After studying at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, Owen quickly established himself as one of the most promising young actors in Britain, taking roles on stage, with the Young Vic Theatre Company, and on television, notably playing the lead in the hit crime series Chancer.

He made his film debut in 1988 with the British road movie Vroom, starring alongside David Thewlis, and then worked with director Stephen Poliakoff on Close My Eyes.

He played Max, a gay man who finds love in the most extreme circumstances, in the screen version of Bent and then starred in Mike Hodges international hit, Croupier. 

“I had never really made anything that had an impact in America,” he says. “I was having a fine time doing small films and theatre and then for some reason Croupier made an impact and it was the beginning of a great time for me in the States and things started opening up there. 

“You can’t have a film career based solely in England because they don’t make enough movies. You have to make an impact in the States and I hadn’t done that until Croupier so I will always be grateful to Mike Hodges for that.”

Owen seized the opportunity and starred in films like King Arthur – in which he played the lead – Beyond Borders, with Angelina Jolie, and Sin City. He joined Julia Roberts, Jude Law and Natalie Portman as co leads in Closer, the screen adaptation of the Patrick Marber play in which he had starred in on the West End stage.

Owen, 44, is married to the actress Sarah-Jane Fenton and they have two daughters, Hannah and Eve. The family are happily settled in London.

“I’ve lived in London since I was at drama school,” he says. “And there’s absolutely no reason to live anywhere else – our girls have been educated there and are very happy and we love it there.”

Travelling to film locations often means that he’s away from his much-adored family for long periods but it’s all about balance, he says, and there are plenty of times in between films when he can devote himself to the family.

“You juggle your life and make sure there’s a balance to it. I’ve just come back from Australia where I was making a film (The Boys Are Back In Town) for three months and it was tough to be that far away for so long but prior to that I took three and a half months off and spent the entire summer holidays at home with the girls, so it’s all about balance. “

Written and directed by Tony Gilroy (Michael Clayton) Duplicity re-unites Owen on screen with Julia Roberts for the first time since their successful collaboration in Closer in 2004.

Frank: Had you met Tony Gilroy before you worked together on Duplicity?

Owen: Briefly. I think I met him through George Clooney – they did Michael Clayton together and I loved that film. I think we talked about the Bourne films. He wrote them and I was in the first one (Bourne Identity). I knew that I wanted to work with him and when the script for Duplicity came to me I was delighted. I loved it.

Frank: Were you beginning to despair that you wouldn’t find a good script?

Owen: Well, I was reading things and I just wasn’t getting excited by any of the scripts. You start to think ‘is it me?’ Because I was reading a lot and there was nothing that I wanted to do. And then Duplicity arrived.

Frank: But what do you do when you don’t see scripts that hold your attention? Do you hold your horses or take something that has potential?

Owen: I’m hugely fortunate now in that I don’t feel that if I don’t take something I’ll never work again. I’m very lucky I get offered a lot so I’m not going to do a film just for the sake of working. But with Duplicity I had a huge appetite for it because I knew how good the dialogue was.

Frank: How did Julia Roberts come on board?

Owen: Well, Tony and I got together and he said to me ‘who would be your number one for the role of Clare?’ And I immediately said ‘Julia..’ Why? Because she’s the best and I had a great time working with her before and I wanted to work with her again. I knew she would be perfect for this. We’re friends so we talked about it but she was just about to have a baby and real life is much more important (laughs). So it was quite a while later, after she’d had the baby, that she read it and met Tony and called me up.  

Frank: Does it help when you know that you’ve proved that you have screen chemistry with an actress? You two had worked together on Closer so it presumably made life easier?

Owen: There’s a whole lot of stuff that’s taken care of. To a certain extent chemistry is a natural thing, I like Julia enormously, I respect her enormously – we trust each other and so we can just have fun. You can get on with the work and you don’t have to worry about that side of it. She raises my game. She’s incredibly smart and skilful but as well as all of that, she’s just lovely to be around. Filming was just a pleasure and I felt privileged to be a part of it.

Frank: What do you look for when you are choosing a part these days?

Owen: More and more it’s the director. It used to be more the script but the balance has slightly shifted for me. I’ve had the best times working with the best directors – directors that you really admire, whose work you love – and I think that’s where it’s at. I’d say Tom Tykwer (The International) and Tony Gilroy are two of the best I’ve ever come across. I don’t look at films to see if they are independent or made by a studio, all the lines are blurred. I would have jumped at The International and Duplicity whatever context they were in. They are serious films made by seriously good directors. 

Frank: Does the leading lady play a part in your choice?

Owen: I enjoy working with actresses. I enjoy a film like Duplicity because it has a lot of banter with Julia and that’s great to do. When you are playing against somebody as good as Julia it completely raises your game because she is so smart and such a great actress. It doesn’t get any better than that.

Frank: You’re a hugely successful actor. What keeps you grounded?

Owen: My family. And concentrating on the work. Simple as that.

Frank: How would you describe your character in Duplicity?

Owen: The guy’s a hustler. He’s a very sharp hustler who lives on his wits.

Frank: And the audience is never quite sure if he’s telling the truth…

Owen: (laughs) Exactly! And you never know if Julia’s character is telling the truth. In fact, you might assume they are lying to each other in every scene…

Frank: What kind of director was Tony?

Owen: He’s a very good collaborator who has become a really good friend. He’s amazingly assured, too. I couldn’t believe how together he was. On Duplicity his instincts, his taste, his decision making and his choice of shots were just clear and right on the button all the time. I was kind of taken aback with him, it was like ‘how can this be your second movie? I don’t understand where you get this from?’ Maybe it’s because he’s written so many scripts and he’s so sure of what movies are, what the beats and rhythms are. But for a guy who had only directed one film at that point, he was incredibly accomplished. 

Frank: Did he take ideas from you?

Owen: He always listened. He’s not precious in the slightest but I’m telling you now, there were very few changes. The dialogue was so good I wasn’t going to mess with it. I make notes on every script I do.  When I start a movie I go through it meticulously, especially the dialogue, to see whether the rhythm is right, if there are too many words, whether it needs something else. I went through Duplicity without making a single note. Nothing. We got together to talk about the script and I hardly had anything to say except ‘it’s brilliant!’ 

Frank: In terms of genre, how would you describe Duplicity?

Owen: I’d say it’s a banter movie. That’s the key, banter. It’s the backwards and forwards, to-ing and fro-ing. I’m wary of describing it as a romantic comedy because it’s not - it’s not cute enough for that. It’s very, very witty and very, very smart.

Frank: Are you a fan of DVDs?

Owen: Oh yes. I’ve got an amazing wealth of movies. A lot of old films that I need to catch up on. But I never watch DVDs on a plane, I like to see them at home on a proper screen. I’m a movie fan and if you love movies, then DVDs are fantastic.