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Clive Owen

Clive Owen
Clive Owen (born 3 October 1964) is an Academy Award -nominated, and Golden Globe- and BAFTA-award winning British actor.

Early life
The fourth of five brothers, Owen was born in Coventry, Warwickshire, UK, the son of Pamela and Jess Owen. His father, a country and western singer, left the family when Owen was three years old, and despite a brief reconciliation when Owen was nineteen, the two have remained estranged. Raised by his mother and stepfather, a railway ticket clerk, he has described his childhood as "rough." While initially opposed to drama school, he changed his mind in 1984, after a long and fruitless period of searching for work. Owen graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in 1987 with a class that included Ralph Fiennes and Jane Horrocks. After graduation, he won a position at the Young Vic, performing in several William Shakespeare plays. In an incident he later described as "very schmaltzy", he met his future wife when the two performed the leads in Romeo and Juliet.

Career
Initially, Owen carved out a career in television: in 1988 Owen starred as Gideon Sarn in a BBC production of Precious Bane and the Channel 4 film Vroom before the 1990s saw him become a regular on stage and television in the UK, notably his lead role in the ITV series Chancer, followed by an appearance in the Thames Television production of Lorna Doone.

He won critical acclaim for his performances in the 1991 Stephen Poliakoff film Close My Eyes, in which he has a full frontal nude scene, about a brother and sister who embark on an incestuous love affair; he subsequently appeared in The Magician, Class of '61, Century, Nobody's Children, An Evening with Gary Lineker, Doomsday Gun, Return of the Native, The Turnaround and then a Carlton production called Sharman, about a private detective. In 1996 he appeared in his first major Hollywood film The Rich Man's Wife alongside Halle Berry before finding international acclaim in a Channel 4 film directed by Mike Hodges called Croupier in 1998. He played the title role of a struggling writer who takes a job in a London casino as inspiration for his work, only to get caught up in a robbery scheme. In 1999 he appeared as an accident-prone driver in Split Second, his first BBC production for a decade.

He then starred in The Echo, a BBC1 drama. He starred in a film called Greenfingers about a criminal who goes to work in a garden, before appearing in the BBC1 mystery series Second Sight. In 2001 he provided the voice-over for a BBC2 documentary about popular music through the years called Walk On By, as well as starring in a highly-acclaimed theatre production called The Day in the Death of Joe Egg, about a couple with a severely handicapped daughter.
He became well known to North American audiences in the summer of 2001 after starring as The Driver in the The Hire, a series of short films sponsored by BMW and made by prominent directors. He then appeared in Robert Altman's Gosford Park, alongside an all-star cast including Helen Mirren and Ryan Phillippe. He has appeared in The Bourne Identity with Matt Damon. In 2003, he teamed up with Hodges again to make I'll Sleep When I'm Dead. He starred in Beyond Borders and took on the title role in King Arthur, for which he took horse-riding lessons.
Owen appeared in the West End and Broadway hit play Closer, by Patrick Marber, which was produced as a film, and was released in 2005. He played "Dan" in the play, but was "Larry" the dermatologist in the film version. His portrayal of Larry in the film version earned him a lot of recognition as well as the Golden Globe and BAFTA award and an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. He noted that the expectations of him since the Oscar nomination have not changed the way he approaches film-making, stating that, "I try, every film I do, to be as good as I can and that's all I can do".

Personal life
Owen lives in Highgate, London and Wrabness, north Essex, with his wife Sarah-Jane Fenton and their two daughters, Hannah and Eve.

In November 2006, he became patron of the Electric Palace Cinema in Harwich, UK, and launched an appeal for funds to repair deteriorating elements of the fabric.

He enjoys the music of indie rock band Hard-Fi and has been seen at two of their concerts, Brixton Academy, 15 May 2006 and Wembley Arena, 18 December 2007.

Owen has been a fan of Liverpool FC since he was a boy - despite hailing from Coventry.


Photos | News | What members say | Filmography

Clive Owen - photos

  • Sir Walter Raleigh Sir Walter Raleigh
    Clive Owen as Sir Walter Raleigh in Elizabeth - The Golden Age
  • Clive Owen in Inside Man Clive Owen in Inside Man
  • Clive Owen Clive Owen

Clive Owen - news / articles


  • Owen stunned by bad movie scripts - 17 September 2009
    -Actor Clive Owen is staggered at the amount of money which has been thrown at terrible films during the recession - insisting he has seen many of the worst scripts which have been greenlighted. - -The Closer star can't believe that Hollywood executives are backing


  • Top 10 Clive Owen - 6 July 2009
    ost of all Kazakhs…- -Tom Charity- tom.charity@lovefilm.com- -FREAKS & GEEKS- - - - -Croupier (1998)- -Clive Owen was accustomed to TV roles when he found international acclaim in the intelligent Channel 4 thriller Croupier. Channeling James


  • Julia Roberts to re-team with Clive Owen - 1 November 2007
    Oscar-winning actress Julia Roberts is set to co-star once again with Clive Owen in a new project entitled Duplicity, Variety reported this week.-Previously, the pair featured as a married couple in Closer, a story of love and infidelity also starring Jude Law and N

Clive Owen - what members say


  • Greenfingers
  • Greenfingers review by from Saddleworth, England
    Rated - 2 stars Somewhat predictable! 9 August 2004
    ...e story is pretty corny and predictable. Makes you wonder why Helen Mirren and Clive Owen wanted to be a part of it! More like 'a made for TV' film....  
  • Chancer - The Complete Series 2
  • Chancer - The Complete Series 2 review by A customer from Oxfordshire, England
    Rated - 4 stars Chancer - 6 episodes 19 April 2005
    ...2 hours of entertainment for fans of the series. Clive Owen oozes charm and there are great character actors backing him up. Nice bit of chemistry between Clive and the...  
  • The Bourne Identity
  • The Bourne Identity review by from Nottingham, England
    Rated - 5 stars Retro thriller 11 August 2004
    ...ed in his flight by Franka Potente, while CIA boss Chris Cooper marshals agents Clive Owen and Julia Stiles against him. It?s skilfully directed by Liman throughout, t...  

Clive Owen - filmography


  • Duplicity on DVD (2009)
    Starring: Julia Roberts,  Clive Owen,  Tom Wilkinson
    Director: Tony Gilroy
    Certificate: Certificate: 12
    From the writer/director of Michael Clayton, Duplicity is a smart, slick and cool espionage movie. Academy Award® winner Julia Roberts and Clive Owen star as two sexy spies turned-corporate operatives who attempt to pull off one of the biggest heists ever. As the stakes rise in the ultimate game of ..read more »
    Rate this: 3 stars out of 5 56% from 10,511 members
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  • Shoot 'Em Up on DVD (2007)
    Starring: Clive Owen,  Monica Bellucci,  Paul Giamatti
    Director: Michael Davis
    Certificate: Certificate: 18
    Shoot 'Em Up is a gritty, fast paced action thriller starring Clive Owen as Mr. Smith; a mysterious loner who teams up with an unlikely ally (Monica Bellucci) in order to protect a newborn baby from a determined hitman (Paul Giamatti) who hunts them throughout the bowels of the city.
    Rate this: 3 stars out of 5 58% from 35,282 members
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  • Inside Man on DVD (2006)
    Starring: Denzel Washington,  Clive Owen,  Jodie Foster
    Director: Spike Lee
    Certificate: Certificate: 15
    Inside Man is the story of a tough cop, Detective Frazier (Denzel Washington), who matches wits with a clever bank robber, Dalton (Clive Owen), in a tense hostage drama. As the dangerous cat-and-mouse game unfolds, a wild card emerges: Madaline (Jodie Foster), a power broker with a hidden agenda, ..read more »
    Rate this: 3.5 stars out of 5 71% from 71,179 members
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  • Derailed on DVD (2005)
    Starring: Clive Owen,  Jennifer Aniston,  Vincent Cassel
    Director: Mikael Hafstrom
    Certificate: Certificate: 15
    For Charles and Lucinda, a chance meeting quickly leads to unstoppable passion. But just as suddenly, a violent stranger explodes into their lives. Before they know it, they are thrown into an inescapable game of blackmail and sent hurlting towards a terrifying fate they may not survive...
    Rate this: 3.5 stars out of 5 66% from 38,021 members
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  • King Arthur on DVD (2004)
    Starring: Clive Owen,  Ioan Gruffudd,  Keira Knightley
    Director: Antoine Fuqua
    Certificate: Certificate: 15
    Combining the historical appeal and epic sequences of films like GLADIATOR and BRAVEHEART, director Antoine Fuqua (TRAINING DAY) and producer Jerry Bruckheimer provide a sleek twist on the King Arthur legend. Arthur (Clive Owen), a brave Roman/British Christian warrior who leads his band of pagan ..read more »
    Rate this: 3 stars out of 5 56% from 50,953 members
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  • Closer on DVD (2004)
    Starring: Julia Roberts,  Jude Law,  Natalie Portman
    Director: Mike Nichols
    Certificate: Certificate: 15
    Are humans meant to mate for life - What drives someone in a perfectly good relationship to cheat and risk losing the one that they love and that loves them - Is it possible to love more than one person at the same time - How well does anyone really know the one that they love. Directed by Mike ..read more »
    Rate this: 3 stars out of 5 55% from 67,496 members
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  • Greenfingers on DVD (2000)
    Starring: Clive Owen,  Helen Mirren,  David Kelly
    Director: Joel Hershman
    Certificate: Certificate: 15
    A blooming comedy, this is a heart-warming horticultural tale of redemption and rehabilitation. Clive Owen stars as a greenfingered ex-convict sent to an open prison, he helps and encourages the other prisoners to create a prison garden. They are so successful that they are allowed to take their ..read more »
    Rate this: 3.5 stars out of 5 67% from 1,559 member
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  • Croupier on DVD (1998)
    Starring: Clive Owen,  Kate Hardie,  Alex Kingston
    Director: Mike Hodges
    Certificate: Certificate: 15
    CROUPIER tells the complex story of an aspiring writer who must take a job in order to pay the bills. Experienced as a professional croupier, Jack Manfred (Clive Owen) is hired by an upscale casino in London, where he intends to silently observe the goings on while continuing to work on his latest ..read more »
    Rate this: 3 stars out of 5 62% from 4,247 members
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  • Bent (1997)
    Starring: Clive Owen,  Lothaire Bluteau,  Ian McKellen
    Director: Sean Mathias
    Certificate: Certificate: 18
    An interesting cast fills out this solemn production based on the play by Martin Sherman (who also wrote the screenplay). During WWII, a Berlin homosexual is caught up in the Nazi hysteria. After being forced to kill his lover, he is placed in a prison camp, where he lies so he will be classified ..read more »
    Rate this: 3 stars out of 5 60% from 1,850 member
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  • The Rich Man's Wife on DVD (1996)
    Starring: Halle Berry,  Peter Greene,  Clive Owen
    Director: Amy Holden Jones
    Certificate: Certificate: 18
    When the wealthy, older husband of a beautiful young woman is found brutally murdered, the wife (Halle Berry) instantly becomes the prime suspect. Caught up in trying to clear her name, she becomes the prime target for the psychotic terrorist who actually committed the murder.
    Rate this: 2.5 stars out of 5 51% from 493 members
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  • The Return of the Native (1994)
    Starring: Catherine Zeta Jones,  Clive Owen,  Ray Stevenson
    Director: Jack Gold
    Certificate: Certificate: TBC
    Eustacia Vye longs to return to Paris, so marries Clym Yeobright when he returns from his work there, hoping he will take her back with him. However he has no plans to return, less so after his eyes begin to fail him. And so Eustacia finds herself looking for love elsewhere.
    Rate this: 2.5 stars out of 5 46% from 28 members
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Clive Owen facts

5 most recent films

Boys Are Back - 3.0 stars
Duplicity - BLU-RAY Version - 3.0 stars
Duplicity - 3.0 stars
International, The - BLU-RAY Version - 3.0 stars
Trouble Is My Business - 3 stars

5 highest-rated films

Bourne Identity, The - BLU-RAY Version - 4.5 stars
Bourne Identity, The - HD DVD Version - 4.0 stars
Sin City - BLU-RAY Version - Recut, Extended, Unrated Version - 4.0 stars
The Bourne Identity - 4.0 stars
Sin City - BLU-RAY Version - Restored Theatrical Version - 4.0 stars

5 lowest-rated films

Trouble Is My Business - 3 stars
The Return of the Native - 2.5 stars
Boys Are Back - 3.0 stars
I'll Sleep When I'm Dead - 2.5 stars
The Rich Man's Wife - 2.5 stars

Most frequent co-stars

Mickey Rourke - 5 times - show films
Jessica Alba - 5 times - show films
Brittany Murphy - 5 times - show films
Rosario Dawson - 5 times - show films
Jaime King - 5 times - show films

Most frequent directors

Frank Miller - 6 times - show films
Robert Rodriguez - 5 times - show films
Quentin Tarant - 4 times - show films
Spike Lee - 3 times - show films
Alfonso Cuaron - 3 times - show films


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