Clive Owen Quotes

You go back to those films of the '40s and '50s and hear the dialogue, the way the people played off each other, the wordplay. I think we've really lost that in movies.

I just like to keep challenging myself, keep it varied. It's a craft, and I'm constantly trying to learn and get better at it.

Parenthood and family come first for me, and when I'm not working I'm cool with the Teletubbies.

I feel for those 19-year-olds who get thrust into the limelight that young.

It's important to me that everyone is treated with respect.

I always want my options to be open.

Every journalist who is not too stupid or too full of himself to notice what is going on knows that what he does is morally indefensible.

You won't find a better young actor than Jaeden Lieberher. I ended up having one of the best times with him, really. Going to work with him every day was a treat.

The sexiest part of the body is the eyes. That's what I believe.

I don't think you necessarily identify and believe in the motifs of the character, but you have to want to play it and want to commit to the lines.

A huge part of acting in movies is appetite. You do your best work when you've got a lot of appetite and you really want to embrace something. When you get tired, you don't have that hunger.

I think that Phil Kaufman is one of the best directors that I have come across.

As far as career goes, make sure you're in it for the right reasons - and make sure that the work itself is the most important thing.

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.

Belfast during the Troubles looked like a different world.

The further you run from your sins, the more exhausted you are when they catch up to you.

You're always dealing with emotions as an actor.

I'm not the kind of actor who goes into exhaustive research for each role.

Acting is all about likability.

Good dialogue is very important.

I always used to say to myself, I'm going to die of lung cancer. That's the choice I'm making.

For me really good acting is about subtext.

I can honestly say I've never chosen a film because where it's shot is convenient.

I find sometimes that if you do too many takes, it starts to become meaningless to me. It is hard to sustain it for me. I don't want to do too many.

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 did it for the money. But its not worth much if you cant face yourself in the mirror. Respect is the ultimate currency.

It's just lovely to be involved in a movie that does go back to the basics - characters and great writing.

After drama school I did a seven-month tour of Europe performing in 'Romeo and Juliet.' I played Romeo.

I am a big soccer fan, and a very big Liverpool fan.

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.

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.

I couldn't bear a marriage in which one partner hinges on the other.

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've got actor friends who didn't get breaks, who struggle and worry about things that I'm fortunate not to have to worry about.

The worst piece of advice I've gotten in my whole career is from somebody who said, Remember, it's all about likeability.

One of the things I'm most proud of about my career is the fact I've managed to keep options open.

Without faith, without belief in something, what are we?

Death frees the beast.

I never really look at life and worry about missed opportunities.

Sometimes you find your destiny on the road you took to avoid it.

I actually really love working with young actors because they're so responsive and instinctive, and it's a much less honed craft that they're employing.

You see these actresses who have had Botox or something else done, and it takes you out of the film.

When you are shooting action, there is a satisfying thing because your objectives are very clear.

I do a lot better if I sit around and think about a character for a couple of months.

I dread karaoke. I hate karaoke. I can't sing - that is why.

Kids before they're 7 or 8 are like little manic obsessives. They become completely hooked on things and they're slightly crazy.

I've done a number of things based on real people or true stories or based on books, and I'm a great believer that you have to be true to the script.

I've had some great times with actresses, but that's in a movie.

I've got an age that I do think of myself.

I don't just like to have 1 take, but not too many. I think it is good to keep it alive.