban says upon seeing his tussle with CJ Bloomfield's Baraka. "The stunt department gave me this bo stick to train with, and I was in my apartment flying this thing around."

It turns out that melee weapons and kitchenware don't mix. "It went flying," Urban says of the staff. "I smashed a bunch of crockery. So that was the last time I practiced that at home."

He continues, "This was without a doubt the most challenging fight stunt combat sequence that I have ever been involved with in my career."

McQuoid explains how the film captured the Tarkatan village where the fight takes place. "A lot of the scenes are in sets, in soundstages," the director begins. "This was a wonderful opportunity to get outside and get the sunlight working. It was really important to me that we had this flavor and this feeling. It needed to feel bleached and brutal. I wanted to get a sense that this was a community."

Karl Urban in 'Mortal Kombat II'.

The filmmaker goes on to explain that he took inspiration from "one of the most recent games" in the *Mortal Kombat* series. "In the story mode, you go into the Tarkatan village, and I looked at that, and I thought, 'Okay, we have to make this real,'" he recalls. "This is a massive opportunity. I actually sort of saw that as we were in early development."

He added, "It was lots of fun out there in the dust."

'Mortal Kombat 2' star on how Kitana plays just as big of a role as Johnny Cage (exclusive)

'Mortal Kombat 2' trailer previews the tournament, reveals new characters

Earlier in the video, Urban details a "terrifying" scene where the entire *MKII* cast watched him from off-camera: a sequence in which Johnny (a Hollywood movie star in the *MK* universe) films a fight scene for his action epic *Uncaged Fury*.

"It was a terrifying experience," Urban says. "These are guys who are all like, 'Hey, we're gonna come and watch *Uncaged Fury*, and I'm like, 'Oh, great, great, great.'"

The *Boys* star was embarrassed to perform in such a goofy getup in front of such experienced combatants. "I turn up to work, and I put this costume on, and it's this '90s MC Hammer-esque kinda dude," he says. "I feel ridiculous. I know it's so Johnny Cage. It's right out of the game. Looks amazing."

Tati Gabrielle, Martyn Ford, Ed Boon, Karl Urban, Simon McQuoid, and Adeline Rudolph breaking down the 'Mortal Kombat II' trailer for .

He continues, "I walk on set, and there's all the cast, and all of them are incredibly proficient at martial arts, and I'm coming here to do this Johnny Cage *Uncaged Fury* fight scene, and I was nervous."

***Get your daily dose of entertainment news, celebrity updates, and what to watch with our EW Dispatch newsletter.***

Overall, however, shooting the scene was ultimately a positive experience. "We leaned into it and had so much fun," Urban says. "One of my most favorite parts of shooting the film, for sure."

Watch the full video of the *Mortal Kombat II* cast and creators breaking down the trailer above.

Original Article on Source

Source: “EW Movies”