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Clive Owen was born in October, 1964, in Coventry. His father, a Country and Western singer, walked out on the family when Clive was three (he'd not meet him again for 16 years). Clive was raised by his mother and stepfather, the latter working in the ticket office for British Rail. Clive was the fourth of five brothers. The eldest was Garry, now a salesman. Then came Alan and Lee, musicians (they'd release a single called Heartbeat), then Clive and Scott.

Attending Binley Park Comprehensive School, Clive was initially a good student, in the top stream. Then something thoroughly unexpected happened. Clive has often said that, for some unknown reason, he always wanted to act. But it was only after he played the Artful Dodger in a production of Oliver! that everyone else knew it too. Bitten badly by the bug, he couldn't concentrate on anything else, putting all his energy into the youth theatre he joined at 13. His schoolwork fell away dramatically. Sitting nine O-levels, he passed only one - English.

His persistence was amazing, really. When he first announced in class that he wanted to act, his teacher encouraged all the other kids to laugh at him. Thankfully the steely intensity he exudes onscreen is a real part of his character and he kept at it. He grew to hate school deeply.

Come 1984, his situation was desperate, so desperate that his altered his anti-education stance and, applying to RADA, was accepted. His fellow pupils including Ralph Fiennes and Jane Horrocks, he did well, graduating in 1987. He also had a stroke of luck, experience-wise. While at RADA, his class worked on a new Howard Barker play, then being performed at the Royal Court with Gary Oldman in the lead. When Oldman fell ill, Clive was asked to step in - being the only other actor in the world who knew the part.

After graduation, Owen went looking for stage work. He appeared in The Cat And The Canary at Watford, and Twelfth Night at the Crucible in Sheffield. Then he won a place at the Young Vic, playing in Romeo And Juliet and Measure For Measure and, in Manchester, The Doctor's Dilemma. He also met his wife. Onstage. In an incident so romantic it borders on cliché, while playing Romeo he fell for his Juliet, Sarah Jane Fenton. Though their relationship would occasionally be turbulent, with the couple splitting up several times, it would last, the pair marrying in 1995 and eventually producing two daughters, Hannah and Eve.

It was all looking good. In 1988, Clive made his film debut, in Vroom. Here he and David Thewlis played two northern lads who restore a classic American car and take off on the road. Before they leave, though, Clive picks up sexy widow Diana Quick, who adds serious spice to the trip. Next he showed a very dark side with his portrayal of the psychotic Gideon Sarn, alongside Janet McTeer's Prue Sarn, in the historical costume drama Precious Bane. And then came a big TV hit when he played John Ridd, the man who takes Lorna Doone to the altar in RD Blackmore's classic. Polly Walker was his Lorna and Sean Bean, of course, was the brooding Carver Doone.

After that came stardom with his role in Chancer as the roguish Stephen Crane. Unfortunately though, Clive left the role after a short time due to the fear of being typecasted. In recent years, he has successfully moved from television on to the big screen with hit films such as Gosford Park, Beyond Borders, King Arthur, and Closer.

Clive currently resides in the UK with his wife, actress Sarah-Jane Fenton, and their daughters Hannah and Eve.

Movie Credits
Sin City 2 (2006) - Dwight McCarthy
Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2006) - Sir Walter Raleigh
Shoot 'Em Up (2006) - Mr. Smith
The Children of Men (2006) - Theodore Faron
Inside Man (2006) - Dalton Russell
The Pink Panther (2006) - Agent 006
Derailed (2005/I) - Charles Schine
Sin City (2005) - Dwight McCarthy
Closer (2004/I) - Larry
King Arthur (2004) - Arthur
Beyond Borders (2003) - Nick Callahan
I'll Sleep When I'm Dead (2003) - Will
The Hire: Ticker (2002) - The Driver
The Hire: Beat the Devil (2002) - Driver
The Hire: Hostage (2002) - The Driver
The Bourne Identity (2002) - The Professor
Gosford Park (2001) - Robert Parks
The Hire: Powder Keg (2001) - The Driver
The Hire: Star (2001) - The Driver
The Hire: The Follow (2001) - The Driver
The Hire: Chosen (2001) - The Driver
The Hire: Ambush (2001) - The Driver
Greenfingers (2000/I) - Colin Briggs
Bent (1997) - Max
The Rich Man's Wife (1996) - Jake Golden
The Turnaround (1994) - Nick Sharman
Century (1993) - Paul Reisner
Close My Eyes (1991) - Richard
Vroom (1988) - Jake

... and many more.


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Clive Owen was born in October, 1964, in Coventry. His father, a Country and Western singer, walked out on the family when Clive was three (he'd not meet him again for 16 years). Clive was raised by his mother and stepfather, the latter working in the ticket office for British Rail. Clive was the fourth of five brothers. The eldest was Garry, now a salesman. Then came Alan and Lee, musicians (they'd release a single called Heartbeat), then Clive and Scott.

Attending Binley Park Comprehensive School, Clive was initially a good student, in the top stream. Then something thoroughly unexpected happened. Clive has often said that, for some unknown reason, he always wanted to act. But it was only after he played the Artful Dodger in a production of Oliver! that everyone else knew it too. Bitten badly by the bug, he couldn't concentrate on anything else, putting all his energy into the youth theatre he joined at 13. His schoolwork fell away dramatically. Sitting nine O-levels, he passed only one -


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