There's certainly a huge element of luck in me ending up where I've ended up.
— Clive Owen
A room full of great sportsmen is so much better than a room full of actors.
If you are making a script based on a book it can be frustrating going back to the source novel, because you're turning the story into a totally different thing; the narrative of film is different from that of a book.
I certainly don't think of myself as an action hero.
I guess I'm not that metrosexual. My bathroom cabinet is hardly overflowing with products. I only really have my stuff for shaving. I can't honestly say I moisturise, though I probably should.
I never wanted to be a movie star.
Belfast during the Troubles looked like a different world.
Very often when you see families it's all perfect and neat, and parenting isn't like that. You do have constant negotiations. Things are ever developing and ever changing, and you constantly have to evaluate how you deal with your kids.
I do wear suits all the time.
As I get older, I've been having a better and better time.
I can honestly say I've never chosen a film because where it's shot is convenient.
I've had some great times with actresses, but that's in a movie.
I watch a film and the most important thing to me is what I think of the movie.
I go off and make movies; I come home, and I'm a dad and I hang with my girls.
For me really good acting is about subtext.
The idea of goodies and baddies has always fascinated me, and what people consider to be a goodie or a baddie, because I've never seen any of my characters as baddies.
It's just lovely to be involved in a movie that does go back to the basics - characters and great writing.
The financial implode is bound to be reflected in the movies that are being made, there's no question.
Ultimately, to have a career in movies, to a certain extent, certainly in England, you can't sustain a career in just English movies.
I don't like it when people are trying too hard. That goes for clothes, for acting, for everything. It's just not good when it seems like you're making too much of an effort.
I don't think I've ever had a real fashion disaster.
As a teenager I was crazy about David Bowie. He was a huge inspiration for me. I dressed a little bit crazily in school and dyed my hair every colour under the sun.
If you explode onto the scene at a very young age, there are so many people pulling you in different directions. It takes time to recalibrate and see what's important.
My wife needs her freedom just like me.
I think there is a lot of overexplaining both in writing and acting. People don't need to be hit on the head.
I've been very fortunate with the scripts I've had and the people I worked with.
I never really look at life and worry about missed opportunities.
I don't do facials or any of that stuff, but my workout regime does tend to depend on whether I have to take my top off in my next film because otherwise I know I'm too heavy.
The worst piece of advice I've gotten in my whole career is from somebody who said, 'Remember, it's all about likeability.'
There's not a big gun culture in England at all still.
You're always dealing with emotions as an actor.
I just love playing good guys.
I always want my options to be open.
The thing about Hemingway that people forget is that all the stuff he did was at a time where people weren't traveling that much. At 19 he travels to Italy. He goes to the Spanish Civil War. He goes to China, he goes to Africa so at that time to travel that much is really incredible.
I like to play characters that are convincing, that aren't just straightforward and nice.
Audiences can be very judgmental.
I have a problem with a lot of men's fragrances because they are very strong. Somebody somewhere thinks that masculine means powerful smells, and I find them overbearing and not very pleasant.
Jewelery isn't really my thing, but I've always got my eye on people's watches.
I was at the birth of my two girls.
For some people, an event happens and they are thrown into a tabloid feeding ground.
I couldn't bear a marriage in which one partner hinges on the other.
I think it's dangerous to get into ideas of planning careers.
For me, London is and always will be home.
I'd love to do a Western.
You see these actresses who have had Botox or something else done, and it takes you out of the film.
I want to be in movies that stand the test of time.
When there's an idiot driving crazily in front of you, that can wind the best of you up.
I would never give anybody any advice about anything.
I'm just a working actor.
I'm sort of one of those weird actors who whenever I do a play, I think, 'Oh, we should film this,' as opposed to have to belt it out of ourselves in a theater auditorium.
