Clive Owen

Clive Owen is a British actor best-known for his roles in films such as Children of Men, Closer, Croupier, Close My Eyes and The International.

Owen was born in Coventry, and began acting in 1984 when he enrolled at drama school having found it difficult to find work. He graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, and went on to work at the Young Vic, where he appeared in plays such as Romeo and Juliet. He starred as Romeo opposite Sarah-Jane Fenton’s Juliet, and the two actors went on to marry seven years after the production.

Early screen credits include the lead role in ITV drama series Chancer, in which Owen played a conman. This led to his first film roles, including the 1991 movie Close My Eyes, which is about a brother and sister who engage in an incestuous relationship. He later appeared in other films such as The Rich Man’s Wife, Croupier, and Greenfingers.

In 2001, Owen starred in a West End revival of the Peter Nichols play A Day in the Death of Joe Egg, which was about a couple dealing with their crumbling marriage while caring for their daughter who suffers from cerebral palsy. In 2004, Owen starred in Closer, the film adaptation of Patrick Marber’s play of the same name he starred in at the National Theatre in 1997. Alongside Julia Roberts, Jude Law and Natalie Portman, Owen won a BAFTA and Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor.

Owen’s stage performances since have been few and far between. In 2015, he appeared in Douglas Hodge’s production of Harold Pinter’s Old Times, which ran on Broadway at the American Airlines Theatre. In 2019, Owen starred in The Night of the Iguana as Rev. T. Lawrence Shannon.