Load WordPress Sites in as fast as 37ms!

Clive Owen channels Humphrey Bogart for new take on iconic role: ‘I kinda drowned in Bogart’

[ad_1]

Read this article for free!

Plus get unlimited access to thousands of articles, videos and more with your free account!

Please enter a valid email address.

By entering your email, you are agreeing to Fox News Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, which includes our Notice of Financial Incentive. To access the content, check your email and follow the instructions provided.

Clive Owen was pretty much meant to pick up the mantle of Sam Spade, the private investigator famously played by Humphrey Bogart in 1941’s “The Maltese Falcon.”

Owen stars and executive produces the new AMC series “Monsieur Spade,” which follows Sam Spade in the South of France in the 1960s as he investigates the murder of several nuns.

“It’s one of my favorite things I’ve ever done,” the “Children of Men” star told the Los Angeles Times. “I’m a crazy Bogart fan. I have an original poster from ‘The Maltese Falcon.’ When Scott [Frank, the series co-creator] called me, I sent him a picture of my poster and said, ‘You’ve come to the right guy.’” 

Frank, the series co-creator, told the outlet, “Clive was pretty much the only person we could see playing him.

HUMPHREY BOGART, LAUREN BACALL’S SON RECALLS GROWING UP WITH HOLLYWOOD ICONS

Side by side photos of Clive Owen and Humphrey Bogart in character as Sam Spade

Clive Owen as Sam Spade in “Monsieur Spade” and Humphrey Bogart as Sam Spade in “The Maltese Falcon.” (Jean-Claude Lother/AMC/Getty Images)

“When you start writing, you always say, ‘Well, let’s make a list.’ As I recall, our list never went beyond Clive.”

On “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” Owen explained his unique approach to getting into character and giving due respect to Bogart.

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT NEWSLETTER

“I’m supposed to go in and go, ‘I’m going to do my interpretation.’ But because we were shooting in France with a lot of French actors, I needed a grounding. And although we’re playing a later Sam Spade, he has to come … from that ’40s private detective. So, I kinda drowned in Bogart. I went and watched everything again.”

Owen ended up pulling all of Bogart’s dialogue from “The Maltese Falcon” and the actor’s other classic movie, “Casablanca,” and listened to it to “get into his cadence, his rhythm.”

Clive Owen in character as Sam Spade

Owen revealed he listened to Bogart’s dialogue from “The Maltese Falcon” and “Casablanca” over and over to get into character. (Jean-Claude Lother/AMC)

“It’s surprising because what you learn is you think he’s laconic, laid back. When you actually listen to him, he’s super fast with his dialogue. He just makes it look easy and breezy. But, actually, he’s super nimble, super quick,” he said. 

“The thing about Humphrey Bogart and that style of acting is they didn’t overindulge. They didn’t over explain. It was all about trusting the rhythm of the piece, letting the words do the work.”

LAUREN BACALL, HUMPHREY BOGART HAD ‘EMOTIONAL AFFAIRS’ BUT REMAINED ‘DEVOTED TO EACH OTHER’: AUTHOR

Owen also told the LA Times he had a meal with Frank while he was writing the scripts and informed him he was listening and listening again to Bogart’s dialogue.

“And I said to him, ‘Don’t freak out. But I’m listening a lot to Bogart, and I want to base my voice on him. I’m not going to do a bad impersonation of Bogart. It’s just the rhythm, the intonation.’ And he said, ‘That’s so weird because as I’ve been writing this, I have to hear Bogart say the dialogue.’”

Clive Owen speaking with Scott Frank on set

Series co-creator Scott Frank, right, said Owen was his first choice for the role of Sam Spade in “Monsieur Spade.” (Jean-Claude Lother/AMC)

Bogart played Sam Spade in the noir classic “The Maltese Falcon,” directed by John Huston and based on Dashiell Hammett’s novel of the same name. 

The movie co-stars Mary Astor, Peter Lorre and Sydney Greenstreet, who were all in pursuit of the bejeweled falcon statuette as Bogart’s private investigator deals with the twists and turns of their intentions and identities.

According to the American Film Institute, Bogart was not the first choice for the role. It was originally offered to actor George Raft. Raft reportedly turned it down over hesitancy working with first-time director Huston and an unwillingness to star in remakes. “The Maltese Falcon” had been adapted twice in the 1930s.

Humphrey Bogart, Peter Lorre, Mary Astor, and Sydney Greenstreet in The Maltese Falcon

Bogart with “The Maltese Falcon” co-stars Peter Lorre, Mary Astor and Sydney Greenstreet. The film is widely considered one of the best examples of film noir.  (John Springer Collection/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images)

Bogart’s interpretation of the character was an instant classic, set the standard for the noir private detective archetype and helped launched him to stardom. According to Jeffrey Meyers’ book, “Bogart: A Life in Hollywood,” the actor said of the movie, “It is practically a masterpiece. I don’t have many things I’m proud of … but that’s one.”

LIKE WHAT YOU’RE READING? CLICK HERE FOR MORE ENTERTAINMENT NEWS

The film was one of the first 25 movies selected by the Library of Congress to be included in the National Film Registry as “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.”

For “Monsieur Spade,” the goal was to both honor and update Bogart’s character at the same time.

Humphrey Bogart posing with the Maltese Falcon

“It is practically a masterpiece. I don’t have many things I’m proud of … but that’s one,” Bogart reportedly said of “The Maltese Falcon.” (John Springer Collection/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images)

“We’ve taken Sam Spade, we’ve jumped 20 years ahead. He’s now living in the South of France, trying to live a quiet life,” Owen explained to “CBS Mornings.”

Clive Owen in close up as Sam Spade

Owen said “Monsieur Spade” takes Sam Spade to a new time and location but “still has that kind of ’40s P.I. vibe.” (Jean-Claude Lother/AMC)

“The thing about noir is everyone feels like they’ve seen it before. As soon as you do all those tropes, like we go, ‘Oh we know what that is, we know what noir is.’ But I think it’s a very clever idea to take an iconic, ‘40s private detective, throw him 20 years later in the south of France. Already it’s a new version of it, but still, the heart of it, the essence of it, it still has that kind of ’40s P.I. vibe.”

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“Monsieur Spade” is now streaming on AMC+.

[ad_2]

Check Also

Alexa PenaVega and husband Carlos mourn the loss of stillborn daughter Indy

[ad_1] Alexa PenaVega and her husband, Carlos, announced the stillborn birth of their daughter in …

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

The Ultimate Managed Hosting Platform