Johann Urb (born 24 January 1977) is an Estonian-American actor, producer, and former model.

Early life and education

Johann Urb was born in

Tallinn Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju ' ...

to parents Tarmo and Maris Urb. His father is an Estonian musician and the brother of actor and singer

Toomas Urb Toomas Urb (born on 2 December 1958 in Tartu) is an Estonian actor and singer. In 1984 he graduated from Tallinn State Conservatory Stage Art Department. From 1984 until 1987, he was an actor an Estonian Drama Theatre. Since 1989 he has lived in ...

. At the age of ten, he moved to live in

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

with his mother and her new Finnish husband, where he was raised primarily in

Tampere Tampere ( , , ; sv, Tammerfors, ) is a city in the Pirkanmaa region, located in the western part of Finland. Tampere is the most populous inland city in the Nordic countries. It has a population of 244,029; the urban area has a population o ...

. After turning 17, Urb moved to the United States, where his father lived, and began his career in modeling in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, which led him later on to pursuing a career in acting. He studied drama at the

Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute The Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute (originally the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute) is an acting school founded in 1969 by actor, director, and acting teacher Lee Strasberg. The Institute is located in Union Square on East 15th Street, a ...

Career

In 2001, Urb landed a small part in the film ''

Zoolander ''Zoolander'' is a 2001 American comedy film directed by and starring Ben Stiller. The film contains elements from a pair of short films directed by Russell Bates and written by Drake Sather and Stiller for the '' VH1 Fashion Awards'' television ...

''. Later, he made an appearance in the short film ''Fear of Feathers'' and had a role in one episode of ''

CSI: Miami ''CSI: Miami'' (''Crime Scene Investigation: Miami'') is an American police procedural drama television series that ran from September 23, 2002 until April 8, 2012 on CBS. Featuring David Caruso as Lieutenant Horatio Caine, Emily Procter as Dete ...

''. In 2004, Urb appeared in the short-running television series ''

The Mountain The Mountain (french: La Montagne) was a political group during the French Revolution. Its members, called the Montagnards (), sat on the highest benches in the National Convention. They were the most radical group and opposed the Girondins. Th ...

''. Following that, he guest starred in several television shows and made smaller film roles. In 2005, Urb played a tall, Scandinavian-vintage worker, an awkward yet loyal ranch hand for Willie and Missie LeHay in "Love's Long Journey," the third installment in the 8-episode Hallmark television series "Love Comes Softly." Urb would then get his first major film role in ''

The Hottie and the Nottie ''The Hottie and The Nottie'' (stylized as ''The Hottie & The Nottie'') is a 2008 American romantic comedy film starring Paris Hilton, Joel David Moore, and Christine Lakin. Written by Heidi Ferrer and directed by Tom Putnam, the film began shooti ...

'' in 2008. The next year, Urb made a short appearance in

Roland Emmerich Roland Emmerich (; born 10 November 1955) is a German film director, screenwriter, and producer. He is widely known for his science fiction and disaster films and has been called a "master of disaster" within the industry. His films, most of wh ...

's disaster epic ''

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

'' as a heroic pilot and he played a journalist in the fantasy TV series '' Eastwick''. He also played the part of

Leon S. Kennedy is a character in ''Resident Evil'' (''Biohazard'' in Japan), a survival horror video game series created by Japanese company Capcom. He debuted as one of the two player characters of the video game ''Resident Evil 2'' (1998), alongside Claire ...

in '' Resident Evil: Retribution'', which was released in 2012.New International Banner Artwork for Resident Evil: Retribution
/ref> He also played the part of U.S. Park Ranger Burt Moore, the boyfriend of

Abby Sciuto Abigail "Abby" Beethoven Sciuto is a fictional character from the '' NCIS'' television series on CBS Television, and is portrayed by Pauley Perrette. In a season 10 episode entitled "Hit and Run", a young Abby was played by Brighton Sharbino in ...

in the series '' NCIS''.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Urb, Johann 1977 births Living people 21st-century American male actors 21st-century Estonian male actors American male film actors American male models American male television actors Estonian emigrants to the United States Estonian expatriates in Finland Estonian male film actors Estonian male models Estonian male television actors Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute alumni Male actors from Tallinn male actors from Tampere