Clive Owen Biography

(English Actor Known for His TV Series ‘Chancer’)

Birthday: October 3, 1964 (Libra)

Born In: Coventry, Warwickshire, England

Clive Owen is an English theatre, television and cinema actor who found his way to fame and recognition by working in a British tele-series ‘Chancer’. He was born and brought up in England, by his mother and stepfather. He had a relatively rough childhood because of the emotional ups and downs that he faced as a child and teenager. He had always been inclined towards acting from the very young age. He took part in several plays staged by a local youth theatre. He was not a very sharp student and therefore decided to drop out of school and get a job. After a lot of struggle he got himself enrolled in RADA and started to take theatre more seriously. His first big break came in the form of ‘Chancer’ in 1990 and thereafter, he did several roles in the movies, television and theatre. Owen has experimented with many forms and genres of acting like romance, thriller, comedy, horror, etc. He met his wife, Sarah Jane, for the first time while he was doing ‘Romeo & Juliet’ with RADA. They both have two daughters together.
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Quick Facts

British Celebrities Born In October

Age: 59 Years, 59 Year Old Males

Family:

Spouse/Ex-: Sarah-Jane Fenton (m. 1995)

father: Jess Owen

mother: Pamela

siblings: Alan Owen, Lee Owen

children: Eve Owen, Hannah Owen

Actors British Men

Height: 6'2" (188 cm), 6'2" Males

City: Coventry, England

More Facts

education: Royal Academy Of Dramatic Art

Childhood & Early Life
Clive Owen was born in Coventry, Warwickshire, England to Pamela Owen and Jess Owen. His father was a country singer and left him and his mother when he was only 3 years.
He was raised by his mother and his stepfather and was the oldest amongst five brothers. His stepfather was a ticket officer for the local railway. Owen has always described his childhood as rough.
Owen went to the Binley Park Comprehensive School and joined the local theatre group at the age of 13 and his first ever theatre performance was for a play called ‘Oliver’.
His studies started getting affected due to the theatre and Owen decided to leave the school and look for a job to sustain.
One of his teachers offered to help Owen to get admission into the Mountview College, a drama school in England. But even after securing admission in the college, he decided to get a job instead.
Owen could not find a good job for 2 years and claimed benefits from the government. He kept pursuing his love for theatre at the local youth club in the meantime. But in 1984, he decided to apply for RADA, London.
It was during his days at RADA that Owen worked with fellow Hollywood artists like Ralph Fiennes and Jane Horrocks. He also worked in a Howard Barker play at the Royal Court, playing the main lead.
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Career
He did important theatre work during his time at RADA, which includes plays like ‘Cat and the Canary’, ‘Henry IV, Part I’, ‘The Lady from the Sea’, ‘Romeo and Juliet’, until the late eighties.
In 1988, Owen moved from the theatre to television and the big screen by working in productions like BBC’s ‘Precious Bane and Channel 4 movie ‘Vroom’. From then onwards he started doing noticeably big role in English television and movies.
Following his success from ‘Vroom’ and ‘Precious Bane’, Owen did a television adaptation of R.D. Blackmore’s classic novel called ’Lorna Doone’. He did the part of ‘John Ridd’ and acted along with Sean Bean.
In 1990, Owen got the first big break of his acting career. He portrayed the role of ‘Stephen Crane’ in the television series called ‘Chancer’. It was a British television production and became a huge success overnight.
In 1991, he did Stephen Poliakoff’s ‘Close My Eyes’. It was the most controversial role of his acting career and affected his popularity with his audience. He played the role of a brother caught in an incest relationship with his sister.
For the next 2 years, Owen returned to the theatre and did plays like ‘The Philanderer’, ‘Design for Living’, etc. with well-established directors like Brian Cox. Owen did not go back to the big screen for a longtime.
In 1993, Owen acted in his first American film ‘Class of 61’, which was a war movie where he played the role of an Irish soldier. In the same year, he did ‘Century’, a movie made by Stephen Playoff.
From 1994 to 1996, he did many TV productions of various genres such as ‘An Evening with Gary Lineker’, which was a comedy and then he did ‘The Return Of The Native’, which was based on Thomas Hardy’s novel. He also did ‘The Turnaround’.
In 1996, he did a Hollywood movie alongside Halle Berry called ‘The Rich Man’s Wife’, which was a thriller directed by Amy Holden Jones.
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In 1998, he did a Channel 4 movie ‘Croupier’, which was directed by Mike Hodges. He played the role of a writer in the movie who takes up a job in London. He did a BBC production called ‘Split Second’ the next year.
In 2000, Owen did BBC’s ‘The Echo’ and also starred in the movie called ‘Greenfingers’ where he played a criminal. The next year, he did ‘Second Sight’ for BBC 1 AND ‘Walk on By’ for BBC 2.
In 2001, he did ‘The Hire’, a short film produced by BMW and Robert Altman’s ‘Gosford Park’, in which he starred along with Maggie Smith, Helen Mirren, Ryan Phillipe, Kirstin Thomas, etc.
In 2002, he did a substantial role in ‘The Bourne Identity’ and the next year he worked in Mike Hodges’ ‘I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead’. Thereafter, he starred in ‘Beyond Borders’ and ‘King Arthur’.
In 2005, Owen starred in ‘Closer’, the film adaptation of the play written by the English playwright Patrick Marber. He had earlier done the Broadway production of the play in London. The movie starred Jude Law, Julia Roberts and Natalie Portman along with him.
In 2005, he did ‘Derailed’ with Jennifer Aniston and ‘Sin City’, a crime thriller action movie starring Bruce Willis, Jaime King, Mickey Rourke, etc. along with him.
From 2006-2007, he did ‘Inside Man’ which is an American crime drama movie. He did the remake of the ‘Pink Panther’ and was rumored to be the next pick for the ‘Bond’ movies, but Daniel Craig was instead chosen for it.
In the following years, he did movies like ‘Children of Men’, ‘Shoot ‘EM Up’, ‘Elizabeth: The Golden Age’ , ‘The International’, ‘The Boys Are Back’. He also did an appearance for the Ricky Gervais’ show ‘Extras’.
In 2010, he did an American horror thriller flick called ‘Intruders’.
In 2012, ‘Hemingway & Gellhorn’ was released, in which Owen starred opposite the Australian actress Nicole Kidman. In the same year, ‘Shadow Dancer’ was released, which was an Anglo-Irish production.
In 2013, Owen’s ‘Blood Ties’ was released at the Cannes Film Festival, France. The movie starred a French actress Marion Cotillard and it was directed by Guillaume Canet.
Personal Life & Legacy
Owen met his wife Sarah Jane at the sets of the play ‘Romeo & Juliet’. They got married in 1995 in Highgate, London. They have 2 daughters.
Trivia
He is a fan of Indie rock band called ‘Hard-Fi’.
Two of his brothers are singers.
He has been voted the ‘Best dressed male’ by GQ magazine.

Clive Owen Movies

1. Sin City (2005)

  (Crime, Thriller)

2. The Bourne Identity (2002)

  (Mystery, Thriller, Action)

3. Inside Man (2006)

  (Thriller, Drama, Crime, Mystery)

4. Children of Men (2006)

  (Sci-Fi, Drama, Thriller)

5. Star (2001)

  (Action, Comedy, Short)

6. Ticker (2002)

  (Adventure, Action, Short)

7. Powder Keg (2001)

  (Action, Short)

8. Gosford Park (2001)

  (Drama, Comedy, Mystery)

9. The Follow (2001)

  (Mystery, Action, Short, Romance)

10. Closer (2004)

  (Drama, Romance)

Awards

Golden Globe Awards
2005 Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture Closer (2004)
BAFTA Awards
2005 Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role Closer (2004)

See the events in life of Clive Owen in Chronological Order

How To Cite

Article Title
- Clive Owen Biography
Author
- Editors, TheFamousPeople.com
Website
- TheFamousPeople.com
URL
https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/clive-owen-3725.php

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