Clive Owen: Beyond the Pale

American audiences generally know actor Clive Owen by his menacing manner and brooding British reserve from supporting roles in Gosford Park and The Bourne Identity. Some are even aware of the shadowy sway of Owen's dark and debonair demeanor in the sleeper independent film Croupier, or his leading role in BMW's Internet short feature series, The Hire, helmed by a host of Hollywood heavyweights. But the actor, who once spent a good deal of time playing pool on the dole in Warwickshire, attended London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and made a name for himself in England on the BBC's popular series Chancer and PBS's Mystery long before Hollywood took notice of his distinctive talent and fantastic furrowed brow.

Owen now, no doubt, has little time for pool the 39-year-old father of two (Hanna and Eve) is simultaneously juggling promotion for Beyond Borders while filming Jerry Bruckheimer's King Arthur (in which he plays, ahem, Arthur) and gearing up for a film adaptation of English playwright Patrick Marber's Closer (costarring Julia Roberts, Jude Law and Natalie Portman). He is also repeatedly responding to rampant rumors that he may be the next Bond, James Bond.