Clive Owen biography

Synopsis

Acting Debut

Actor. Born on October 3, 1964, in Coventry, England. Raised by his mother and stepfather, Owen first took the stage in a school musical at the age of 12. He went on to study at the prestigious Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London. Owen performed at the Young Vic, a theater in London, in a number of productions, including several Shakespearean plays.

Owen made his film debut in the 1988 film Vroom. He also found work on television with a role on the British series, Chancer, and American telefilms Class of ’61 and Return of the Native in the early 1990s. But it was his work in Croupier that attracted Hollywood’s attention. Owen played Jack Manfred, a writer who works in a London casino, hoping to turn his experiences into a book and gets more than he bargained for. Released in the United States in 2000, the film became a smash at art-house movie theaters across the country.

Early Career

The next year American audiences saw Owen on the screen in Robert Altman’s Gosford Park. Around this time, he also appeared in a series of short films by such film directors as Ang Lee, John Woo, and John Frankenheimer, which served as commercials for BMW cars. Owen became known for playing cool, steely characters who could be quite lethal. In The Bourne Identity (2002), he played a hired killer called the Professor. At one time, rumors circulated that Owen was a possible replacement for Pierce Brosnan in the role of superspy James Bond in the Bond film series. The part eventually went to actor Daniel Craig.

Leading Roles

Owen began to win the lead role in a number of films, including as the legendary title character in King Arthur (2004). While the film was not a success, Owen scored a critical success with another film from that year. Critics and audiences alike were dazzled by Owen’s performance in the 2004 film Closer. The dark drama explored sexual jealousy among its four main characters: Larry, Dan, Alice, and Anna. Owen won a Golden Globe Award and received an Academy Award nomination for his explosive portrayal of Larry, a doctor, who driven by anger to reveal some of his dark, primal nature.