Clive Owen Biography

CLIVE OWEN

Date of Birth: October 3, 1964

Born in England, Clive Owen was accepted into the prestigious Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in 1984. After graduation, he joined the Young Vic Theatre and performed a variety of roles onstage. Although his film debut was with a lead role in the feature Vroom (1998), Owen didn't become a household name in Britain until 1990, when he starred in the BBC TV series Chancer. In 1994, he starred opposite Catherine Zeta-Jones in BBC's The Return of the Native, which aired on CBS in the United States. Just a few years later, his face again graced American television screens when he starred in PBS' Mystery Series Second Sight, also imported from the U.K.

His starring role in the award-winning feature film Bent (1997) as a homosexual sent to Dachau prison camp by the Nazis brought Owen to the attention of major Hollywood filmmakers. Clive has since appeared in Robert Altman's ensemble piece Gosford Park (2001), played a supporting role opposite Matt Damon in The Bourne Identity (2002) and co-starred with Angelina Jolie as a humanitarian doctor who risks his life in foreign countries in Beyond Borders (2003).

He landed a starring role in The Hire, BMW's Internet short feature series directed by John Frankenheimer, Ang Lee and Guy Ritchie, after producers saw him play a struggling writer who takes a job as a croupier in the British mystery thriller Croupier (1998).

Clive played the title role in King Arthur (2004), for which he had to get over the fear of riding horses he'd developed after a bad fall while filming another movie. In 2005, Clive was nominated for his first Golden Globe award—and won, for his role in the relationship drama Closer (2005). He also received Best Actor nods from the Academy Awards and the BAFTA awards.

He's received acclaim for his work on TV — notably, a 2013 Golden Globe nomination for "Best Performance by an Actor in a Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television" for his work starring alongside Nicole Kidman on the HBO drama series Hemingway & Gellhorn (2012) and a 2015 Golden Globe nomination for "Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series - Drama" for his portrayal of Dr. John W. Thackery on the Cinemax series The Knick (2014).

Recently, he played a police detective in a futuristic world in the Netflix original film Anon (2018), co-starring Amanda Seyfried, and the role of Clay Verris in Ang Lee’s latest film, Gemini Man (2019). He also starred in the Apple TV Original Lisey's Story (2021) as Scott Landon.

Clive is married to actress Sarah-Jane Fenton with whom he has two daughters. The whole family enjoys going out horseback riding on the weekends.

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