Clive Owen and Nicole Kidman share about HBO's 'Hemingway and Gellhorn'

Nicole Kidman and Clive Owen star in HBO's most recent made-for-TV movie, Hemingway and Gellhorn, which follows the whirlwind marriage of Ernest Hemingway and his third wife, Martha Gellhorn, amid the Spanish Civil War.

Both Kidman and Owen revelled in the chance to embody historical characters - Hemingway being the equivalent of a celebrity in his day, while Gellhorn was relatively unknown. Hemingway was known for great novels like For Whom the Bell Tolls, The Sun Also Rises and A Farewell to Arms. Gellhorn was a journalist focused on war coverage.

In an interview with USA Today, Kidman said, "I had no idea about this woman, who was so courageous and brave in her exploration of humanity."

The 2.5 hour film follows the characters surrounding the events of the Spanish Civil War and World War II. "It's a world at war," director Philip Kaufman said. "If they had lived in another time, their life might have been different. But the world was in upheaval, fascism was on the rise, and she had to fight fascism, too, in all its incarnations. He did, too."

The actors, who are quite at ease working with one another, contrast the intense relationship of Hemingway and Gellhorn. "There were some very passionate, serious scenes in the movie, but always a sense of play, I found," Owen says. "I had a great time working with Nicole."

To prepare for their roles, each actor immersed himself in research. Owen read Hemingway's novels, saw his clothes and records, and traveled to his favorite places, such as Cuba. In an interview with Zap2it, Owen says, "I don't think you can take on a project like this without immersion.You are not inventing a character from scratch. It is on! e of the lovely things about being an actor. I drowned in everything Hemingway."

The film is scheduled to air on HBO May 28.