Clive Owen's Tale Of 'Sin'

The last time Clive Owen appeared on the big screen, he was nominated for an Academy Award and won a Golden Globe for his performance in the drama "Closer."

This Friday, he returns to theaters in a film unlike anything you've seen before, a frame-by-frame adaptation of Frank Miller's popular graphic novel series "Sin City."

Owen tells The Early Show co-anchor Harry Smith, "I think from all accounts people tried to make a movie of this for 10 years and Frank Miller was worried that it would be turned down and it won't be the work he originally intended. Robert rodriguez said, 'I'll be incredibly faithful to the material.' Shot a five-minute test. Frank said, 'Let's do it.'"

Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez co-directed the film. About Rodriguez, Owen says, "He does whatever he wants and does everything well. He composes the music, and I saw 'Sin City' for the first time four days ago and I was blown away.

Like a fan, regardless of the vanity in the movie, I sat down and watched this movie and was blown away. I think it's extraordinary."

What sets this film apart was the fact most of it was shot with a green screen.

Owen says, "All of the sets are computer-generated so we're in front of a green screen, we have boxes and we have fake steering wheels and everything else is put in afterwards. I watched the movie and after 15 minutes I said, I didn't know I was in this movie. There's an amazing car bouncing, driving fast down the road. It's brilliantly conceived. I think it's the most successful betting of computer technology."

In the film, Owen plays a rough character of some mystery.

"It's the closest to a hero you'll get in 'Sin City'," Owen says. "Dwight's character is based on the very classic film noir thing. He's a sort of guy who is trying to do the right thing."

The film production notes describe the character as "a private investigator perpetually trying to leave trouble behind, even though it won't quit chasing after him. After a cop is killed in Old Town, Dwight will stop at nothing to protect his friends among the ladies of the night."

Careerwise, Owen has had breath-taking success in the last year or so.

"I feel very lucky and blessed," he says. "I've been working with incredible directors and I pinch myself, and I'm having a fantastic time."

The film "Closer" comes out on DVD this week. For his performance in it, Owen received a Best Supporting Actor nomination by the Academy. The award went to Morgan Freeman for "Million Dollar Baby."

He says, "I was delighted to be nominated and who could ever mind losing anything to Morgan Freeman. He is one of the greatest screen actors of our time, I think."

Fast Facts About Clive Owen:

• Born in Coventry, England, in 1965
• Began studying acting as a teen-ager.
• Made professional stage debut as member of the Young Vic company; played Claudio in "Measure for Measure" and Romeo in "Romeo and Juliet".
• In 1988, made feature film debut in "Vroom." The following year, he made his U.S. TV debut in "Precious Bane," a two-part segment of the PBS series "Mystery!"
• From 1990 to 1991, he played lead in Central Television series "Chancer." And in 1991, he won praise for his performance as an incestuous brother in Steven Poliakoff's, "Close My Eyes."
• In 1993, was directed by Poliakoff in "Century," and made his American TV-movie debut in, "Class of '61" (ABC).
• In 1996, had his first U.S. feature film, "The Rich Man's Wife." He also starred in the ITV series "Sharman."
• In 1999, he played the title role in Mike Hodges' "Croupier;" the film became a popular art-house hit upon its 2000 release in America. He also introduced the character of Detective Inspector Ross Tanner, a policeman suffering a virus that affects his ability to see, in the BBC series "Second Sight"; it aired on PBS in the U.S.
• In 2000, he co-starred as a prisoner with a flair for gardening in "Greenfingers;" it was screened at the Toronto Film Festival; first screen appearance opposite Helen Mirren.
• In 2001, reprised role of Tanner in a second series of "Second Sight" (BBC-1), which aired on PBS in the U.S. He also played the valet to a visiting guest at "Gosford Park," the Robert Altman-directed period mystery; it was his second screen teaming with Helen Mirren.
• In 2002, he co-starred in a villainous turn in "The Bourne Identity." And he starred opposite Angelina Jolie in the love story, "Beyond Borders."
• In 2004, he starred in the thriller "I'll Sleep When I'm Dead," playing a retired British gangster who emerges from his secluded countryside life to investigate the death of his brother.

  He was also in Antoine Fuqua's supposedly "demystified" retelling of the legend of "King Arthur," a big budget, action-oriented film that cast Owen as England's once and future king, this time set in a more historically correct context.

  And he appeared in the highly literate, often romantically brutal drama "Closer" directed by Mike Nichols, playing part of two couples (including Natalie Portman, Julia Roberts and Jude Law are the others), who become messily intertwined in a love/sex gender war. He won a Golden Globe and was nominated for an Academy Award for his performance.

• He will next be seen in the thriller "Derailed" with Jennifer Aniston.