Almost Human premieres November 4 on FOX, and to lead the show with a familiar face, the J.J. Abrams-Joel Wyman series has cast a face known to movie audiences for recent sci-fi hits including Star Trek and Dredd: Karl Urban. In this new series, which is set in the future where police are given android partners, Urban plays John Kennex, a man who is struggling with his own place in life after being out of commission for two years.
We spoke with Mr. Urban at the recent Comic-Con International in San Diego about what drew him to this new project.
“One of the elements that attracted me to Almost Human, apart obviously from J.J. and Joel and this amazing cast, was the character of John Kennex and his story,” Urban says. “I found it intriguing that this character wakes up after two years and finds himself in an unfamiliar world. He’s kind of like a dinosaur, and he has to learn how to operate in this society, and not only function and protect and serve the citizens of the city, but then also deal with the baggage of his past, which obviously includes this apprehensive feeling that he has towards anything robotic, because it feels that it’s partly responsible for the loss of his buddies. And then, to wake up and find himself settled with this bio-mechanical leg, is pouring salt on his wound.”
“Not only is he trying to do his job, but he’s trying to reclaim aspects of his life that are just out of bounds for him,” Urban continues. He is a bit of a tormented soul in that regard. I think it’s wonderful what Joel [Wyman] has done; the way that he’s written these two characters of Dorian, the android detective, and John Kennex, the human, and the way that they are forced to interact with each other. I think it’s fertile ground for a lot of conflict; a lot of comedy, and I believe that relationship is the core of the show.”
Want to see the whole interview? Find it below, and remember to set your calendars for November 4!
