On his decision to take on the role of Dwight McCarthy, perhaps Sin City‘s most noble character:
Clive Owen: “I was obviously thrilled to be asked to be involved. Robert sent me the graphic novel and this little 10-minute thing that he’d already filmed, and it looked hugely exciting. I wasn’t familiar with Frank [Miller]’s work at all, and I read the graphic novel ‘The Big Fat Kill,’ and felt it was the wildest, most imaginative thing I’d come upon in ages. SO I was just thrilled to be asked to be involved with it.”
Robert Rodriguez commentary: “It was really tough because Frank draws the character of Dwight with so much character in his face, and you couldn’t go to a really young actor and have that kind of weight and presence and still have some vitality. And so I went and looked at the BMW commercials again, because that was the only place I’d known him from, and I always wanted to work with him from those. He’s always had a presence, a very mysterious presence, and I showed Frank: ‘I said I know it’s not a whole lot to see, but if you can get a glimpse on this little tiny screen on my computer, this is the guy I think should be Dwight.’ It’s one of his main characters, who shows up in almost all of his books. And by that point, we’d already brought on so many of the actors who were just so right that he trusted me to say ‘Hey, if you think that’s the guy, bring him in.'”
On having Sin City writer-artist Miller on the set as co-director:
Clive Owen: “Having Frank there was almost utterly essential, because he’s the guy that conjured up this crazy world. I saw the film yesterday for the first time, and I have to say I think it’s very ingenious. I was blown away by it. I felt like at the end of that movie I’d been taken to some extraordinary place I’d never been before. I think Frank‘s vision of the world is that, and he’s just gone and created it on film.”
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On having Brittany Murphy and Rosario Dawson as rivals for his affection:
Clive Owen: “I had the most fantastic time! I hung out in Old Town every day. [laughs] It was a fantastic time.”
On developing a convincing American accent for Dwight:
Clive Owen: “It was a concern. Robert called me to ask me to do it, and it really a few weeks time and I wasn’t saw how much voiceover there was, but Robert was very cool about it. He said ‘Listen, there’s a huge amount of voiceover. Don’t sweat about it. Just concentrate on the dialogue, you’ve got plenty of time.’ And Robert was so sort of healthy about it, I felt really fine about going and going for it. And also, the thing about the graphic novel is that it’s easy to underestimate. Frank Miller is not only a fantastic artist, but the language he uses for dialogue that we lifted straight from the book is really fantastic dialogue. It has great rhythms, it’s very smart, very witty, and so the whole thing was very easy because you’ve got such strong guidelines. And the rhythm of the dialogue is dictated by what’s on the page. You read it and you know how to speak it because it’s got a very classic noir rhythm to it.”
Robert Rodriguez commentary: ” Quentin [Tarantino]’s idea [for the sequence he directed within ‘The Big Fat Kill’] was to have Clive speak in an outer voice, where his voiceover would actually be spoken out. He did something kind of like that in ‘Reservoir Dogs,’ and I thought ‘Oh, that’s such a great way to do it.’ And Clive, of course, didn’t know he was going to do that until the day. And Quentin didn’t think of it until then either. He said ‘Wait a minute, all this monologue that you were going to do in voiceover later–you should do it on the set! Can you learn it real quick?’ And Clive really impressed the hell out of Quentin. That’s still all he talks about, the fact that Clive went away for five minutes and did all the monologue there off the cuff, and trying to do an American accent, so he had to figure that out as well, right there on the day.”
On his recent Oscar nomination for Closer:
Clive Owen: “I was really, really thrilled to be invited and accepted into some very special place, really. To be acknowledged that way. I had such a good time making Closer. I’m so proud this really worked, and when all of came as well, it was nothing but a huge thrill. I was hugely flattered, met incredible people, and had a wonderful time. It was special.”
On the possibly of reprising the role of Dwight for a sequel:
Clive Owen: “Of course I would. If [Robert and Frank] asked me, I’d go, because I’m telling you, I was blown away by the movie. I thought the movie is quite extraordinary. Of course I’d go back if it was possible. There was no talk of it then, but there’s a few little whisperings coming from Rodriguez over there.”
On the potential delights of working more directly with Mickey Rourke if the sequel includes “A Dame to Kill For,” which teams Dwight and Marv against a common enemy:
Clive Owen: “Of course, Mickey Rourke is one of the greats. I thought Mickey was f—ing extraordinary, I really did. He was like some huge wounded animal. I thought he was hugely impressive.”
On whether there’s any truth to the rumors he’s in line to become the next James Bond:
Clive Owen: “It’s the same as always. There’s nothing to it whatsoever. It’s just people writing about it. It’s not substantiated at all.”
On whether he WANTS to be the next 007:
Clive Owen: “Next question [laughs].”
