Who cares about playing James Bond when there is a guy like Theo Faron to play?
Clive Owen prefers Faron, and the Oscar-nominated British actor proves it in science fiction drama "Children of Men," his new film that debuts in U.S. theaters on Christmas day.
But why pass up playing a suave, sophisticated ladies' man in a movie franchise certain to produce box office hits, for Theo, a drunk, self-doubting bachelor in a movie you have no idea whether people will see?
"That is the challenge. That is exactly the challenge," Owen told Reuters in a recent interview.
Owen, 42, had been widely tipped as being first in line to take the Bond role for "Casino Royale." The movie's makers were keen on having Owen play the British secret agent and held talks with him, but 2004 Oscar nominee for relationship drama "Closer" said he moved on before a formal offer could be made.
Daniel Craig was eventually chosen for the agent with a license to kill, and "Casino Royale" has been a huge hit with nearly $350 million in worldwide ticket sales.
But Owen said he hasn't given his decision a second thought. "Children of Men" has earned solid ticket sales of around $32 million internationally ahead of its U.S. launch.
In fact, Owen said the chief factor for taking the role of Theo, along with being a character who is the opposite of himself -- a good-natured married father of two girls -- was director Alfonso Cuaron's vision of the near future.
BLEAK FUTURE IN "MEN"
Life for Londoners in 2027 when "Children of Men" is set is not too different from today except for one key factor -- humans face extinction because no children are being born.
"Alfonso's been very, very clear from the outset that it was going to be a certain low-tech vision. It's a film that's set in the future, but it's really an excuse to talk about present concerns, worries and fears we have now," Owen said.
Owen mentions violence, immigration, and pollution as examples.
In the movie, audiences meet Theo as he walks out of a London cafe only moments before it is blown up by terrorists.
From there, Theo reluctantly helps the only pregnant woman on Earth escape England and get to a safe haven. In doing so Theo redeems his own sense of self-worth.
Theo becomes a key player in saving the human race, but initially he is a hard hero to like because of his depression, apathy and detachment from society.
"The worry is that you are the character taking people through the movie, and you don't want people to go, 'why are we going along with this guy,"' Owen said.
In real life, Owen is the opposite of Theo. He was known to British television and film audiences throughout the 1990s before finally landing on Hollywood's map in the low-budget independent film, "Croupier," in 1998.
A series of increasingly higher-profile films including Jerry Bruckheimer-produced "King Arthur" culminated in his winning a supporting role in 2004's "Closer," which was based on a stage play that Owen previously starred in.
That movie put him on the Hollywood A-list, and Owen said in the past two years he has increasingly been recognized in public. Yet when not working, he largely remains out of celebrity magazines and gossip rags despite his good looks and sex symbol status.
"My life is divided between work and my family. I don't do anything else," he said. "For me, it's all about the work, and when I'm not working, I just hole up with the family."
Reuters