Jessica McNamee on working wth Karl Urban: 'He's so alpha in 'The Boys' but comes into 'Mortal Kombat 2' as the antithesis of that' - EXCLUSIVE

As 'Mortal Kombat 2' gears up for its big release in cinemas this Friday, Jessica McNamee is stepping back into action as Sonya Blade, this time, alongside Karl Urban’s Johnny Cage. In a candid chat with ETimes, the actress opened up about returning to the ring in the epic video game franchise and also reflected on her experience working together with Urban. While she was at it, she also shared how their effortless off-screen bond and shared sense of humour helped add depth, chemistry and emotion to their evolving on-screen relationship.

Spilling the beans about getting back into the boots of Sonya Blade and into the heat of all the action, Jessica said, "I'm really excited about 'Mortal Kombat 2'. We're coming back with a bang. It was like riding a bike, stepping back into Sonya's boots. I missed her, and it was four years between making the two, so I was very eager to get back into character, and my costume still fit, which was good, and my boots were nice and worn in."

The sequel sees Karl Urban joining the team and striking up quite the chemistry with McNamee's Sonya. When asked about their pairing, she admitted, “I love Karl. He's a New Zealander, so he's a neighbour. I'm Australian, obviously. So, there is certainly a shared familiarity already just by the fact that we kind of grew up very similarly in the Southern Hemisphere,” she said.

Addressing their on-screen chemistry, she said, "We have quite a few mutual friends as well, so it was easy. I'm very lucky. That could have been, you know, we really needed to have a good chemistry and friendship first and foremost to make, I think, the chemistry work on screen, and we had that, which was great. We just really got along well. We had a lot of fun."

She also praised Urban’s collaborative approach while discussing how they worked together to deepen the relationship between their characters. She shared, "Karl was always so encouraging of me and open to ideas. And, you know, for us, it was a lot of time spent trying to find different parts throughout the script where we could maybe lace our storyline with a little bit more kind of subtext, knowing that moving forward in this franchise, we develop, you know, there's a lot more to our relationship moving forward in the franchise."

Considering that Sonya and Johnny are one of the game's most intriguing couples, McNamee hinted at a possible romance brewing between the two. She shared, “So it was kind of trying to find subtle places where we could infuse it a little bit more with some stuff like reading between the lines. So it was fun, kind of trying to discover little moments where we could infuse it with a little bit more, adding more weight to their relationship.”

Reflecting on Urban’s transformation from his fan-favourite role in 'The Boys' to the world of 'Mortal Kombat', McNamee admitted she was fascinated by the contrast. "He's so gruff and alpha in 'The Boys'. And then he's kind of, you know, he comes into 'Mortal Kombat' having to be the antithesis of that, which is quite insecure and on the back foot and not having any control. And so it was really fun,” she said.

Having followed Urban’s career for years, McNamee said she was eager to see how he would approach the iconic character. “It was fun because obviously I'd seen his work on 'The Boys'. I've seen a lot of his work over the years, but I didn't know what to expect. I was really looking forward to seeing his take on the character and the way that he would embody that. And I just think he did a great job.”

'Mortal Kombat' releases in theatres in India on May 6.Get the latest entertainment updates from the Times of India, along with the latest Hindi movies, upcoming Hindi movies in 2026 , and Telugu movies.”