British film star Clive Owen at the BAFTA awards ceremony

Despite becoming a major star, Clive Owen still finds time to communicate directly with his fans. In July 2005 he conducted a Q and A session at a screening of his latest film, Sin City. The following excerpts were recorded at that session.

Asked about why he became an actor, Clive had this to say: “I did a school play when I was a kid and from then on always wanted to be an actor. I’ve done a lot of theatre. My first love is film. I think there’s a slight snobbery about theatre – people say if you can’t do it on stage, you’re not a proper actor. I don’t really agree with that.”

He then went on to discuss his reasons for choosing the roles he has taken: “The reason I tend to play the sort of parts I do is because is there’s something to do. For me it’s all about playing conflict in some way. Acting is about subtext. It’s about playing a character who’s grappling with some sort of issue. If everything is obvious and clear and straightforward there’s not an awful lot to do apart from say the lines.”

He also talked about how he prepares for shooting: “I come prepared. I’m not great at winging it. I don’t like turning up and hoping some magic’s going to happen. I do put work in but I’m not quite sure what it is.”

Clive discussed the differences in the film-making process in the UK and the United States: “I suppose the fundamental differences are in the British films that I’ve done tend to be smaller budgets which tends to mean that the directors get left alone a bit more. There’s less studio intrusion. There’s not producers buzzing around putting their input in every day.”

However, when asked if he had any plans to live full time in Hollywood, Clive reassured his fans he would not be moving overseas: “My family’s here. My family lives in this area so I’ve got absolutely no intention- I mean, I just have to travel a lot. I have to do a lot of flying backwards and forwards. But I want to live in London so that’s what I’ll do.”