Clive Owen Interview by Martyn Palmer On camera, as King Arthur, Clive Owen faced the “mission from hell” to use his own phrase. Off screen there were plenty of challenges, too. First there was the tricky business of learning to ride a horse from scratch to a level where Clive could master and control the unpredictable sometimes jittery animal during crucial, but noisy, battle scenes - not easy. Then there was `Knight School' where Clive and his Knights -  including Ioan Gruffudd as Lancelot, Ray Winstone as Bors, Hugh Dancy as Galahad - learned the art of sword fighting, archery, and practiced yet more horse riding from dawn to dusk  and beyond, every day for two weeks. And all this was before they had  shot one single frame. When filming began, the days were long and arduous and the Irish weather - the film was shot entirely in Ireland - was unpredictable and sometimes hostile, with freak snow storms when they needed clear blue skies and downpours of rain when they could have used the snow. In short, making King Arthur was physically demanding and Clive Owen wouldn't have missed a second of it. “It was challenging for all of us,” he says. “But it was very rewarding, too. I had a fantastic , memorable time.” Director Antoine Fuqua (Training Day) has crafted a vastly different take on the Arthurian myth, based on recent historical discoveries. In his story, King Arthur is a Roman general, Artorius Castus, who leads a band of Sarmation knights, a lethal, highly effective fighting unit attached to the Roman Empire. As Rome prepares to leave Britain after centuries of rule, the knights face one last very dangerous task before they can leave for their homeland - the “mission from hell” to rescue a nobleman and his family who are being held behind enemy lines. Along the way they also rescue the brave and beautiful Guinevere and she desperately tries to convince them that they are all that stands between the native Britons and certain death at the hands of the invading, savage Saxons. Guinevere knows, that if she can persuade Arthur - himself half Roman, half Brit - and his knights to stay and fight with her, she has a chance of saving her people. Arthur, in turn, may well realise his own destiny. “I liked the premise, the way the story is based, the idea that this elite group of knights are given their last mission, which is the mission from hell,” says Clive. “And it felt very dynamic, a very strong take on the story and a very different look at the legend of King Arthur.” Next		Home Interviews Antoine Fuqua Interview King Arthur Interview Arv Grewal Interview Asia Argento Interview Behind the Scenes of "War of the Worlds" Bernie Goldmann Interview Clive Owen Interview Dakota Fanning Interview Dennis Hopper Interview George A Romero Interview Greg Nicotero Interview The Hulk Press Conference Ang Lee Press Conference Ioan Gruffudd Interview John Leguizamo Interview Kathleen Kennedy Interview Keira Knightley Interview