Clive Owen was born on 3 October 1964, in Coventry, West Midlands, UK, to Pamela and Jess Owen, a country and western singer. He is an English actor, perhaps best known for his roles in the films “Croupier”, “Closer” and “Children of Men”.
A noted actor, how wealthy is Clive Owen now? Sources state that Owen has acquired a fortune over $30 million, as of early 2017. His net worth has been established during his acting career which began in the late 1980s.
Clive Owen Net Worth $30 Million
Owen was raised by his mother and stepfather, along with his four brothers, as his father abandoned the family when he was a toddler. He attended Binley Park Comprehensive School, becoming a member of a youth theater at the age of 13 and appearing in a production of “Oliver!”. He went on to enroll in the acclaimed Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, and later joined London’s Young Vic theater, appearing in various productions of the company, including a number of Shakespearean plays.
Owen made his television debut in 1988, appearing in the TV films “Vroom” and “Precious Bane”. In 1990 he was cast with the lead role as Stephen Crane/Derek Love in the ITV television series “Chancer”, the role which brought him considerable recognition. He made his feature film debut with the lead role of Richard Gillespie in the 1991 film “Close My Eyes” gaining critical acclaim, and went on to appear in several other films and a number of TV films during the decade.
However, it was his work in the 1997 neo-noir film “Croupier” that shot him to Hollywood stardom, playing the role of an aspiring and struggling writer named Jack Manfred. Aside from giving him a career-boosting success, the role greatly added to Owen’s net worth.
Opportunities continued to come his way, both on big and small screens. Aside from several television films and series, Owen appeared in films including “Greenfingers”, “Gosford Park”, “The Bourne Identity” and “Beyond Borders”. In 2004 he got the lead role of dermatologist Larry Gray in the highly acclaimed melodrama “Closer” by Patrick Marber, an adaptation of his same-titled play in which Owen also appeared in. The winner of many awards and nominations, the film brought him a huge level of popularity and a fan base that spans the globe, significantly contributing to his wealth. His performance earned him Golden Globe and BAFTA awards, as well as an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor.
Owen also showed his outstanding acting talent in the highly acclaimed 2006 science fiction thriller “Children of Men”. His role of Theo Faron earned rave reviews, giving his career even more of a boost. It additionally improved his net worth as well.
The actor continued to work steadily in the big screen projects in the following years, landing roles in films such as “Shoot’Em Up”, “Elizabeth: The Golden Age”, “The International” and “The Boys Are Back”, so improving his fortune. He starred as Ernest Hemingway in the 2012 biopic HBO film “Hemingway & Gellhorn”, and then as Chris Pierzynski in the 2013 crime thriller “Blood Ties”.
As of 2014, he has starred as Dr. John W. Thackery in the television series “The Knick”, in which he has also served as executive producer. Then in 2015 he appeared on Broadway, in a revival of Harold Pinter’s “Old Times”. Owen is currently filming the sci-fi films “Anon” and “Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets”.
In his private life, Clive Owen has been married to actress Sarah-Jane Fenton since 1995. The couple has two daughters.
Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role (2005), Gold Derby Award, BAFTA Film Award, Awards Circuit Community Awards (ACCA), Boston Society of Film Critics Awards (2004), Critics Choice Award (2002), COFCA Award - Actor of the Year (2007), FFCC Award, Sierra Award, Sa...
Nominations
Academy Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role, MTV Movie Award for Best Kiss, Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Drama, Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television, Critics' Choice Televisi...
Movies
"Croupier" (1997), "Closer" (2004), "Children of Men" (2006), "Greenfingers" (2000), "Gosford Park" (2001), "The Bourne Identity" (2002), "Beyond Borders" (2003)
TV Shows
Hemingway & Gellhorn, Sharman, Chancer, The Knick, The Hire
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Trademark
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Many of his roles have him wearing a long coat, usually well worn and tattered
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Frequently plays tough characters who use intelligence rather than strength
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Sardonic sense of humor
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Deep baritone voice
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Quote
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I like the high-wire act, playing someone who is not entirely straightforward, not something easy, palatable.
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That's the best place to be, both excited and scared. What's the worst thing that can happen? The worst thing that can happen is that I'll be bad. I've been bad before - I'll be bad again.
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People keep on saying I missed my chance with not being James Bond, but my films still appear with the tedious inevitability of an unloved season.
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Before I became an actor, I remember how I hated chickens. I was sick when I even saw one. But all that is over now, for acting has shown me how foolish it was. I have learned to love chickens, to love their flesh, their voice. One day, when I'm through with acting, I'll go home to look after the chickens that I love so much. That's what being an actor has done for me.
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(On his plans for Catweazle (1970)) Making the film (The Boys Are Back (2009)) made me realise I've not made many films my own children can see, and I want them to see what their old man does for a living. When I was a kid, Catweazle (1970) was the bees' knees, the best thing on TV. I didn't want to be Cedric or the other kid, I wanted to grow up to be just like Catweazle. It's my dream role. You could say my whole career has just been a rehearsal for Catweazle. It (the character's look) is a bit of a problem with the Lancombe contract, but if it comes to choice between them, it'll have to be Catweazle. I hope it doesn't come to that! Maybe they can do before and after adverts - with Catweazle (1970) the before!
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[on bad scripts he is reading] These are films that are funded and ready to go - expensive movies. You're amazed that people are funding them. I start to think it's me, that I'm being too choosy.
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I got in a cab in Glasgow years ago and this quite surly cabdriver says to me, 'You're that actor, aren't you? You get paid to lie, don't you? That's what actors are, aren't they? Professional bullsh***ers.' It had quite an effect on me. I f***ing get paid to lie. . . . I walked out of there and I spent a bit of time thinking about it. And then I realized I think it's the opposite: It's an opportunity to tell the truth. I try to do that in everything I do. And whether you like a movie I'm in or not, I want you to believe me. More than admire me or think I was brilliantly skillful, I want you to believe me.
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I've heard people say I have a dull and monotonous voice, but the truth is that I put all my effort into communicating to the audience via my eyes. An actor can say so much with their eyes. I would have loved to have been an actor in the days of silent movies. Sounding interesting disinterests me. Looking interesting is another matter entirely.
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(On Bond) It's easy to keep saying no to a role you're not being offered. If they really had offered? I don't know. It's possible I would have said yes. It's possible. But they never asked so we'll never really know.
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I don't "do" emotion. Emotions are overrated. I'm more interested in creating a presence.
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Bond was the best thing that never happened to me. I was never in the running but the more I said so, the more people thought I had it in the bag. What's so funny about it all is my career in Britain was in really bad shape at the time, but my agents pretty much built me a new one in America by playing up all the Bond stories. All I had to do was keep on telling people I was never going to be Bond. I'd like to think I made it on talent, but it's really just dumb luck. If I hadn't worn that tux in Croupier (1998), I'd still be begging for the parts Robson Green turned down on cop shows.
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On his fear of badgers: I've never been bitten by one or anything like that, they just look evil to me. Even watching The Wind in the Willows they scared me. It was like the Devil staring straight into my eyes. It's something I've never outgrown. Even today, just the thought of badgers absolutely terrifies me. Hell to me is a room full of badgers.
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[Talking about Daniel Craig]: "I think when Craig first took the (James Bond) part he got a pretty rough ride, which to a certain extent is inevitable because there are so many different people who have so many different ideas about something like that. You are never going to please everybody. The thing that is really exciting is that he is a proper actor. He is not shallow or posing, they have cast a really serious actor and I think that when the film comes out everyone will see what a great choice he was".
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The lighter stuff has got to be really well written for me, or it just doesn't get me going. There's something to play if there's conflict going on. Whatever that conflict is, that's where drama is; if the character is grappling with something you've got something to play, there's layers to it. And when that isn't there it's ... less interesting.
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Theater is like exercise. I feel it's healthy. But I don't love it as much as movies. A bad experience in the theater can be so depressing. You've got to do it every night, even if the production is not working.
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When I was 10 or 11, I played the Artful Dodger in a school production of 'Oliver. From that point forward, I said I wanted to be an actor. Nobody in my family took it seriously, but I saw no other path. I was a cocky little kid. This one teacher said: 'You're a working-class kid from Coventry. What do you know?'
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Theatre uses a different energy. It's like going to the gym and having a vigorous workout. But every few years is enough because I love filming. I am a real film animal.
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The sexiest part of the body is the eyes. Corny, but that's what I believe. They're what connect us as human beings.
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I've never been interested in playing good guys. I'm always attracted to dangerous characters. Those roles are usually far more interesting and I hold no fears about doing them. With my character in Croupier (1998), you're never really sure where he's coming from. He's not really a good guy or a bad guy. But people generally aren't, are they?
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Fact
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Member of the 'Official Competition' jury at the 66th Berlin International Film Festival in 2016.
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Currently filming The Boys Are Back (2009) in Adelaide, Australia. [October 2008]
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Developing a remake of popular 70s children's TV series Catweazle (1970) as a starring vehicle and as co-producer. [December 2009]
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In an interview published in the Daily Express, he said that he was terrified of badgers. In a subsequent interview in Newsweek, he denied being afraid of them and said it was a joke.
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Admitted in a Newsweek interview to promote The International (2009) that he has considered submitting false trivia about himself ("I once talked to someone about putting something on IMDB") and was surprised at how seriously people took it. In the same interview he also claimed he doesn't eat biscuits because 'He-men don't need biscuits.'.
Although his 'official' date of birth is 1964, the News of the World published a birth certificate stating it as 1962 as part of an article about the real age of movie stars.
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After Russell Crowe turned down the role, he was chosen by Jerry Bruckheimer over Antoine Fuqua's choice of Daniel Craig for the lead role in King Arthur (2004). Owen was later turned down for the role of Lord Asriel in The Golden Compass (2007) in favor of Daniel Craig in spite of offering to screen test for the part.
Was named Empire Magazines #25 in the list of 100 Sexiest Stars(2007).
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Is the patron for the Electric Palace Cinema in Harwich, England.
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Voted #5 in Elle (France) Magazine's "15 Sexiest Men" poll (June 2007).
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In the original theater production of "Closer" he played the character Dan. In the film version he played the other prominent male character, Larry, while Dan was played by Jude Law.
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In November 2006, he became patron of the Electric Palace Cinema in Harwich, England and launched an appeal for funds to repair deteriorating elements of the fabric.
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January 2007 - has signed on as the face of a new Lancome anti-aging cream for men. He was also be named the new spokesman of the cosmetics firm's new Hypnose Homme fragrance. The print adverts resulted in complaints to the advertising Standards Authority over the heavy airbrushing used to make him look younger.
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In a 2005 poll, was voted the top choice to play James Bond in Casino Royale (2006) but polled fewer votes than Pierce Brosnan continuing the role.
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Began acting at age 13.
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Was voted "Best dressed male" by GQ magazine in 2006
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He is a supporter of Liverpool Football Club.
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Invited to join AMPAS in 2005.
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When his Beyond Borders (2003) co-star Angelina Jolie told him he looked sexy, she says, he "fell over laughing".
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Mentioned in the song 'Risen Within' by MC Homicide featuring PAZ.
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Met his wife at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art while doing Romeo and Juliet.
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Two of his brothers, Alan and Lee, became musicians and released a single called "Heartbeat."
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Turned down the role as The Driver for BMW twice. He was sent a copy of the script for the first ad, read it and was impressed by its presentation. He immediately accepted the role, jumped on a plane to LA, and was whisked away to the set of the first ad as soon as he landed.
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Is a huge David Bowie fan and has called singer "the biggest musical influence on my life." He says, "I don't know why, but no one else has ever had such an effect on me. I didn't have most of his work. I had everything." In the 1970s, when Bowie was changing his appearance and style with every album, Owen would re-dye his hair whatever color Bowie's was at the time.
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Has 2 daughters, Hannah Owen (born 1997) and Eve Owen (born 1999), with Sarah-Jane Fenton.
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Has four brothers and was raised by his mother and stepfather.
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Was accepted into the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in 1984. After he graduated, he joined the Young Vic Theatre.
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Had a recurring role on a series of BMW commercials as their mysterious driver. He played a valet in the film Gosford Park (2001) and played a fellow "Agent" named the Professor in The Bourne Identity (2002) who was sent to kill Bourne.