Urban gets up close and personal with Al Pacino

Kiwi actor Karl Urban with Al Pacino on the set of Hangman. Photo / Supplied

New Zealand actor Karl Urban has been filming alongside Hollywood legend Al Pacino in thriller Hangman.

Urban has released a photo of himself and Pacino while shooting on set in the United States.

In the movie, directed by Johnny Martin, the Kiwi actor plays a criminal profiler who works alongside Pacino, a decorated homicide detective, to catch a serial killer who draws inspiration from the children's game, Hangman.

The men are pictured inside a vehicle and appear to be on a stake-out.

Urban, wearing a suit, stares off into the distance.

Filming started this month in Atlanta. American actress Brittany Snow, of Hairspray and television series American Dreams fame, has been cast as a journalist who follows the two men as they work on the case.

Earlier this year, Urban told the Herald on Sunday he was honoured to be working alongside someone who was considered one of the greats of the acting world.

"I am very much looking forward to shooting Hangman and working together with Al.

"I have immense respect for his ability and craft,'' Urban said.

"Pacino is one of the greats. He has phenomenal instincts and his contribution to stage and screen is truly inspirational.''

Urban has long been a household name in New Zealand, having appeared on local soap Shortland Street (as ambulance officer Jamie Forrest) in the early years of his career.

He also starred in television series hits Xena: Warrior Princess and Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, before getting his break in bigger films including The Chronicles of Riddick and Star Trek.