Coolly posing for cameras in dazzling sunlight on a balcony at the Emirates Palace, wearing a sharp white suit and the obligatory dark sunglasses, Clive Owen looks every inch the A-lister. The combination of LA style, a London accent, brooding good looks and decent acting chops has proven irresistible to Hollywood over the past few years. His latest films have taken a more contemplative bent, exploring parenthood in Trust and The Boys are Back, and he’s currently preparing to take on the mammoth part of Hemingway in a biopic of the writer out next year. Back in the capital this week to walk the red carpet at the Abu Dhabi Film Festival, and to talk about his latest projects, Time Out Abu Dhabi found him in cheery, articulate form.
Welcome back. How does it feel to be in Abu Dhabi again?
It’s my second time this year. It’s great to be back and to come to the film festival. I’m a big fan of film festivals, as they’re such a celebration of movies and bringing people together.
What do you think film festivals bring to the industry?
Well, there’s a concern that in the current economic climate, the film industry will only want to bank on projects it knows it can make money on. But there are new, young directors who should be given opportunities to explore what they can do. Film festivals are a place where these people can be discovered, and films that would struggle to get out in the commercial market place get noticed.
So you’re set to take on the role of writer Ernest Hemingway next. When do you start filming?
Early next year. It’s a fantastic script about the period when Hemingway met and fell in love with Martha Gellhorn against the backdrop of the Spanish Civil War. I’ve deliberately taken some time off to get ready for the role, because it’s such a big undertaking. I want to prepare for it properly. So I’ve been doing a lot of reading and a lot of eating! Hemingway was a big guy…
How much weight do you intend to put on for the role?
I’ll do whatever I can because his physical presence is very important. I could easily just start eating a lot of junk food, but that wouldn’t be good for me. So I’ll just try to eat more and put on weight gradually.
You’ve become something of an English sex symbol in Hollywood. What do you think your appeal is?
Um, I don’t really know about that. But when I was young, if you wanted to be in American movies you could only play bad boys if you were English. They didn’t want you for anything else! I feel lucky that I’m around at a time when the film market has become much more international.
So would you ever feel the need to move to the US?
I’ve always loved living in London. My family is settled there and maybe 10 or 15 years ago it was important to go and live in LA, but they don’t make the same amount of movies there anymore. If I moved my family out there, I would still spend all my time making movies around the world, so they’d want to know why they were away from their friends and family.
Have you drawn on your family experiences for any of your roles?
Hugely. I am a parent, and I found the script for The Boys are Back very moving and related to a lot of it in terms of bringing up small children and the ups and downs of that. I wanted to avoid making the cosy, comfortable movie version of that story. The clichéd version is that tragedy brings us together, but in real life it’s not always like that.
Are you finding yourself more suited to these kinds of character-driven roles rather than, say, action thrillers?
I always try to play characters that have subtext, that are trying to deal with something. A character with conflict gives me more to play with, and is far more interesting.
How do you unwind when you’re not making movies?
I really love watching football. It’s very sad. My diary of whatever I have to do, wherever I have to be, has the Liverpool fixtures in there so I can always catch games. I’ve watched matches in some really amazing situations. I watched Liverpool on a screen in the Namibian desert. And there’s a Liverpool supporters’ bar in New York that I go to whenever I’m in the city.
Helen Elfer interviewed Clive Owen at the Abu Dhabi Film Festival, which runs until October 23.
