Clive Owen in Talks to Join Spike Lee's 'Oldboy'

By Mike Lee • December 17, 2011 • No Comments

At this point we know absolutely nothing about Spike Lee’s remake of Oldboy, but we can confirm that Josh Brolin will play as the lead character who is randomly kidnapped off the streets and imprisoned for 15 years, only to be let out and given just an ounce of clues as to who may have done this to him.

We can also confirm that Colin Firth was offered the role of the kidnapper at one point, but he turned it down. I really wish Firth hadn’t turn down the role as it would be a great departure from the normal good-guy character he usually plays. It would have also added more depth to Firth’s American repertoire, since people in the states haven't seen films like Apartment Zero and Where the Truth Lies.

But with Colin Firth gone, Spike Lee is considering other actors for the kidnapper role in Oldboy. According to Twitch (via slashfilm), Clive Owen is now the frontrunner to play as the villain in Oldboy. This would reunite Lee and Owen for the first time since they’ve worked together on The Inside Man. We really can’t confirm if Owen has signed on, but we do know that it is an exciting prospect as he is just as good as Colin Firth.

Owen, however, has a bit more depth than Firth, has he has played all kinds of characters. Good guy, bad guy, any guy, Owen has proven time and time again that he can play as anything the directors ask him to play. However these directors have also failed to utilize him in the best way possible.

But since Clive Owen and Spike Lee already have a working relationship, there is a good chance that the actor can appear in Oldboy. I also think that Inside Man was one of Owen’s best performances of his career, so maybe Colin Firth not signing on isn’t a bad thing. Hopefully Clive Owen will sign on as the main villain of Oldboy has great depth who goes through a great deal of misery.