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CLIVE STEPS INTO BOGART'S SHOES FOR SLEUTH ROLE

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24 JANUARY 2007

When producers of the latest James Bond flick were looking to choose a new leading man, not a few movie fans thought hunky British actor Clive Owen would be a dead cert for the role. In the end it was Daniel Craig who inherited 007's licence to kill, but it seems his statuesque compatriot is to make his mark on another equally famous movie franchise.

The Sin City star has signed up to play legendary private eye Philip Marlowe in a series of films which he will also executive produce. By stepping into the shoes of the wisecracking LA sleuth he follows in the footsteps of a string of silver screen icons, including Humphrey Bogart, Robert Mitchum, Robert Mongomery and James Garner.

Universal Studios says the new movies will remain faithful to the spirit of the original books, with Clive, like his predecessors, also called upon to act as narrator. And although it has not yet been decided whether The Big Sleep or Farewell My Lovely will be filmed first, either production will mark something of a departure from his latest big screen outing, playing Sir Walter Raleigh in The Golden Age. Clive fans will also have to wait for the 42-year-old to finish with the bad guys in Sin City 2.