Mention the name of veteran actor Malcolm McDowell and most people remember him either as the protagonist Alex in Stanley Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange or as the villain Dr. Tolian Soran from Star Trek: Generations. However, at 66 years of age, he has over 100 film, television and voice-over credits to his name. In town as part of the Calgary Comic and Entertainment Expo, we managed to have a brief chat with him about some of his experiences.
While Mr. McDowell has had numerous roles, it’s his portrayal of villains which seems to resonate most in the minds of audiences; whether they be Dr. Soran or Mr. Linderman from Heroes. What makes his portrayals of bad guys more memorable is the ability?—?through small touches?—?to make his creations seem more human. As someone who also remembers him playing the heroic role in Time After Time, I wanted to know which role he prefers?—?hero or villain. The question was irrelevant to him as he confessed he just enjoys the work, regardless of the character.
“I don’t really analyze a part as being a heavy or a hero. It is what it is. It doesn’t even cross my mind. People aren’t just black and white, evil/good, it doesn’t exist.” He works to embody the character with a little something that is watchable.
When asked if there was a villain he’d like to portray, he deferred.
“I don’t want to play another part…I never strived and thought, ‘Wow…I could do Hamlet justice’. I’ve never thought that because I know you’re setting yourself up for big disappointment because the likelihood of being offered the part is slim.”
Additionally, if he does get the part he wanted, when the script does finally land in front of him, “they’ve probably fucked it up.” He feels strongly that it really isn’t worth going around hankering for something. Mr. McDowell’s philosophy on roles has been, when something comes through his door and he reads it, he has that instinctual feel of whether or not the role will be of interest. Sometimes this instinct has lead him to say yes to the weirdest stuff.
Considering all the other actors appearing at the Expo who are often associated with one role they did years ago (i.e. Star Trek or Battlestar Galactica), I had to wonder if being remembered for a role is a blessing or a curse. In our community, many of us can remember straight actors being nervous accepting gay roles because the concern was they’d get typecast as someone who plays gay. This didn’t bother Mr. McDowell; over the years he’s seen the industry evolve and open up; to the point there are openly gay actors and straight actors both readily accepting gay roles. By way of example, he referenced the TV show Modern Family. The gay couple on that show consists of a flamboyant character played by a straight man while the more uptight half of the couple is played by an actor who, in Mr. McDowell’s words, is “as camp as a row of tents.”
Of course, given the length of his resume, he’s played gay characters over the years?—?including a choreographer in the Robert Altman film The Company. This showed another pitfall, besides typecasting, that a straight male actor may face?—?the criticism that you are stereotyping. Mr. McDowell got this reaction from the land of his birth in the reviews for this film: “I was furious because the bitchy English critics who hate me because I left, said and there’s Malcolm McDowell mincing up the screen. It made me laugh because it was far from that…however, it was fun to do.”
With his work over the years and the experience he had growing up in the public school system in Britain, he certainly did have contact with gay men. “When I was in England, my god, it was hard to find a straight actor. When I first went into theatre I was taken for a walk along the beach by all the actors and I had to say, I don’t do that, I’d rather have girls.” The reaction from these actors was usually one of mild distaste at Mr. McDowell’s preference (“EWWWW!”). As a straight man on the prowl, this was an advantage: “…all I thought was, all the more for me.”
This relaxed and open attitude towards gay men highlighted to me the difference between the North American and British views on sexuality. American film and television stars go to great lengths to hide their homosexuality; while in Britain people seem to be a bit more “matter of fact” about gay men and lesbians. Mr. McDowell’s philosophy on this was a bit practical, allowing that every person has to find their own comfort zone. If an actor “wants to hide his sexuality, that’s his right” he told us. “So nobody has any right to go outing him...If he wants to shout it from the rooftops, good luck.”.
Yet he does grant being out of the closet may make you a better actor. “I will make an observation?—?I think Ian McKellen?—?I never really liked him as an actor until he did come out and say hey, look, I’m a homosexual, deal with it. I think it was only then he started to give some truly great performances.” Malcolm feels there is an honesty to McKellen’s performances now that he is out.
Regarding performances, Mr. McDowell does seem to act a lot in either the genres of horror or and science fiction, but as noted earlier, for him, work is work. “It doesn’t really matter...I don’t tend to do too much horror…I just like to mix it up a bit.” He tries to limit horror films to once a year. For him it was an interesting experience to play a in a Rob Zombie horror film (the Halloween remake in 2007 and the sequel released last year) and portray the straight character, not the psychopath.
With the name recognition he carries, I wondered if he could pick and choose a role, or if he had a similar work ethic to another English actor?—?Michael Caine ?—? who expressed in the past that he always needs to be working. Mr. McDowell told us he doesn’t work as much as Michael because he has a young family to look after, along with balancing any acting work. He noted wryly, “dear old Michael, he’s working class, he’s never got that out of his blood. He still thinks he’s going to die with only a few bob in the bank. The guy’s the richest actor in the world.”
For Mr. McDowell, his working ethic is not something he could really pass on to anyone, as he finds it really depends on the skill of the actor and the strength of the script. “When I was a young man, I was very picky and choosy because I wasn’t good enough to survive a bad script. Now I can survive any old piece of shit because I know how to survive it and come out.”
Projects Mr. McDowell has just finished or has upcoming include an episode of The Mentalist. He also recently finished filming a pilot for a new series called Franklin & Bash on TBS where he plays the head of a law firm that hires the title characters to work for the firm, as the two lawyers seem to be best at “thinking outside the box”. He’ll also be seen in Barry Munday, an upcoming comedy where among others, he acts alongside Cybill Shepherd.
Additionally, he has a small role in the movie Golf in the Kingdom. This film, based on a book by Michael Murphy, is close to Mr. McDowell’s golfer’s heart. He also had a role as a vampire hunter (who is afraid of the dark) in the Canadian rock and roll vampire comedy?—?Suck. It was a fun film and he enjoyed making it, but for him the best thing about that movie was staying in a hotel with fellow performer Alice Cooper?—? another avid golfer and fellow performer in this film. Thanks to Alice’s suggestions on his golfing grip, while Mr. McDowell hasn’t yet broken 70 on the golf course, he is getting closer to it. Here’s hoping he has many more years on the golf course, and of course, in movies and television.
Related Articles
Contributor Evan Kayne |
Locale Calgary |
Person Malcolm McDowell |
Topic Calgary Expo | Celebrity Interview | Celebrity Video Interview | Comic Expo | Star Trek | Star Trek The Next Generation |
