Clive Owen plays Mac in 'Shadow Dancer', here seen recruiting Collette McVeigh (Andrea Riseborough)
Clive Owen is a Brit undoubtedly done well in Hollywood, acclaimed for his versatility ('Closer', 'Children of Men', 'The Bourne Identity'), most recently for his Golden Globe-nominated turn with Nicole Kidman in the HBO telemovie 'Hemingway and Gelhorn'.
But he was persuaded to return to the genre he's probably most associated with, that of the political thriller for the lead role in 'Shadow Dancer', adapted by ITN News Correspondent Tom Bradby from his own novel.
Owen plays Mac, a weary British agent, responsible for running informers at the height of the Troubles in 1990s Northern Ireland. This brings him into contact with Collette (Andrea Riseborough on top form), who is tasked with betraying her family if she wants her own freedom.
Here, Owen explains how the Irish Troubles affected him personally, and the sympathies he feels for his own character caught in a no-win situation...
What were your views on the British-Irish conflict as a young man, living in the UK at the time the film is set?
Well, obviously I grew up with it being part of our lives and that threat being in the air and every night hearing some report on the news about the Troubles in Northern Ireland. I actually went to Belfast during that time. I did a play and stayed in Belfast for a week during the Troubles and it was rough, it was a war zone. And it was only when I went into the production office for this film and saw all the pictures they'd put on the wall from that time that I was like, "Wow, they've come a long way." Because it's not that long ago and it was a very different place then.
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