Karl Urban calls vampire trend 'sexy'

Karl Urban has called the current vampire trend in popular culture "sexy".

The Star Trek actor plays a vampire in the upcoming movie Priest.

Speaking to HitFix, the 37-year-old claimed that vampires are popular because they are thought to be "taboo".

"I think it's kind of sexy. It's really interesting how that whole genre has taken off," he said.

"I think there is something taboo about [vampires] and that is always, I think, very attractive. There is something forbidden about it and sexual, and I think that is a great hook for people. You always want what you can't have."

Priest opens in US cinemas on January 14, 2011.