THE DEADBOLT: Your chemistry with Steve Zahn is great. It really works.

URBAN: Thank you. We worked at it pretty hard. We kind of realized we had some pretty big boots to fill. And I’m not just talking in terms of what Tommy Lee Jones and Robert Duvall have done, but for me anyway, more importantly, the legacy of what Larry McMurtry created in those wonderful novels. So we worked really hard at it and we were just very generous and giving with each other in terms of time and energy to learn the material and figure out our approach. I have a huge respect for Steve. I think he does a phenomenal job as Gus. He is in tune and sort of the embodiment of the literary character and, at the same time, he has the mannerisms that Duvall imbued Gus with and also brings something really fresh and new to the table, which is Steve.

THE DEADBOLT: As for Star Trek, how far into filming are you?

URBAN: We’re about a month in.

THE DEADBOLT: Have you been to Iceland?

URBAN: Iceland?

THE DEADBOLT: In the last month or so, there have been a lot of reports that indicate the production might be heading to Iceland. So you haven't been there?

URBAN: No.

THE DEADBOLT: What's been the hardest part for you so far?

URBAN: I think the hardest part really is maintaining the level of security and secrecy that we have all been forced to adopt. I mean it’s really kind of paranoid crazy, but sort of justified. We’re not allowed to walk around in public in our costumes and we have to be herded around everywhere in these golf carts that are completely concealed and covered in black canvas. The security of it is immense. You feel your freedom is a big challenge.

THE DEADBOLT: How will McCoy be different than what we already know?

URBAN: The film that we are making is very faithful in ways to the original series and the characters are the same archetypes which were established in the original series from the '60s. And I think the fact that Leonard Nimoy has chosen to reprise his role as Spock for the first time in 15 years is an incredible endorsement and he wouldn’t be involved if he didn’t believe in J.J. [Abrams] and the authenticity of the project. I’m just really excited about this film and it’s amazing [how] every day someone new comes in and turns up on set, like we had Stephen Spielberg pop in yesterday. Everybody is thoroughly intrigued to see this one and it’s going to be phenomenal. I think the teaser trailer comes out on the front of Cloverfield in January, so people will get their first kind of taste of the look and feel. And I think after Indiana Jones opens in May, this film is going to be the most highly anticipated film of 2008.

THE DEADBOLT: With Star Trek on the go, have you started working with John McTiernan on Run?

URBAN: Run is a project I’m in discussions with, but it’s not something I’m actually signed on to at this point in time... it’s not something that I’m actually attached to at this point.

THE DEADBOLT: After working on Comanche Moon, will you ever do another Western?

URBAN: Absolutely. I love the genre, just love it. A lot of people in Hollywood go, "Westerns, they’re a dead genre," but I don’t believe so. Maybe I’m personally biased, but I’m a huge fan of the genre. I grew up watching Spaghetti Westerns and John Ford and John Wayne, Nevada Smith, and many great Westerns. I hope - I’m pretty sure that the genre will continue to be reinvented and I’m looking forward to the next director stepping up to the plate and really delivering a fresh take on the western. I don’t believe it’s a particularly easy task, because the pace of life in those days is so different to what we are akin to in the modern cyber-world we live. I think it’s a challenge, but I would gladly step into a good western again.

THE DEADBOLT: To you, what's the most important theme of Comanche Moon that still stays with you?

URBAN: For me the most enduring thing is one of camaraderie and loyalty and friendship and the extraordinary lengths the characters would go to to protect and look after their friends.

For more on Comanche Moon, lock down our latest news story, Saddle Up for Comanche Moon in January 2008.