British actor Clive Owen was born in Coventry, England on October 3, 1964. His father was a country and western singer who abandoned his family when Clive was only 3, let him and his four brothers raised by his mother and stepfather. Owen's two brothers, Alan and Lee, eventually became musicians and were known for their single called "Heartbeat." Owen got his early education at Binley Park Comprehensive School, and at his 13, after playing the scene-stealing role of the Artful Dodger in a production of "Oliver!" he joined the youth theater. Completed his education there, in 1984 Owen attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, where he spent his three years building up classical resume, including roles in "Henry IV, Part I" and "The Lady from the Sea."

After that, he joined the Young Vic Theatre Company where he, in 1988, played the role of Romeo who in reality finally in love with his co-star Juliet performed by Sarah Jane Fenton, mothered his two daughters, Hannah and Eve, after their marriage on March 6, 1995.

1988 was the year when Owen got his film debut, playing in the British-made "Vroom" co-starring David Thewlis as two fellows who restore a classic American car and take off on the road. Two years passed by and he established his acting career even more for the role of devishly handsome rogue Stephen Crane he portrayed in "Chancer." His next film, "Close My Eyes" (1991), in which he played a brother who acts on his incestuous desires for his older sister, had attracted public attention that they then dedicated more admiration on him.

Unfortunately, in the next two years, the lovable shyster Owen lost a handful profitable commercial endorsements and film offers. It seemed that he really needed hard work to no longer be a timid actor before he ended the difficult two years pursuing stage roles, one most important was playing a bisexual in Noel Coward's production named "Design For Living." This was the starting point for Owen to return to TV and play number of roles in both mini-movies and series, one that had a hit on the London stage in 1997 was the ensemble contemporary piece about relationships, entitled "Closer" (2004). Still in the year of 1997, many controversies arose in the film role of Max, a brash, reckless homosexual lothario in decadent pre-war Germany who finds unexpected love while interned in a Nazi war camp, which Owen portrayed in "Bent" (1997).

Right after the controversies, that was in 1998, Owen got his biggest film break in Mike Hodges' movie "Croupier" that portrayed him as a struggling writer who takes a job in a London casino as an inspiration for his work, only to get caught up in a robbery scheme. For that role, he was being criticized by English audiences, yet being praised by the U.S. who with an open hand received the film and finally took notice on him. Since then, Owen played in some other famous films, like "The Bourne Identity" which was a 2002 movie based on the book of the same name by Robert Ludlum where he portrayed the professor. In addition, he also got the title role in "King Arthur" (2004) movie where he played as a Roman officer, the son of a Roman father and a Celtic mother, who leads a military force of Sarmatian cavalry in Britain at the close of Roman occupation. Later on Owen took part in "Closer," a 2004 film directed by Mike Nichols starring Julia Roberts, Natalie Portman, and Jude Law, which involves infidelity, intimacy and sacrifice in its story.

In early 2005, Clive Owen and co star Natalie Portman won that year Golden Globes (Sunday, January 16th) for Best Supporting Actor and Actress for their roles in "Closer," defeated some other strong competitors, including Morgan Freeman, who played in "Million Dollar Baby"; David Carradine for "Kill Bill"; Thomas Haden Church for "Sideways"; and Jamie Foxx for "Collateral." Following that success, the actor then appeared in a series of high-profile features that included "Sin City" (2005), "Derailed" (2005), "Inside Man" (2006), and "Children of Men" (2006), which was deemed Best Science Fiction Film by U.S. Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films.

2007, in the meantime, found Clive acting in two contrasting movie genres through "Shoot 'Em Up" and "Elizabeth: The Golden Age." While the former was a hard-core action flick, the latter appeared to be a period drama piece that was a follow-up to 1998's "Elizabeth." More stints came afterwards as he quickly got attached to "The Boys Are Back in Town" (2008), "The International" (2008), and "Trouble Is My Business" (2009) while again portraying Dwight McCarthy in "Sin City 2" (2009).