Rumors are abound that Clive Owen will be the next James Bond. If he does do that, he will have played the two most iconic characters in English lore, King Arthur and Bond.

• Angelina Jolie has said that doing this movie has changed her life. Has it done that for you?
  Angelina is pretty incredible. It certainly was an amazing project to work on. I definitely had a strong reaction to the script. The minute I finished it, I called my agent and said that I want to do it. I was desperate to do it. Not only is it an important film, but it's an amazing character. Then, from the research and then meeting the people from those real environments in Ethiopia, I was given a tour of one of those camps. I heard his stories about giving up everything to do this. It's an isolating existence, because they just travel to world crisis.

• Your character is torn between seeing the people he helps as people or just a cause. How do you feel about that?
  You might be referring to a scene where he says that it's too difficult to try to emotionally connect to each and every person. You can't do that, because you'd be emotionally devastated. His ultimate objective is to keep as many people as possible alive in these awful hostile environments. He's a complicated character. Many people saw him as arrogant or unlikable, and I never saw that. I felt he was completely redeemable, because he's out there trying to save people's lives, and that's the bottom line. As an actor, it wasn't about being charming, but about achieving the character's objective. He's fallible, but to me, it was completely redeemable.

• Were you comfortable with the romantic subplot that came up in the middle of Beyond Borders?
  No, I think it is ultimately a love story. That is the nature of the film. It becomes about two extraordinary and active people. That is the way you are invited into these worlds. We are not doing a harsh, real depiction of a relief camp; it's a love story. You're constantly grappling with making a big Hollywood movie about people in need. But you ultimately have a choice: You can make $100 million films about nothing or you try to make movies about something.

• God forbid you ever step on a mine, what would your last thoughts be?
  Probably my family.

• You've had a chance to work with some of the world's best directors in such a short period of time. What was it like doing all those BMW films?
  It was an incredible gift. Some serious directors doing short movies. It could only be a massive learning experience to go from one director to another. The main thing I love is that there are no rules and all of them were so different but hugely talented. Just to get a taste of them was a treat.

• Do you feel like you could just jump in and direct a movie now that you've learned so much?
  Not necessarily. The biggest thing I learned is how quickly you have to work. Most of the time, movies take time with all the people nurturing the project then you see how it works. But this was bang in, bang out. We're probably doing more next year.

• Do we know who will be directing?
  I can't tell you.

• Was there any BMW film that stood out for you?
  They're all pretty extraordinary. A lot of those directors wouldn't do such projects, so it was refreshing for them to do something. It takes a certain skill to nail that format. Because of the competitive nature of directors, everyone was doing it well and not breezing it.

• What's going on with you playing James Bond?
  You read what I read. There's so much bullshit in this game, and I only want to deal with facts. Unless it becomes a fact, there's no point in me thinking about it. I don't waste time thinking about it.

• You've become someone that's become good at playing these strong characters. Are you a strong person?
  I don't think about that. I just respond to the characters.

• Do you not take bullshit?
  I try not to take it.

• What do you have coming up next?
  I'm currently shooting King Arthur for Jerry Bruckheimer and director Antoine Fuqua. I play King Arthur. It's really exciting. Then I'm doing a film with Mike Nichols called Closer.

• Did you do much research for King Arthur?
  This is a pretty radical take on it. It's not the pretty romantic version we're used to. It's set earlier than normal. Its 580 AD, the Roman Empire is collapsing and pulling out of Britain. There is half-Roman half-British commander of an elite group of knights that are given the mission from hell. It's very exciting. Antoine Fuqua is a pretty inspired choice, because he's got a dynamic cinematic approach to a subject like this.

• What's the biggest challenge on King Arthur?
  The biggest thing is the horseback riding because I've only done a little. 60 to 70 percent of the movie is on horseback, so I put two months aside to learn to ride while wielding a weapon.

- Daniel Robert Epstein from Ugo.com