Clive Owen discussed his entire career with Scott Feinberg of the Hollywood Reporter on the Awards Chatter LIVE podcast. “I grew up in Coventry, went to a pretty rough school there, and when I did a play there at the age of 13, I decided that that was what I wanted to do. There was no plan B, I needed my acting career to work out,” Owen said. It took him two years of unemployment before he got into the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. Another landmark for him was the 1998 film Croupier, Robert Altman’s favourite. “After that, I started meeting directors in Los Angeles, not just assistant directors like before,” Owen recalled.

At KVIFF Talk, Owen’s stylish BMW commercials were discussed, along with his collaborations with Spike Lee, Robert Altman, Alfonso Cuarón and Mike Nichols, who talked Patrick Marber, after seven years, into finally adapting his play Closer. “Mike’s always been good with actors, he knew how to make them feel comfortable. If you can make the actor feel that he has what the role needs, you get the best out of him. Torturing doesn’t work.” Owen also reminisced about his collaboration with Steven Soderbergh, who visited KVIFF a few days earlier. “He’s very economical, he shoots very few takes and edits the scene the same day. He’s very smart, you have to come to his set prepared and he makes everyone work better.”

The interview also covered former rumours that Clive Owen would be the next James Bond. “That was just a rumour. Becoming Bond is a big decision. It means that some of the normal things like going out for a drink in a bar would be out of the question. Not everyone wants to undergo this,” he pointed out.