He then garnered critical acclaim for his work in the film Close My Eyes (1991) before getting international notice for his performance as a struggling writer in Croupier (1998). in 2005, Owen won a Golden Globe and a BAFTA Award and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his appearance in the drama Closer (2004). Owen graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in 1987 with a class that included Rebecca Pidgeon, Serena Harragin, Mark Womack, and Liza Tarbuck. He became well known to North American audiences in the summer of 2001 after starring as The Driver in The Hire, a series of short films sponsored by BMW and made by prominent directors. He appeared in the 2002 hit The Bourne Identity. Owen appeared in the West End and Broadway hit play Closer, by Patrick Marber, which was produced as a film, and was released in 2005. He played “Dan” in the play, but was “Larry” the dermatologist in the film version. The next year he starred alongside Paul Giamatti in the film Shoot ‘Em Up and appeared as Sir Walter Raleigh opposite Cate Blanchett’s Elizabeth I of England in the film Elizabeth: The Golden Age.