It might sound like typical Hollywood back-slapping but Owen - all six feet two inches of him - is obviously sincere. 'Considering all that she was going through at the time, all I thought was that others would have cracked. And Jen didn't. She was a joy to work with, and if there was any hurt there, well, it never showed at all.'

Aniston was obviously much influenced by comments about the 'Owen charm' from Julia Roberts, with whom he worked on the film Closer. He colours a little and shuffles in his chair. 'I did hear that Julia was very complimentary about me to Jennifer,' he says. 'Did she recommend me for the role in Derailed? I don't know about that - but all I can say is very nice things about her in return!'

He says: 'I was always a big fan of Jennifer when she was in Friends. Her sense of comic timing is second to none. Working with her at close hand made me realise what a fine dramatic actress she was as well. She moved from Friends into a totally different discipline with ease, which demonstrates what a versatile actress she is.'

They married a few years later, and are about as un-showbiz a couple as you'll find, shunning the celebrity circuit, and preferring to stay with their children in their North London home.

'A lot of the work I do these days is in the States, but I've no intention of relocating there permanently. Home is here in the UK. I go where the work is - wherever it may be.'

Being a private man, it's unlikely that he would have embraced the publicity that being 007 would have brought him - he doesn't like the baggage of being in the public eye, and is described as being 'extraordinarily self-effacing and rather shy' by Julia Roberts, who added, 'which is what makes him all the more endearing.'

'The trouble with Schine is that he makes one fatal mistake, then he's trapped in an ever-widening circle of deceit' says Owen. 'He's flawed - he succumbs to the charms of a young lady and then finds his entire personal and professional life threatened.' He continues, 'I thought that the fact that he falls prey to temptation for a split second made him all the more interesting to play - goodie-goodies are simply not that compelling to portray.'

'I'm playing a very reactive part. He finds himself in this truly horrible situation, and his life spirals out of control. I think a good many of the audience are going to think 'What would I do in a similar situation - how would I react? Would I be wiser?''

Derailed sees sterling performances from a couple of unlikely sources, namely Rza of rap group Wu-Tang-Clan, and Xzibit, another well-known rap artist. According to Owen it was 'their major acting debut and I think that their performances are just stunning. Casting those guys was no gimmick - they've got true screen presence.' As for whether their presence on set tempted Owen to try his hand at singing himself, on this he is adamant. 'No way. You wouldn't want to hear me try. I'd clear the room - I'm tone deaf. I have never been tempted to warble anything!'

There are a couple of steamy scenes involving Miss Aniston and Clive admits that 'they're never easy to do, however well you get on with the actress concerned,' explaining that 'there's absolutely no spontaneity, despite what you see - it's all very carefully controlled and choreographed, down to the slightest little movement. What is clever in Derailed, is not what you see, but what you don't see. And it's all very cleverly cut and sound-edited by our director Mikael Hafstrom.'