Clive Owen made his screen debut in the British television police procedural drama series ‘Rockliffe’ in 1987. In 1990, he made his big-screen debut in the 1990 romance drama film ‘Vroom’ directed by Beeban Kidron. Following his debut, he went on to star in films like ‘Close My Eyes’ (1991), ‘Century’ (1993), ‘The Turnaround’ (1995), ‘The Rich Man's Wife’ (1996), ‘Bent’ (1997), ‘Croupier’ (1998), and ‘Greenfingers’ (2000). In 2001, he starred as ‘The Driver’ in the 1st season of the BMW short film series ‘The Hire.’ The following year, he played the role of ‘The Professor’ in the action-thriller film ‘The Bourne Identity’ directed by Doug Liman. The film earned praise from critics and was a major financial success, grossing over $214 million on a budget of $60 million. In 2003, he starred as ‘Dr. Nick Callahan’ in the American romantic-drama film ‘Beyond Borders’ directed by Martin Campbell. The film was largely panned by critics and scored a 14% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. He portrayed Arthur in the 2004 Antoine Fuqua-directed historical adventure film ‘King Arthur.’ The film received a lukewarm response from critics but managed to gross over $203.6 million on a budget of $120 million. The same year also saw the release of the American romantic drama film ‘Closer’ where Owen played the role of ‘Larry Gray.’ The film received mostly positive reviews from critics and performed well at the box office, grossing over $115.5 million on a $27 million budget. Owen also won several awards, including the Golden Globe Award and the ‘BAFTA Award’ along with an Academy Award nomination, for his performance in the film.
He continued to star in films like ‘Sin City’ (2005), ‘Inside Man’ (2006), ‘Children of Men’ (2006), ‘Shoot 'Em Up’ (2007), ‘Elizabeth: The Golden Age’ (2007), ‘The International’ (2009), ‘The Boys Are Back’ (2009), ‘Trust’ (2010), ‘Killer Elite’ (2011), ‘Shadow Dancer’ (2012), ‘Blood Ties’ (2013), ‘Last Knights’ (2015), ‘The Confirmation’ (2016), ‘Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets’ (2017), ‘Ophelia’ (2018), ‘Gemini Man’ (2019), ‘The Informer’ (2019), and ‘Guida romantica a posti perduti’ (2020). He was last seen in ‘Impeachment: American Crime Story,’ the third season of the FX true-crime anthology television series ‘American Crime Story’ in 2021.