Usually known for his darker roles – like the beleaguered doctor he plays in the excellent Cinemax series The Knick – Clive Owen recently took a break to star in the lighthearted family dramedy The Confirmation.
In the film, Owen plays Walt, an alcoholic, down-on-his-luck carpenter who has his 8-year-old son, Anthony (St. Vincent‘s Jaeden Lieberher), for the weekend. Anthony’s mom (Maria Bello) is giving her ex-husband one more chance to be a real dad to Anthony, but unfortunately, this also happens to be a weekend Walt’s life truly falls apart.
His truck breaks down, he’s locked out of his house for failure to pay rent and he has his toolbox stolen which he needs for an important job on Monday. In what might seem like a recipe for disaster, Walt and Anthony actually begin to connect and bond as they search for the stolen toolbox, and at the end of the weekend, there’s real hope that Walt will finally pull it together and be a good dad.
Last week at the L.A. press day, we had a chance to talk with Owen and Lieberher about their bittersweet film. The two co-stars spoke about playing some of the more uneasy moments but also how they found a connection. They also laughed about how they bonded off screen (“bicycle rides and bananas”), and Lieberher joked that he had more fun working on his recent release Midnight Special, than he did working with Owen.
Check out what they had to say in the video above and be sure to catch The Confirmation as it’s in theaters now.