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Clive Owen+Stubble=Everyman

By Harry Kimball, Newser Staff

Posted Feb 16, 2009 4:53 PM CST

(Newser) – Clive Owen may be good-looking, but his success in recent years depends squarely on his ability to inhabit scruffy Everyman characters that connect with audiences, New York reports. His new film, The International, heightens the illusion, as Owen’s everyday character is thrust into the middle of a shadowy financial runaround. The film has more gunplay than you and I usually experience, but the situation is unsettling in its relevance.

“He’s got this movie-star quality, but he’s not too cool or too sexy or too good-looking—I mean, what am I saying?” says International co-star Naomi Watts, trying to pinpoint Owen’s charm. “Of course he’s incredibly good-looking! But you can see the flaws, as well,” she continues. “He’s just there, seamless, oozing truth.” Director Tom Twyker gets more quickly to the point. “He can look that good and still be me and you.”

[Images (4)]

[Videos (2)]

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Clive Owen stars as Louis Salinger in the Columbia Pictures thriller "The International." (AP Photo)

Clive Owen and co-star Naomi Watts attend the premiere of "The International" in New York. (AP Photo)

British actor Clive Owen poses before a Giorgio Armani show. (AP Photo)

Watts and Owen in a scene from 'The International' by director Tom Tykwer. (AP Photo)

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A trailer for "The International." (TheTrailerPlace)

A trailer for "Duplicity." (LMTlive)

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It’s a genre movie, but it also questions whether banks are using people’s money appropriately. Are these sound institutions? We’re all asking that right now. - Clive Owen, on The International

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