Clive Owen On The Verge, Talks ‘Shadow Dancer’ And ‘Blood Ties’ [Exclusive]

Not many actors can say they have successfully accomplished all mediums of performance, but Clive Owen is one of those exceptions. Conquering film, stage and television, Owen started displaying his talents on television, starring as Gideon Sam in BBC’s Precious Bane. Soon after Owen sparked acclaim opposite Saskia Reeves in the 1991 film Close My Eyes. For American audiences, he’s known best for playing calm and collected characters that all display some form of rare intensity.

In 2004, Owen received rave reviews for exploring the intricate emotions of sexual jealousy in the play-based film Closer. He struck a chord with critics once more for his 2006 dystopian drama Children of Men, which saw the actor take on a chaotic world as a civil servant who aids the journey of a singular pregnant West African refugee.

In his latest film Shadow Dancer, Owen is thrown into another foreign situation, but this time it’s based on real conflict in Northern Ireland. The thriller, directed by James Marsh (Man On Wire), sees a woman caught in the act of the ultimate betrayal. Collette McVeigh (Andrea Riseborough) is a Republican living in Belfast with her mother and her IRA brothers. A film set in the 90s, Collette is arrested for her position in an aborted bomb and is introduced to Owen’s character, Mac, an MI5 officer who offers her a risky ultimatum in exchange for freedom. The events that unfold make both characters question their bleak surroundings.

As a performer, Clive Owen seems to be on the precipice of breaking new ground with his acting, and his role in Shadow Dancer is just one step further. Up next he has Blood Ties, in which some are saying is the performance of his career. The Inquisitr’sNiki Cruz caught up with Clive Owen to discuss his craft, the differences between shooting outside of America, and his anticipated performance in Blood Ties.

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THE INQUISITR: What about this material resonated with you?

CLIVE OWEN: It’s always the same things. I was looking to take a break. I was coming to the end of the Hemmingway project. The reason why I read it is because it was sent to me by James Marsh. I loved Man On Wire and I was intrigued to see what kind of film he wanted to do. It was lean, it was economical, it had great drama throughout. The tension is really cinematic. Usually when I take on a film the first thing I want to do is sit down with the director and talk things through, and look at scenes, and hone and refine it. I felt that script was ready to go.

THE INQUISITR: This is a period in the 90s where things started to shift in Ireland. The IRA bombings were going to stop and they were going to go into negotiations. Do you think our current affairs resonate with the film?

OWEN: They’re conflicts going on all over the world. The idea of using informants is going on all the time. Human beings are trapped in situations all the time. It has huge relevance. It’s not direct but there are versions of this going on. Also it’s enough time from the 90s to look at it objectively, and to examine that situation. It’s a version of this world I haven’t seen before. We’ve seen films about the IRA but we haven’t seen anything quite like this film.

THE INQUISITR: It’s said that you can’t fake chemistry, so I was wondering how was your experience with Andrea [Riseborough]?

OWEN: I think she’s a really fine actress. If you’re playing a lover or a family member in something it’s very important that you do get to place the feeling as organic, and you can’t do that by walking on the set and doing it. You have to spend time getting to know that person to really pull that off. With this film we’re playing two people that get thrown together, so we pretty much walked into that first long scene and that was the first we got to know each other.

THE INQUISITR: Do you see Mac as a tragic character in this piece? Does that enter at all?

OWEN: No. The biggest decision I made is that there’s a very obvious way how to play that character. The whole MI5 tough cynical, reel her in and get her working and then finding yourself in this tricky situation. The other is when you reel her in you see a young girl with a child, and you’re asking her to do something potentially very dangerous, and she’s very scared, and you say, “I’ll be with you every step of the way.” He’s an MI5 guy, he’s used to doing this, but it’s a guy that develops a conscience and that’s tricky in an environment like this.

THE INQUISITR: As far as other projects, you signed on to do The Knick TV series?

OWEN: We are talking about it. It’s very early days. We’re talking about it and it’s a very exciting project. I can’t tell you anything but it’s an American show.

THE INQUISITR: Well here’s something you can probably talk about! Blood Ties just had its debut at the Cannes Film Festival. How was that experience?

OWEN: It was great, yeah! Going to Cannes with Guillaume Canet and Marion [Cotillard], who’s great.

THE INQUISITR: Some people are saying it’s your best role in years.

OWEN: I’ll take that!

THE INQUISITR: You shot that in New York with director Guillaume Canet. He’sFrench and this was his first English-speaking film. Was that very different than working with someone like James [Marsh]?

OWEN: No it wasn’t that different. Guillaume talked about being frustrated because English wasn’t his first language, but he’s a great communicator. It was always very clear to me what he was doing and what he was intending. He had a French camera team with him they worked really well together. I think that he found it difficult coming to New York because of all of the union laws here. In Paris there’s much more freedom when you shoot a movie. You can roam around, but it was very rigid in New York, and that was very surprising to him in what he could and couldn’t do. He’s more of a loose shooter, but I had a great time.

THE INQUISITR: In Blood Ties you play someone who’s embedded into a family dynamic. It’s a different chemistry than in Shadow Dancer, right?

OWEN: Blood Ties is different. James Caan plays my father, and we all hung out. We had to have that kind of feeling because we’re playing family members.

THE INQUISITR: How was it filming in New York on that film?

OWEN: The great thing about shooting Blood Ties in New York is that we were doing the 70s, so we went to neighborhoods that still looked rough. There’s still plenty there, we went into Harlem, Brooklyn, and into the Bronx.

THE INQUISITR: We always hear actors say ‘I want to direct.’ Is that something you see yourself doing in the future?

OWEN: If I find myself the right kind of material I would do it.

Check out the trailer for Shadow Dancer:

SHADOW DANCER HITS THEATERS TODAY IN A LIMITED RELEASE.