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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 |
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What members say |
Filmography
Clive Owen - photos
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Sir Walter Raleigh
Clive Owen as Sir Walter Raleigh in Elizabeth - The Golden Age
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Clive Owen in Inside Man
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Clive Owen
Clive Owen - news / articles
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Clive Owen's childhood fears over terrorist attacks -
18 August 2012
-Actor Clive Owen grew up fearing he'd fall victim to a terrorist attack after seeing horrific news reports of conflict in Northern Ireland.-The Sin City star, who grew up in Coventry, became terrified he would be embroiled in an attack by the IRA.- Owen, whose new
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Owen's love affair with Madrid began on film set -
23 March 2012
-Movie star Clive Owen fell in love with Madrid's food and wine culture while he was shooting his new movie Intruders in the Spanish capital.-The actor admits he now returns to the city whenever he can, just to satisfy his new-found appreciation of the best things i
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Owen upset with 'R' rating for new film -
23 March 2011
-Actor Clive Owen is upset his hard-hitting new movie drama Trust has been given a restrictive 'R' rating - because he feels teenagers should see the film. -
-The Brit plays a doting dad whose daughter meets up with an Internet penpal only to find he's a sick 40-som
Clive Owen - what members say
review by from Saddleworth, England
Somewhat predictable! 9 August 2004
review by A customer from Oxfordshire, England
Chancer - 6 episodes 19 April 2005
review by from Nottingham, England
Retro thriller 11 August 2004
Clive Owen - filmography
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Shadow Dancer - Blu-ray
(2012)
Starring: Martin McCann, Michael McElhatton, Brid Brennan
Director: James Marsh
Certificate: 
Thriller starring Clive Owen and Angela Riseborough, adapted by Tom Bradby from his own novel. Belfast native Colette McVeigh (Riseborough) comes from a family of well-known IRA sympathisers. After being arrested on suspicion of carrying a bomb on the London Underground, she is questioned by MI5 ..read more »
 
60%
from 1,433 member
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Being Liverpool
on DVD
(2012)
Starring: Clive Owen
Certificate: 
Being Liverpool represents the first time that a top Premier League football club has opened its doors to allow cameras to document what it takes to compete at the highest level. The DVD chronicle's life inside the club from the perspective of the players, coaches, management, and ownership as they ..read more »
69%
from 64 members
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Shadow Dancer
on DVD
(2012)
Starring: Clive Owen, Aidan Gillen, Aidan Gillen
Director: James Marsh
Certificate:
Thriller starring Clive Owen and Angela Riseborough, adapted by Tom Bradby from his own novel. Belfast native Colette McVeigh (Riseborough) comes from a family of well-known IRA sympathisers. After being arrested on suspicion of carrying a bomb on the London Underground, she is questioned by MI5 ..read more »
60%
from 2,563 members
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Killer Elite - Blu-ray
(2011)
Starring: Jason Statham, Clive Owen, Robert De Niro
Director: Gary McKendry
Certificate: 
When his mentor (Robert De Niro) is taken captive, a retired member of Britain's Elite Special Air Service (Jason Statham) is forced into action. His mission: kill three assassins dispatched by their cunning leader (Clive Owen).
65%
from 8,292 members
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Intruders
on DVD
(2011)
Starring: Clive Owen, Carice van Houten, Daniel Brühl
Director: Juan Carlos Fresnadillo
Certificate:
Intruders tells parallel stories of two families whose lives are disrupted by menacing apparitions: in Spain, a mother tries to protect her son from a faceless stranger, while in Britain, a young girl has terrifying dreams of a demon who becomes a real danger to her and her family.
53%
from 860 members
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Intruders - Blu-ray
(2011)
Starring: Clive Owen, Carice van Houten, Daniel Brühl
Director: Juan Carlos Fresnadillo
Certificate:
Intruders tells parallel stories of two families whose lives are disrupted by menacing apparitions: in Spain, a mother tries to protect her son from a faceless stranger, while in Britain, a young girl has terrifying dreams of a demon who becomes a real danger to her and her family.
54%
from 668 members
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Killer Elite
on DVD
(2011)
Starring: Jason Statham, Clive Owen, Robert De Niro
Director: Gary McKendry
Certificate:
When his mentor (Robert De Niro) is taken captive, a retired member of Britain's Elite Special Air Service (Jason Statham) is forced into action. His mission: kill three assassins dispatched by their cunning leader (Clive Owen).
65%
from 15,227 members
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Trust - Blu-ray
(2010)
Starring: Clive Owen, Catherine Keener, Viola Davis
Director: David Schwimmer
Certificate:
Watch now: Unavailable
Safe and sound in their suburban home, Will and Lynn Cameron (Clive Owen and Catherine Keener) used to sleep well at night. When their 14-year-old daughter, Annie, made a new friend on-line – a 16-year-old boy named Charlie – Will and Lynn didn’t think much of it. But when Annie and Charlie make a ..read more »
66%
from 3,621 members
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The Boys Are Back
on DVD
(2010)
Starring: Clive Owen, Laura Fraser, George MacKay
Director: Scott Hicks
Certificate: 
Watch now: Unavailable
Inspired by a true story, "The Boys Are Back" is a deeply moving, wryly confessional tale of fatherhood, that intimately evokes both the fragility and wonders of family life. It follows a witty, wisecracking, action-oriented sportswriter (Clive Owen) who, in the wake of his wife's tragic death, ..read more »
63%
from 6,279 members
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Trust
on DVD
(2010)
Starring: Clive Owen, Catherine Keener, Viola Davis
Director: David Schwimmer
Certificate:
Watch now: Unavailable
Safe and sound in their suburban home, Will and Lynn Cameron (Clive Owen and Catherine Keener) used to sleep well at night. When their 14-year-old daughter, Annie, made a new friend on-line – a 16-year-old boy named Charlie – Will and Lynn didn't think much of it. But when Annie and Charlie make a ..read more »
66%
from 11,086 members
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The International - Blu-ray
(2009)
Starring: Victor Slezak, Brian F. O'Byrne, Clive Owen
Director: Tom Tykwer
Certificate:
Clive Owen and Naomi Watts star in this action thriller set in the world of high finance. When obsessive Interpol agent Louis Salinger (Owen) joins forces with Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Eleanor Whitman (Watts) to target corruption and international arms dealing within one of the world's ..read more »
62%
from 6,987 members
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Duplicity
on DVD
(2009)
Starring: Julia Roberts, Clive Owen, Tom Wilkinson
Director: Tony Gilroy
Certificate:
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 »
56%
from 34,844 members
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Duplicity - Blu-ray
(2009)
Starring: Tom Wilkinson, Paul Giamatti, Clive Owen
Director: Tony Gilroy
Certificate:
Two ex-spies battle it out for love and money in this slick corporate caper starring Julia Roberts and Clive Owen. After leaving the world of espionage behind, CIA officer Claire Stenwick (Roberts) and MI6 operative Ray Koval (Owen) find themselves on opposing sides, both trying to secure a secret ..read more »
57%
from 5,002 members
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The International
(2008)
Starring: Clive Owen, Naomi Watts, Armin Mueller-Stahl
Director: Tom Tykwer
Certificate:
RUN LOLA RUN and PERFUME director Tom Tykwer assembles a fine international cast for this thriller that spans continents. Clive Owen (CHILDREN OF MEN, SHOOT 'EM UP) and Naomi Watts (FUNNY GAMES, EASTERN PROMISES) stars as a besieged pair who encounter many obstacles as they try to expose a bank's ..read more »
61%
from 27,907 members
Currently unavailable
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Inside Man - Blu-ray
(2006)
Starring: Denzel Washington, Clive Owen, Jodie Foster
Director: Spike Lee
Certificate:
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 »
73%
from 3,223 members
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Inside Man
on DVD
(2006)
Starring: Denzel Washington, Clive Owen, Jodie Foster
Director: Spike Lee
Certificate:
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 »
71%
from 81,863 members
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Children Of Men
on DVD
(2006)
Starring: Charlie Hunnam, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Clive Owen
Director: Alfonso Cuaron
Certificate:
Futuristic sci-fi drama about a world in which humans have almost completely lost the ability to procreate and the search for any remaining specimen that can. It's the year 2027 and earth's youngest human being, at 18, has just died. Extinction seems a certainty, aided by the fact that wars are now ..read more »
67%
from 99,150 members
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Second Sight
(4 discs)
on DVD
(2006)
Starring: Clive Owen, Stuart Wilson, Claire Skinner
Director: Charles Beeson
Certificate:
Crime drama, starring Clive Owen as committed workaholic cop Ross Tanner, who, along with his deputy Catherine Tully (Claire Skinner) is investigating the murder of a young teenager. While they delve deeper into the crime, Tanner is shocked to find that he is gradually losing his sight, and is ..read more »
67%
from 457 members
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Sin City
on DVD
(2005)
Starring: Brittany Murphy, Elijah Wood, Bruce Willis
Director: Frank Miller, Quentin Tarant, Robert Rodriguez
Certificate: 
Watch now: Included in all packages with LOVEFiLM Instant
Adaptation of the award-winning comic series created by Frank Miller. Interweaving multiple storylines from the series' history, the film paints a picture of the ultimate town through the eyes of its roughest characters. There's the street thug Marv (Mickey Rourke), whose desperate quest to find ..read more »
68%
from 114,288 members
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Derailed
on DVD
(2005)
Starring: Xzibit, Clive Owen, RZA
Director: Mikael Hafstrom
Certificate:
Tense thriller based on the novel by James Siegel. Charles Schine (Clive Owen) and Lucinda Harris (Jennifer Aniston) have noticed each other on the commuter train before. One morning their conversation leads to a flirtation which turns into an evening of drink and then, before either one can stop ..read more »
66%
from 43,108 members
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Closer - Blu-ray
(2004)
Starring: Natalie Portman, Clive Owen, Jude Law
Director: Mike Nichols
Certificate:
Drama about four strangers (Julia Roberts, Jude Law, Natalie Portman and Clive Owen), their chance meetings, instant attractions and brutal betrayals. Dan (Jude Law) is a writer in London who wants to finish a novel, but in the meantime supports himself by writing obituaries. One day he meets Alice ..read more »
61%
from 1,987 member
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Closer
on DVD
(2004)
Starring: Natalie Portman, Clive Owen, Jude Law
Director: Mike Nichols
Certificate:
Drama about four strangers (Julia Roberts, Jude Law, Natalie Portman and Clive Owen), their chance meetings, instant attractions and brutal betrayals. Dan (Jude Law) is a writer in London who wants to finish a novel, but in the meantime supports himself by writing obituaries. One day he meets Alice ..read more »
56%
from 73,345 members
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King Arthur
on DVD
(2004)
Starring: Clive Owen, Ioan Gruffudd, Keira Knightley
Director: Antoine Fuqua
Certificate:
Watch now: Unavailable
Big-budget action adventure based on the legend of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. The film attempts to place King Arthur within the historical context of his time (around 500 AD), and take into account many more historical and political facts of the era than previous ..read more »
57%
from 55,141 members
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King Arthur - Blu-ray
(2004)
Starring: Clive Owen, Ioan Gruffudd, Keira Knightley
Director: Antoine Fuqua
Certificate:
Watch now: Unavailable
The full-blooded version of the big-budget action adventure based on the legend of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. The film, directed by Antoine Fuqua, attempts to place King Arthur within the historical context of his time (around 500 AD), and take into account many more historical ..read more »
61%
from 2,293 members
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Beyond Borders
on DVD
(2003)
Starring: Angelina Jolie, Clive Owen, Linus Roache
Director: Martin Campbell
Certificate:
A romantic tale set across many years that centers around a medical student who thinks he has found his calling as an international disaster relief worker--until he gets sidetracked by a philanthropic socialite who is entrenched in a troubled marriage. The two keep inadvertently meeting up, and ..read more »
63%
from 7,221 members
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I'll Sleep When I'm Dead
on DVD
(2003)
Starring: Malcolm McDowell, Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, Clive Owen
Director: Mike Hodges
Certificate:
Mike Hodges directs this noir-like gangster drama about two estranged brothers, Will and Davey Graham (Clive Owen and Jonathan Rhys-Meyers). Will has left London's violent gangland world to live a simple vagrant life in the countryside, but when he learns of a violent assault on - and subsequent ..read more »
49%
from 5,071 members
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The Bourne Identity
on DVD
(2002)
Starring: Julia Stiles, Brian Cox, Matt Damon
Director: Doug Liman
Certificate:
Badly wounded and suffering from amnesia, Jason Bourne (Matt Damon) is pulled out of the Mediterranean by fishermen, and is able to recall neither who he is nor what happened to him. His only clue to his identity is the number of a Swiss bank account which has been etched into a device implanted in ..read more »
77%
from 95,356 members
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The Bourne Identity - Blu-ray
(2002)
Starring: Julia Stiles, Brian Cox, Matt Damon
Director: Doug Liman
Certificate:
Badly wounded and suffering from amnesia, Jason Bourne (Matt Damon) is pulled out of the Mediterranean by fishermen, and is able to recall neither who he is nor what happened to him. His only clue to his identity is the number of a Swiss bank account which has been etched into a device implanted in ..read more »
85%
from 5,434 members
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Gosford Park
on DVD
(2001)
Starring: Kristin Scott-Thomas, Emily Watson, Sophie Thompson
Director: Robert Altman
Certificate:
It is November 1932. Gosford Park is the magnificent country estate to which Sir William McCordle and his wife, Lady Sylvia, gather relations and friends for a weekend shooting party. They have invited an eclectic group including a countess, a World War I hero, the British matinee idol Ivor Novello ..read more »
65%
from 16,918 members
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Greenfingers
on DVD
(2000)
Starring: Warren Clarke, David Kelly, Clive Owen
Director: Joel Hershman
Certificate:
Colin Briggs is a man who has given up on life. Nearing the end of a long sentence for murder, Colin is transferred to Edgefield, a minimum-security prison in the Cotswolds. Once there, Colin meets Fergus Wilks, an eccentric "lifer" who gives Colin an unwanted packet of seeds as a Christmas present...read more »
68%
from 2,221 members
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Croupier
on DVD
(1998)
Starring: Kate Hardie, Nicholas Ball, Gina McKee
Director: Mike Hodges
Certificate:
Jack Manfred (Clive Owen) is a would-be novelist who takes a job as croupier in a London casino. His girlfriend Marion (Gina McKee) doesn't much like his new life, but Jack is excited by the change, forms close bonds with some of his colleagues, and begins to make advances with his writing. He then ..read more »
62%
from 5,104 members
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Bent - Blu-ray
(1997)
Starring: Suzanne Bertish, Mick Jagger, Lothaire Bluteau
Director: Sean Mathias
Certificate:
In Thirties Berlin, Max (Clive Owen) and Rudy (Brian Webber) are lovers. But the Nazis have decided that homosexuals should be persecuted as well as Jews and, when a group of soldiers burst in on Greta's Club (run by Mick Jagger), Rudy and Max are lucky to escape. They are eventually caught and are ..read more »
62%
from 205 members
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Bent
on DVD
(1997)
Starring: Suzanne Bertish, Mick Jagger, Lothaire Bluteau
Director: Sean Mathias
Certificate:
Sean Mathias directed this screen adaptation of Martin Sherman's award-winning play about the persecution of homosexuals by Nazis during World War II. In Germany, the Nazi party's program of genocide against any and all perceived enemies is coming into full swing when the party begins a violent ..read more »
61%
from 2,467 members
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The Rich Man's Wife
on DVD
(1996)
Starring: Christopher McDonald, Clive Owen, Peter Greene
Director: Amy Holden Jones
Certificate:
Josie Potenza (Halle Berry) admits to a stranger that she wishes her husband was dead. When her husband is then murdered, Josie becomes the prime suspect. She is pursued by a stalker, and the nightmare grows worse as the murders continue.
52%
from 632 members
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Sharman - The Complete Series
(1996)
Starring: Adie Allen, Clive Owen, Roberta Taylor
Director: Matthew Evans
Certificate:
All four episodes of the ITV detective mini-series starring Clive Owen as Sharman, a streetwise private detective dealing in the lowlife of South London. Sharman's past includes a broken marriage, a failed career in the police force and an ongoing drug addiction - but he loves his 11-year-old ..read more »
65%
from 4 members
Not available for rental
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The Return of the Native
(1994)
Starring: Catherine Zeta Jones, Clive Owen, Ray Stevenson
Director: Jack Gold
Certificate:
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.
52%
from 40 members
Currently unavailable
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Class Of '61
on DVD
(1993)
Starring: Laura Linney, Dan Futterman, Paul Guilfoyle
Director: Gregory Hoblit
Certificate:
Made-for-TV drama that follows a group of soldiers fighting in the American Civil War. A group of cadets, which includes George Armstrong Custer (Josh Lucas), graduates from West Point in 1861. The cadets quickly find themselves recruited to fight in the Civil War. Such is the nature of a war that ..read more »
28%
from 7 members
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Close My Eyes
on DVD
(1991)
Starring: Alan Rickman, Clive Owen, Lesley Sharp
Director: Stephen Poliakoff
Certificate:
Stephen Poliakoff's film about a brother and sister who have been raised separately who finally meet again. She is married to a man of ostentatious wealth; whilst her brother has a job monitoring developments in London's Docklands. In the overheated, moneyed climate of the financially-centred late ..read more »
56%
from 2,372 members
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Lorna Doone - The Complete Series
(1990)
Starring: Sean Bean, Billie Whitelaw, Clive Owen
Director: Andrew Grieve
Certificate:
Sean Bean and Clive Owen star in this Thames TV adaptation of R.D. Blackmore's classic novel. John Ridd (Owen) is a young West Country yeoman whose father has been murdered by the local Doone clan - an aristocratic family whose evil streak is perhaps best embodied by the 'hot and savage' Carver ..read more »
62%
from 46 members
Not available for rental
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Chancer - The Complete Series 1
(4 discs)
(1990)
Starring: Clive Owen, Susannah Harker, Peter Vaughan
Director: Laurence Moody
Certificate:
All thirteen episodes of the British drama series starring Clive Owen, Leslie Phillips and Stephen Tompkinson. Clive Owen plays Stephen Crane, a young con-man out to make his fortune in Thatcher's Britain. Crane is offered a job by an old acquaintance to help an ailing car company and embezzles ..read more »
66%
from 615 members
Not available for rental
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Vroom
(1990)
Starring: Clive Owen, Diana Quick, David Thewlis
Director: Beeban Kidron
Certificate:
Two pals, and the older woman who moves in next door, set out from their small-town background to discover their dreams.
26%
from 3 members
Currently unavailable
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Chancer - The Complete Series 2
(2 discs)
(1990)
Starring: Michael Kitchen, Clive Owen, Peter Vaughan
Director: Alan Grint
Certificate:
After his release from prison, Stephen Crane returns to his real name of Derek Love, but finds that he is still having trouble with Jimmy Blake and Jo's father, Tom Franklin. Tragedy succeeds in bringing further trouble to his life in the shape of a custody battle, and his wheeler-dealing instincts ..read more »
66%
from 397 members
Not available for rental
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Clive Owen facts
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...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....
