Clive Owen chooses movies that 'scare' him

Clive Owen likes to make movies that "scare me a little bit".

During the course of his career, the 59-year-old actor has worked on a range of varied projects, from Spike Lee’s 'Inside Man' and Alfonso Cuarón’s 'Children of Men' to Robert Altman’s 'Gosford Park' and Steven Soderbergh’s 'The Knick' and he referred to his projects as a "mixed bag".

Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter ahead of receiving an award at the 58th edition of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, Clive said: "I like to choose things that scare me a little bit, something that I haven’t done before. When you look at everything I’ve done, it’s a very mixed bag.

"You want to make sure you are on the same page. Nearly always you get sent the script first, and I want to make sure that the director has a similar idea to what I have when I read it. I want us to be on the same page. But I hear a lot of actors talking about actors’ directors — they talk a lot to actors and look after actors — and I feel that filmmaking is often a very practical thing and the greatest directors, the ones who really know what they’re doing, they can create an environment where the actor can do his thing. I like to examine the character, and some of the greatest directors I’ve ever worked with don’t get involved in the process.

"Way back in the day I did this film 'Gosford Park' with Robert Altman and it had an incredible cast. He pulled all the cast together and the first thing he said was, 'I don’t want you to come to me to talk about your character. You all know why you’re here.' I’m a great believer in a director who really knows what they’re doing and creates a really great structure and framework for an actor to be able to do their thing."

While he has worked with many great filmmakers, there are still some directors Clive is eager to collaborate with and he also revealed he is keen to make a comedy.

He said: "I would love to work with Paul Thomas Anderson and I would love to work with Jacques Audiard. They’re the first two that I think of. And I suppose I’ve always wanted to find a comedy that will suit me. I have been offered [comedies] over the years but I’ve never found them particularly funny. I’m not a great fan of broad comedies. It would be something I’d be keen to do, really good comedy."