Clive Owen

Interview By: Dan Portnoy
DanielPortnoy@TheCinemaSource.com

*Click Here For Another Interview with Clive Owen

As far as movies go, if England has given us anything in the past eight years it's been Clive Owen. This suave smooth talking British actor first got the attention of Hollywood in his 1998 film, Croupier, and since then has rocketed his way to stardom in the states. Starting out small with some minor roles as a valet in Robert Altman's Gosford Park and a fellow assassin in Doug Liman's The Bourne Identity Owen steadily climbed the celebrity ladder. Now, the name Clive Owen has bombarded audiences in homes and movie theaters around the globe, making him one of film's most talented and successful leading men. This year Owen wow's audiences again as he joins an all-star cast in the new heist thriller from Spike Lee, Inside Man.

This isn't your average bank robbery movie by any means. Twists and ulterior motives riddle the film in which career criminal Dalton Russell (Owen) claims to have orchestrated the perfect bank robbery. Once Russell takes control of the bank the police are called in to resolve the situation. Detective Keith Frazier (Denzel Washington) spearheads the problem and opens the lines of communication with the bank's surprisingly calm would-be looter. When things begin to spin out of control, Madeline White (Jodie Foster), a rich man's problem solver for hire, adds herself to the situation. Now, it's only a matter of time before this house of cards tumbles to the ground in a climax you'll have to see to believe.

When you sit down with a man like Clive Owen it may surprise some to discover what a down to earth guy he is. He's got that stimulating English accent, great enthusiasm for his art, and the deepest respect for his director and fellow actors. 'I've been a huge fan of Spike Lee's for his whole career and to be in a movie directed by him with Denzel Washington and Jodie Foster, they're both absolutely as good as it gets.' Owen was particularly excited about Lee's directing style and way of putting the page to screen. 'He's got an attitude and visceralness about the way he makes his movies that no one else has got. And he's incredibly dynamic with the camera; he's very assured about how he wants to shoot a scene.' Even more satisfying is Lee's knack for putting a genuine New York City touch, proving his ability time and time again with his films.

With a hit squad like Washington, Foster, and Lee attached to this film, Owen didn't need much convincing to take the part of Russell. 'This one I didn't need any persuading, Spike Lee directing with Denzel Washington and Jodie Foster, that was a very clear done deal.' Not to mention the script was one that drew him in immediately (even though he had to wear a mask and sunglasses for most of the film). 'It's a very smart script and a very well put together heist movie.' And Owen isn't the kind of man to blow smoke, no sir, so you can bet on seeing an elaborate puzzle piece itself together over the course of those two hours you sit glued to your seats.

As you may have noticed, Clive Owen has a tendency to play characters that, well, have 'flexible' moral convictions (to put it delicately). From the cold foul mouthed Larry in Closer, to trigger happy Dwight in Sin City, Owen playing a bank robber is another notch on the not so good-guy belt. But there's a reason, a method to his madness if you will, 'to [always] play root-one good guys, none of us are, so it doesn't feel real to me. I'm always much more interested in playing characters that are full of contradictions.'

While playing characters 'full of contradictions' Owen doesn't give himself a whole lot of time for research. In fact, he has never been one for researching a role to begin with. 'I'm not a great one for huge amounts of research. I use the script as the platform to go and do it and as long as I know what I'm talking about I never feel the need to go off and immerse myself in any world. I think its more just trying to execute what the writers' intended.' And somehow he has managed to succeed brilliantly. Everyone has their own style I suppose. Of course, the backbone of his achievements he attributes to the people he has worked alongside throughout his career. 'Part of the joy of being an actor is adapting and working with different styles'ultimately it's really about having respect for the people your working with and if you've got that everything becomes very easy.'

At present, Owen is very happy about the state of his life and career. 'I'm a very lucky boy. I've got a fantastic family back in London and I'm having the time of my life in my work.' Speaking of which how did an Englishman like Owen feel about filming in New York City' 'New York is the best city in the world in my opinion. It's the only place I ever come where I can always stay longer...I'm crazy about this city. If it wasn't for the fact that I've got a family and kids that are settled in London I'm pretty sure I'd probably be living here.' A bold statement, but true, New York is a great city. Maybe one day we'll be lucky enough to have Clive full time rather than having to share him with our neighbors.

So other than the four films he has in the works now, what does the future hold for Owen' Perhaps a personal project' Or maybe a role that he's always been dying to do' I'm going to go with none of the above. 'I'm pretty much an actor for hire. I like the idea of just getting a script in and getting excited by it and wanting to do it. There's nothing I've got that's a boding ambition to do. So I'm more excited about not knowing what's coming up. I love the idea that some gem of a script can come through.' So what would he do if he wasn't an actor and wasn't able to get that gratification that only a good script can deliver' 'There was never a plan B. It had to happen for me because that [acting] was all I ever wanted to do'it scares me - the idea of not doing this, because I don't know what it is I'd have ended up doing.'

One of the four films Owen is currently working on is called Shoot 'Em Up, directed by Michael Davis, set for a 2006 release. And I have to tell you it sounds pretty exciting. 'I came from Toronto yesterday; we're in the middle of shooting it now. It's a really incredibly wild fresh original script'it was so inventive and so crazy and wild. It's an incredibly ingenious action movie where the lead character keeps being put in incredible situations.' Audiences still have some time to wait for that one. Also in the works is a Sin City 2, Elizabeth: The Golden Age in which Owen plays Sir Walter Raleigh, and The Children of Men which places Owen in a futuristic society in which men and woman can no longer produce offspring (what a shitty future). But on the 24th audiences can catch Clive Owen in Inside Man and see whether or not there is such a thing as 'the perfect bank robbery.'