Britain’s national treasure Clive Owen has provided film lovers with an overabundance of memorable movies and television content. From projects such as Sin City, Inside Man, and The International, Owen never ceases to amaze us with his overarching presence on and off the big screen. Known most commonly for his unique roles in underrated and artistic films, the actor seemed to be everywhere for about a decade in the early 2000s, with Clive Owen movies cultivating a very specific persona as both a wild action star (Shoot ‘Em Up, Killer Elite) and an introspective, melancholic character in quite dramas (Gosford Park, Trust), portraying a wide rage of characters during the duration of his highly successful career.
After 2010, however, he seemed to be in less popular (or at least bankable) movies, and film critics excessively speculated that Clive Owen has possibly fallen off the face of the earth, or at least Hollywood. Though there were rumors of Owen being chosen to take over the newest iteration of James Bond, due to his naturally suave and debonair disposition, they never materialized. However, what most people hadn’t considered was that actors are just people to, and everyone is allowed to take a step back from whatever they may want to, on their own time.
Clive continued to live his life with wife Sarah-Jane Fenton away from never-ending tabloids and rumor mills for a good time, but 2021 saw the actor re-emerge in two significant way; his portrayal of Bill Clinton in American Crime Story was incredible, as was his work alongside Julianne Moore in the Stephen King adaptation Lisey’s Story. With these great recent accomplishments, let’s take a step back and celebrate his fascinating collection of work with a trip down memory lane, remembering the most acclaimed Clive Owen movies and shows.
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
6 Croupier
Quiver
The British neo-noir film Croupier is well known for being Owen’s breakout role, ultimately going on to launch his career in America. An aspiring writer who’s currently unsuccessful in his pursuits, Jack Manfred (Clive Owen) works as a casino table dealer, a job he got through his father, a hustler residing in South Africa. His job as a croupier negatively impacts his life once Jack becomes increasingly immersed into the dark and unsettling world of gambling, drawing him in and in the end consuming his life. Croupier is relatable because the film mirrors aspects of everyday life, initially taking a job with hesitancy in order to make ends meat, and finding sometimes destructive distractions in the fantasy of being someone different. The depiction of London casinos during the 90s and early 2000s are also culturally vibrant and rich on the surface, making this a cool movie as slick as Clive Owen’s hair in it.
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
5 Impeachment: American Crime Story
Impeachment: American Crime Story Trailer Reveals Clive Owen as Bill Clinton
Clive Owen’s depiction of Bill Clinton is striking for a number of reasons, the main being how detailed and mirroring he is onscreen. As a viewer, once Owen steps in frame, he seems 100% Bill Clinton and not Clive Owen anymore. From Clinton’s southern accent, to the way he used his charismatic eyes to intrigue others further, the body movements, tone, and mannerisms, it’s almost scary to watch how perfectly the British Owen plays the part. The third season of anthology series American Crime Story, Impeachment, illustrates the origins of Clinton and Monica Lewinsky’s (Beanie Feldstein) relationship during her time as an intern for the White House staff and throughout the height of their affair, following a magnified amount of breaking media coverage in the late 90s. He is simultaneously sympathetic and despicable as Clinton, a difficult feat. Clive Owen has done several television shows and movies (mostly in England), but this is his best.
4 Closer
Sony Pictures
An impactful love story is something fellow romance film fanatics can’t live without; well, a relationship that actually works out, that is. Stay connected, because the film’s infamously convoluted plot is going to take a few minutes to comprehend. American stripper, Alice (Natalie Portman), has moved to London and meets Dan out of the blue (Jude Law) while on the street. During this interaction between the two, Alice gets hit by a taxi and Dan rushes her to the hospital. A year into dating, Dan then becomes bored with Alice and begins a flirtatious relationship with Anna (Julia Roberts). Because Dan has a girlfriend and should refrain from being unfaithful to her, he sets Anna up with Larry (Clive Owen), a dermatologist in an existential crisis. As years pass, both relationships dismantle and become filled with deception and cheating once the two couples interact. Filled with chance meetings and emotional betrayals, Clive Owen’s representation of Dan is ego-driven yet layered with an extensive range of emotional ties. Dan wants love and loyalty but is not really sure of who he is as a person, and for many, you have to be able to say “I” before you can say “I love you.” Owen is such a hot mess in the film, literally and figuratively, and he gives Closer it’s aching heart, making it a true Clive Owen movie.
3 Derailed
Weinstein Company
A lesson to aspiring married couples that cheating on your partner will only lead to pure trouble and karma. Charles (Clive Owen) and Lucinda (Jennifer Aniston) carry out a romantic and passion-driven relationship after initially meeting during a morning commute to work. Both married with children and unhappy in their everyday lives, Charles and Lucinda make an effort to take their affair farther, but an impromptu assault followed by a series of blackmail attempts at the hands of LaRoche (Vincent Cassel) leads them into uncharted territory as they struggle to fight back to protect themselves and their respective family members in this tense and sexy thriller at the height of Owen’s popularity.
2 The Bourne Identity
Universal Pictures
The Professor (Clive Owens) is a highly skilled Treadstone operative, possessing superhuman capabilities and trained in a variety of killing techniques. Based out of Spain and specializing in sniping, the Professor is ordered by Alexander Conklin, head of Operation Treadstone, to kill Jason Bourne (Matt Damon). The overall character of the Professor has to be one of the best antagonists in Bourne franchise history. Not only is he a piano teacher in his sleeper life (major plus), but his backstory is multidimensional; he’s a brilliant killer who’s always calculating as he manages to stay one step ahead of Jason for most of the time.
1 Children of Men
An immersive and life-like science-fiction film from the master director Alfonso Cuaron, Children of Men brings to the surface fears of impending doom and the end of earth as everyone knows it (how pleasant; at least Owen looks incredible while the world burns). Based on P. D. James’ 1992 novel The Children of Men, the 2006 thriller highlights the state of a 2027 United Kingdom on the verge of worldwide destruction due to a decade of human infertility, war, global depression, and the revolt against an oppressive governmental hierarchy. The film tackles serious existential questions, showing the nihilism which arises when people realize that there will be no future (in the film’s case, due to universal infertility; in our case, climate change). With society edging toward the threat of extinction, Theo Faron (Clive Owen), a governmental official, fights for the survival of earth’s population. Nearly two decades since the last child was born, Faron is faced with the task of escorting a miraculously pregnant woman to safety so that she can provide a better life for her offspring. This dystopian future is filled with a deteriorating world, prompting violence, despair, and wide-spanned rage, but Owen’s melancholic performance eventually leads to something beautifully hopeful.
