American Crime Story has already delivered takes on the murder of Gianni Versace and trial of O.J. Simpson, and now the next installment in the series from Ryan Murphy will take viewers back to the late '90s to President Bill Clinton's impeachment. British actor Clive Owen, known for The Knick, will be portraying the 42nd U.S. president. With Impeachment: American Crime Story soon to premiere on FX, the actor shared just how he was hooked into playing such a recognizable figure in United States history.
Clive Owen will be joining Annaleigh Ashford, Beanie Feldstein and Sarah Paulson in bringing Bill Clinton’s highly-publicized impeachment in the late ‘90s back to life. In a new interview with Vanity Fair, Owen admitted that he wasn’t on board for the role initially, since he’s not even American and he doesn’t look like Clinton. Executive producers Ryan Murphy and Brad Simpson laid out their vision for the ten-episode season and Owen got to researching. Soon, he was excited about the idea:
The idea of recreating the real footage or archival footage really was the hook for me. There’s something about a challenge that always excites me when it that feels dangerous. . . . It’s nerve-racking because they are moments that everybody knows. You say, ‘Okay, I’ve got to get as close to that [footage] as possible and that includes how I sound, the rhythm, the feeling, and energy of it.’ It’s very clear. It’s not about an interpretation where you can make the wrong choice.
Impeachment will be the third season of American Crime Story, following The Assassination of Gianni Versace and The People vs. O.J. Simpson. Considering the Bill Clinton-Monica Lewinsky scandal was quite big in 1990s American politics, it was only just a matter of time before the story was brought back to life. The new season is set to premiere next month, nearly a year after the original premiere date. It was aimed to release before the 2020 election, but was pushed back.
The third season will cover not only the impeachment of Bill Clinton, but also what led up to it. So, viewers are in for a very wild ride. Interestingly, the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal was originally supposed to be the show’s fourth season, with Season 3 focused on Hurricane Katrina and its impact on New Orleans and the Gulf Coast area. However, following a conversation Ryan Murphy had with Monica Lewinsky, plans changed.
Impeachment: American Crime Story is set to premiere on September 7, so fans won’t have to wait too much longer to see Ryan Murphy's take on the controversy that was the Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky scandal. In the meantime, however, both the Versace and O.J. Simpson seasons are currently streaming on Netflix in case you need a true crime fix.
