Biography

Owen was born in the mountainous Mackenzie region of New Zealand. He schooled in Christchurch and, at the age of seventeen, moved to his father's North Canterbury farm. On the farm, he lived in his own little shack, worked, played rugby, and went to the local town twice a week to study photography and printmaking. When he turned nineteen he bought a one way ticket out of New Zealand. He played rugby for Shizuoka University, painted posters for a sports shop in Shimizu and operated a ski lift in Nagano, Japan. Later he moved to London and drove vans for touring musicians.

When Owen returned to New Zealand he moved to Auckland and gained a degree in Performing and Screen Arts at Auckland Unitec. On graduating he was contracted by the Court Theatre in Christchurch and spent a year performing back-to-back shows. In 2009 he recieved the South Pacific Pictures' Best Supporting actor award for his role as Ethan Pierce on the NZ TV Show, Shortland Street.