Clive Owen sits down with The Hollywood Reporter's Scott Feinberg during the 58th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival to record a live episode of the Awards Chatter podcast. The English stage and screen actor reflects on his path from a rough childhood to his star-making role in 'Croupier'; why he wasn't excited about the prospect of playing James Bond; playing different characters in the stage and screen versions of 'Closer'; why, since 'The Knick', he has increasingly worked in TV; and more. The special event is presented by Lasvit, the Czech designer and manufacturer of bespoke glass products.
00:00Pretty early after leaving school, you're in this show, Chancer.
00:06This is 1990 to 1991, 20 episodes on ITV.
00:10Was it truly that explosive for your life?
00:13Yeah, it was a massive shift for me because I'd done, you know, I'd left Rado, I did plays, I did small parts and little things.
00:20And then this big TV show arrived.
00:22And I remember going away and coming back to London.
00:25There were huge pictures on the tube of my face.
00:28And it took me probably a good couple of years just to recalibrate and go, well, this is what the deal is.
00:34This is what you've signed into and you've got to find a way where you're comfortable with it.
00:38What was your experience when you got to Hollywood, I think around the time of both of those projects heading in the UK?
00:46Well, I'd do these small British films and they would often send you over for a few days and you'd go and take some meetings in case this little film kind of hit.
00:54And to be honest with you, I found it very tough and I didn't like it at all.
00:56And then I do this very, very small film with Mike Hodges called Croupier.
01:02And suddenly it became the little indie film of that year that everyone wanted to check out.
01:07In those days, that film, I think, stayed in the cinema for six to nine months.
01:11You could still go and go and check it out.
01:14As Mike Hodges said afterwards, that film wasn't released.
01:17It escaped.
01:18And it totally changed everything.
01:22One thing that I think happened pretty soon after Croupier was you being approached to play a guy referred to as the driver in a series of very high-end BMW ads.
01:36Now, can you explain what tipped the scale to do these, which were very cool once they got done?
01:43I was hesitant and nervous and thinking, really, as things are opening up, do I really want to do a bunch of commercials?
01:49And then I started to hear about the caliber of the people involved.
01:53And I ended up working with just such an incredible array of directors.
01:57Can I mention John Frankenheimer, Tony Scott, Wong Kar-wai, John Woo, Ang Lee, Guy Ritchie?
02:04I mean, these are, in a way, what better opportunity for a young actor?
02:08And you would ultimately come back around and work with, let's say, like Ang Lee.
02:12I don't know if it had anything to do with, you know, those days.
02:16But it's kind of a cool showcase that I imagine you're happy you ended up doing.
02:22Oh, for sure.
02:23They were great.
02:23So, one other byproduct of people seeing you as, you know, this kind of slick, cool guy in those ads might have been the beginning of these incessant rumors that you had to deal with for a number of years about, might this be the next James Bond?
02:41Do you think it traces back to that?
02:43I wear a tuxedo and croupier.
02:45Yeah, that too.
02:46That too.
02:46Right, right, right.
02:47Of course.
02:48Of course.
02:48The back-to-back.
02:49Now, was that ever real?
02:51Well, I had read one thing where Pierce Brosnan himself might have advocated for you.
02:55Did you, is that correct?
02:57It was all, it was all hype and talk and there's a lot worse things to be associated with.
03:03And if you take that on, it's a massive undertaking for your whole life.
03:10That's, that's a career decision.
03:11Now, everyone thinks and assumes that, well, everyone would want to do it.
03:17But think about your life.
03:19Think about going in a bar for a drink.
03:22Think about doing normal things and whether that would be possible after playing that part.
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