Clive Owen on Stepping Into Humphrey Bogart’s Shoes for Monsieur Spade: “As Good as it Gets”

TV Fanatic not too long ago had the prospect to meet up with proficient actor Clive Owen to debate his upcoming position as venerable detective Sam Spade within the AMC collection Monsieur Spade.

The collection follows the detective properly after he metaphorically hangs up his detective hat and settles down in France. Is Spade actually the kind of man who would let a superb thriller go unanswered? There would not be a collection if he had been.

Learn how Owen feels concerning the unbelievable honor of getting into footwear beforehand worn by Humphrey Bogart and far more with our interview beneath.

Thank you. Hi, Clive, how are you?

Hi, excellent. How are you?

I’m good, thanks. I’ve admired your work for a very long time.

Thank you.

This position was particularly enjoyable.

Great.

How did you bodily and emotionally put together for the position, particularly contemplating his age and the expertise of the character?

I immersed myself in all issues Humphrey Bogart, to inform you the reality.

It was a little bit of a dream job for me as a result of I’m an enormous Bogart fan, and I knew The Maltese Falcon very well, that film, and a variety of Bogart motion pictures, and so I simply type of immersed myself — reread the e book and simply threw myself into that type of [thing].

It’s fascinating as a result of, though it’s set within the sixties, it’s very a lot a personality from the 40’s and on.

So I type of drowned myself in that type of world and went again and checked out a variety of motion pictures at the moment, listened, and did a variety of work with my voice, making an attempt to get the identical rhythm and tone that Bogart had.

What does it really feel prefer to have the chance to step into a task as iconic as this, particularly one with an actor that you just so admired?

Yeah, it was truly a pleasure as a result of Scott Frank is such a superb author.

I keep in mind we had a gathering earlier than we began, and I mentioned, “Look, don’t freak out about this because I’m not going to do a bad impersonation, but I’m listening to a lot of Bogart, and I’m really concentrating on the rhythms and the speed with which he talked, and really, that’s my focus.”

And he mentioned, “That’s so perfect because I couldn’t write a line for Spade in this without thinking of Bogart saying it.” So, we had been each utterly on the identical web page when it got here to that.

And what did he take into consideration the way you had achieved that very same cadence, et cetera?

Yeah, I feel he favored it. We simply began working. He’s such a prime author that he utterly nailed the rhythms and the type of pace of considered that type of dialogue.

There was a variety of work I needed to put in, however it’s like driving a very implausible automotive. It was so fantastically written that you just simply sat in it and performed it and had been like, “Oh, he’s nailed this kind of tone and period.”

Yeah, and I feel you probably did as properly. I may see Humphrey Bogart saying the identical traces in the identical approach that you just did, which is saying one thing.

Thanks. Thank you.

What private touches did you add to this iconic position?

It was all actually within the writing. I had tons and plenty of conferences and talks with Tom and Scott, and we poured by way of the scripts in full element and went by way of every part.

But, to be sincere with you, once you’ve received penning this good, you do much less work than you’d on one thing else as a result of it’s type of clear. The one factor about Scott Frank’s work, each as a director and a author, is that he has such a transparent intention on a regular basis.

When you see his work as a director, the place he places the digicam, and along with his writing, it’s tremendous clear what he is intending. It’s very, very intelligent, and it’s a really excessive stage, however there is a readability of intent about it, which implies, for an actor, it’s about committing to that and never making an attempt to be too intelligent with it.

His rhythms are nice, so you do not play with them an excessive amount of, and it was an actual pleasure working along with his language.

What do you discover essentially the most difficult facet of getting into the footwear of this well-known and beloved character at this explicit stage in his life?

One factor I spotted after I actually dug into Bogart was that you just assume he is type of received an ease and a laid-back high quality to him, however he truly talked actually quick, and he is tremendous, tremendous nimble and fast, however has an ease about it, which makes you assume that it’s type of virtually on the again foot.

Scott wrote some scenes with a variety of dialogue in, and it was actually about working it so you possibly can actually rip by way of it, however with out making it seem like arduous work.

So there was an ease to doing a variety of dialogue and making it move simply and never look effortful. And I suppose that was one of many largest challenges and one thing that I actually type of spent a variety of time interested by.

How would you describe this Sam Spade?

I feel he is actually, actually trustworthy to the unique Dashiell Hammett, and we have simply moved him on and put him into a unique setting. I feel it’s actually tough once you do noir as a result of we predict we have seen it all earlier than.

So you possibly can very simply fall into acquainted patterns that individuals type of in a short time get snug with, however by throwing him into a unique setting, he is a fish out of water; it actually helps.

It means you might be basic with him as a result of he is having to regulate and adapt to a totally new setting. So I believed that it was very intelligent of Scott and Tom to throw him into the south of France within the sixties and take him out of America within the forties.

Is there a selected facet of Sam Spade’s character or story that resonates with you personally?

I’m simply an enormous fan of that type of style and that type of character, actually. I like these forties movies. I’m an enormous fan of Bogart, and I’ve all the time beloved him as an actor.

The factor about Bogart is that he by no means type of over milks issues. He by no means overindulges.

If you see him, even within the massive romantic movies, there is a type of restraint about him, and he lets no matter’s going on do the work and does not type of push it an excessive amount of. And that is one thing that I’m actually attracted by and that is why I’m such a fan of his, actually.

And this character isn’t very emotional. So you get to play along with your facial expressions very occasionally. You type of have the identical look with very nuanced modifications.

Is it difficult as an actor to not use your expressions as a lot as you’d with one other character?

But that is type of, once more, to do with the restraint of who Sam Spade is, actually. And it’s to not say that he isn’t emotional; it’s simply that you’re not telegraphing or displaying it on a regular basis. There is a type of reserve.

But what you do want, and what’s important, is to have actually good writing to have the ability to do this as a result of then you possibly can simply sit and let his dialogue do its work. It’s very arduous to try this if you have not received actually, actually good writing.

But once you’ve received nice writing, you belief the fabric. You need to do it with a way of restraint as a result of when you get an excessive amount of on the entrance foot and are too demonstrating every part, that is simply not Sam Spade.

You get to perform a little little bit of performing along with your eyes, too, as a result of there have been sure conditions the place, though he was flat, that he was not emotionally unaware. You may see it on your face, though you could not see it on your face, if that is smart.

Exactly. But once more, you want any person who’s directing it who is aware of when to come back in and do this and present you that. So once more, you have to belief. I used to be simply very fortunate that Scott is each a prime author and a prime director.

What do you assume will shock followers of Sam Spade and his tales on this new collection?

I feel that due to the place it’s set in early sixties French, it’s an actual type of lovely marriage of two worlds. You’ve received a personality that you just classically, forties and fifties, that’s thrown into type of very cool French sixties.

And additionally, Scott, I charge him so extremely in each directing and writing that it’s a pleasure once you’ve received dialogue, each for me to be in it and to behave it, but additionally for audiences to drink in as a result of he is so quick-witted and intelligent that the factor simply crackles alongside.

In what methods do you assume that this model of Sam Spade is related to fashionable audiences?

I feel that these iconic characters, like Spade and Marlowe and issues like that, have stood the take a look at of time, and also you simply must discover a contemporary approach of displaying them.

There’ll be a world of people that do not know Sam Spade and who do not know Raymond Shannon and Philip Marlowe.

And to have the ability to do one thing in a really cool, fashionable approach however nonetheless preserve trustworthy to that unique supply materials, I feel, is actually thrilling.

And how do you hope that this portrayal of Sam Spade will contribute to the legacy of the enduring character?

That’s out of my fingers, actually. I simply went in there and tried to be as trustworthy to the character that Dashiell Hammett wrote and simply labored by way of how it stands up; that is for different individuals to guage.

It’s not one thing that I used to be essentially involved with after I was doing it. I used to be simply making an attempt to do one of the best job, actually.

If you possibly can step into one other iconic character’s footwear, who would they be?

This truly is as good as it will get for me, actually, to play this half.

Monsieur Spade premieres Sunday, January 14, on AMC and AMC+ at 9/8c and will likely be replayed later on Sundance and AMC.

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