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Malcolm McDowell

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Malcolm McDowell
McDowell in 2011
Born
Malcolm John Taylor

(1943-06-14) 14 June 1943 (age 81)
Horsforth, West Riding of Yorkshire, England
Alma materLondon Academy of Music and Dramatic Art
Occupations
  • Actor
  • producer
Years active1964–present
WorksFull list
Spouses
  • ​
    ​
    (m. 1975; div. 1980)​
  • ​
    ​
    (m. 1980; div. 1990)​
  • Kelley Kuhr
    ​
    (m. 1991)​
Children5, including Charlie McDowell
RelativesAlexander Siddig (nephew)
Lily Collins (daughter-in-law)

Malcolm McDowell (born Malcolm John Taylor; 14 June 1943)[1][2] is an English actor. He first became known for portraying Mick Travis in Lindsay Anderson's if.... (1968), a role he later reprised in O Lucky Man! (1973) and Britannia Hospital (1982). His performance in if.... prompted Stanley Kubrick to cast him as Alex in A Clockwork Orange (1971), the role for which McDowell became best known.

His other notable film credits include The Raging Moon (1971), Voyage of the Damned (1976), Time After Time (1979), Caligula (1979), Cat People (1982), Blue Thunder (1983), The Caller (1987), Star Trek Generations (1994), Tank Girl (1995), Mr. Magoo (1997), I'll Sleep When I'm Dead (2003), The Company (2003), Evilenko (2004), The Artist (2011), and Bombshell (2019). He also played Dr. Samuel Loomis in the 2007 remake of Halloween and its sequel, Halloween II (2009).

On television, McDowell appeared as Dornford Yates's gentleman hero Richard Chandos in the 1978 BBC adaptation of She Fell Among Thieves. He had recurring roles on Entourage (2005–2011) and Heroes (2006–2007), starring roles on Franklin & Bash (2011–2014) and Mozart in the Jungle (2014–2018), and has played Patrick "Pop" Critch on the Canadian series Son of a Critch since 2022. He has also voiced characters in various animated shows, films and video games, including Metallo on Superman: The Animated Series and Justice League Unlimited, Vater Orlaag in Metalocalypse, Dr. Calico in Bolt, President Eden in Fallout 3, Molag Bal in The Elder Scrolls Online, and Dr. Monty in Call of Duty: Black Ops III.

McDowell is the recipient of an Evening Standard British Film Award, alongside nominations for Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Awards. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2012.[3]

Early life

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McDowell was born Malcolm John Taylor on 13 June 1943 in Horsforth, West Riding of Yorkshire, the son of hotelier Edna (née McDowell) and RAF officer (and later pub owner) Charles Taylor. He has an older sister named Gloria and a younger sister named Judy.[4][5][6] Gloria later had a son, actor Alexander Siddig, alongside whom McDowell would appear in the film Doomsday (2008). The family moved to Bridlington, East Riding of Yorkshire, where McDowell's father was stationed at the nearby RAF Carnaby. They then moved to Liverpool, where McDowell grew up and as a teenager took a job in a Planters nut factory in nearby Aintree, as well as working at his father's pub, The Bull and Dog, in Burscough, Lancashire.[7] He began taking acting classes while in school, later moving to London in order to train as an actor at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA).[8]

Career

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Acting

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McDowell in Voyage of the Damned (1976)

McDowell initially secured work as an extra with the Royal Shakespeare Company. He made his film debut as school rebel Mick Travis in if.... (1968) by British director Lindsay Anderson. A landmark of British countercultural cinema, the BFI named if.... the 12th greatest British film of the 20th century.[9] McDowell's next roles were in Figures in a Landscape (1970) and The Raging Moon (1971). His performance in if.... caught the attention of Stanley Kubrick, who cast McDowell for the lead in A Clockwork Orange (1971), adapted from the novel by Anthony Burgess. He gained massive acclaim for his performance as Alex DeLarge, a young, antisocial hoodlum who undergoes brainwashing by the British government in a near future society. He was nominated for a Golden Globe, a National Society of Film Critics Award, and a New York Film Critics Circle Award as Best Actor.

He worked with Anderson again for O Lucky Man! (1973, also wrote), which was inspired by McDowell's experience working as a coffee salesman, and Britannia Hospital (1982). McDowell regularly appeared on British television productions in the 1970s in adaptations of theatre classics, one example being with Laurence Olivier in The Collection (1976), as part of the series Laurence Olivier Presents. He starred in Aces High (1976) and co-starred in Voyage of the Damned (1976), and as Dornford Yates' gentleman hero Richard Chandos in She Fell Among Thieves (1978) and the title character in Caligula (1979). He made his Hollywood debut as H. G. Wells in Time After Time (1979). He has often portrayed antagonists, later remarking on his career playing film villains: "I suppose I'm primarily known for that but in fact, that would only be half of my career if I was to top it all up".[10] In his biography Anthony Burgess: A Life, author Roger Lewis commented on McDowell's later career: "his pretty-boy looks faded and he was condemned to playing villains in straight-to-video films that turn up on Channel 5".

McDowell appeared in the action film Blue Thunder (1983) as F.E. Cochrane, and the horror remake Cat People (1982). In 1983, he starred in Get Crazy as Reggie Wanker, a parody of Mick Jagger. Also in 1983, McDowell starred as the Wolf (Reginald von Lupen) in Faerie Tale Theatre's rendition of "Little Red Riding Hood" (his wife at that time, Mary Steenburgen, played Little Red Riding Hood). In 1984, he narrated the documentary The Compleat Beatles. He is known in Star Trek circles as "the man who killed Captain Kirk", appearing in the film Star Trek Generations (1994) in which he played the mad scientist Dr. Tolian Soran, and several overzealous Star Trek fans even issued death threats for this.[11] McDowell appeared in several computer games, most notably as Admiral Geoffrey Tolwyn in the Wing Commander series of computer games. His appearance in Wing Commander III marked the series transition from 2D pre-rendered cutscenes to live-action cutscenes. His appearance in Wing Commander IV was during the final days of video game live action cutscenes.

McDowell in A Clockwork Orange (1971)

In 1995, he co-starred with actress and artist Lori Petty in the science fiction/action comedy film Tank Girl. Here, he played the villain Dr. Kesslee, the evil director of the global Water and Power Company, whose main goal in the story was to control the planet's entire water supply on a future desert-like, post-apocalyptic Earth.

McDowell appeared in a 2000 episode of the animated series South Park, which was a comedic retelling of the Charles Dickens novel Great Expectations. In the episode, McDowell played the real-life narrator of the story in live action, introducing himself simply as "a British person", in a parody of Masterpiece Theatre, and its ex-host, Alistair Cooke.[12]

McDowell played himself in Robert Altman's The Player, in which he chastises protagonist Griffin Mill (Tim Robbins) for badmouthing him behind his back. He worked with Altman once again for The Company (2003) as "Mr. A.", the fictional director of the Joffrey Ballet of Chicago. His character was based on real-life director Gerald Arpino. McDowell had a brief but memorable role as the psychopathic Gangster in the British crime film Gangster No. 1 (2000). In the film I'll Sleep When I'm Dead (2003), he played a straight married man who rapes a young drug dealer to "teach him a lesson". The film also starred Clive Owen as the victim's elder brother.

McDowell at the 2006 Traverse City Film Festival

In 2006, McDowell portrayed radio mogul Jonas Slaughter on Law & Order: Criminal Intent. The following year, he portrayed the villainous Mr. Linderman on the first season of the NBC series Heroes, a role he reprised in the third-season premiere. He starred in Jerry Was a Man, which appeared as an episode of Masters of Science Fiction on Sky.[13] He portrayed Terrence McQuewick on Entourage, and he made a special guest appearance as the icy fashion designer Julian Hodge in the Monk season 4 episode, "Mr. Monk Goes to a Fashion Show". Never Apologize is a 2007 documentary film of Malcolm McDowell's one-man show about his experiences working with film director Lindsay Anderson.[14][15]

McDowell appeared as Dr. Samuel Loomis in Rob Zombie's remakes of Halloween and Halloween II (in 2007 and 2009, respectively).[16] Although the films were not well received critically, they performed better at the box office and McDowell was widely praised.[17][18] He also played Desmond LaRochette in Robert Whitlow's The List (2007), and Irish patriarch Enda Doyle in Red Roses and Petrol (2003).[19] His next film was the Canadian vampire comedy rock and roll film Suck (2009) with actor/director Rob Stefaniuk and the Alex Wright film Two Wolves.[20] In December 2009, he made an appearance in the music video "Snuff" by the heavy metal band Slipknot.[21] He appears, uncredited, as the curator Lombardi, in the film The Book of Eli (2010). McDowell portrayed Satan in the Christian comedy thriller film Suing the Devil (2011).[22]

In 2011, McDowell was cast in the role of Stanton Infeld on the TNT original series Franklin & Bash and appeared in the Academy Award-winning film The Artist. In 2012, McDowell appeared in the horror films Vamps and Silent Hill: Revelation. On 16 March 2012, he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, aptly outside the Pig n' Whistle British pub on Hollywood Boulevard. His fellow British actor Gary Oldman was in attendance and paid tribute to McDowell for inspiring him to become an actor.[7]

In 2013, he appeared as the title character in the psychological thriller The Employer, for which he won Best Actor at the Los Angeles Movie Awards.[23] In 2013, McDowell also ventured into the Steampunk genre, starring in the short film Cowboys & Engines alongside Richard Hatch and Walter Koenig. In 2013, he starred as King Henry II of England in the film Richard the Lionheart, with Gregory Chandler as the title character. He portrayed Father Murder in the 2016 Rob Zombie film 31.[24][25] McDowell also played Boogeyman in Abnormal Attraction (2018) co-starring Gilbert Gottfried, Bruce Davison, Tyler Mane and Leslie Easterbrook.[26]

Since 2022, McDowell has played the grandfather of the protagonist in the Canadian TV series Son of a Critch.[citation needed]

Voice acting

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McDowell in 2016

McDowell was the featured narrator in the documentary The Compleat Beatles, released in 1982. He voiced Lord Maliss in Happily Ever After (1989), Zarm in the cartoon Captain Planet and the Planeteers, the Superman villain Metallo in Superman: The Animated Series, Mad Mod on Teen Titans, Merlyn in DC Showcase: Green Arrow (2010), Arkady Duvall (son of Ra's al Ghul) on Batman: The Animated Series and as the voice of a Death Star commander on a Robot Chicken episode parodying Star Wars. He is also a regular on the second season of the Adult Swim cartoon Metalocalypse as Vater Orlaag and other characters. McDowell also voiced Dr. Calico in Disney's Bolt (2008) and the henchman Reeses II in the animated series Captain Simian & the Space Monkeys, a show laced with references to many films, including his own role in A Clockwork Orange.[citation needed]

In 2006–07, he contributed spoken word to two Pink Floyd tribute albums produced by Billy Sherwood: Back Against the Wall and Return to the Dark Side of the Moon. He has also provided voice-over work for Borgore on his album #NEWGOREORDER (2014). In 2008, McDowell began a recurring role as Grandpa Fletcher on Phineas and Ferb. He also narrated the award-winning documentary Blue Gold: World Water Wars.[citation needed]

McDowell reprised his role of Metallo in the video game Superman: Shadow of Apokolips and an episode of Justice League Unlimited. He also provided his voice for the character President John Henry Eden in the video game Fallout 3, Rupert Pelham in the game WET, Solomon in the Word of Promise Audio Bible, and the CEO of Stahl Arms in Killzone 3, Jorhan Stahl.[27] He also voiced Daedalus in God of War III. He is the voice for the primary antagonist Molag Bal in the MMO The Elder Scrolls Online. He is also the voice of Dr. Monty in Call of Duty: Black Ops III.[citation needed]

McDowell portrayed Caiaphas in The Truth & Life Dramatised audio New Testament Bible, a 22-hour, celebrity-voiced, fully dramatised audio New Testament which uses the RSV-CE translation.

McDowell is the host of Fangoria's Dreadtime Stories, a monthly series of radio dramas with a mystery, horror, science fiction and dark humour theme. Each month, a new episode is available for download, and scripts, as used by McDowell and the supporting actors, are also available at the Fangoria website.[28]

He provided the voice for Triton (Ship's Computer) in the 2015 science-fiction short film, Oceanus: Act One.[29]

In 2020, he interpreted Gabriele Tinti's poetry inspired by epigraphs collected in the National Roman Museum.[30]

He guest starred in the SpongeBob SquarePants episode "Pet the Rock" as Pervical.

Personal life

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McDowell met actress and publicist Margot Bennett in March 1969,[31] and they married in April 1975. The couple divorced in September 1980.[32] He met actress Mary Steenburgen in 1978 while filming Time After Time, and they married in September 1980. They had two children together, Lilly (born 1981) and filmmaker Charlie McDowell (born 1983). The couple divorced in 1990.[32] He and his third wife, Kelley Kuhr, had three sons in the 2000s, with the youngest born in 2009.[33]

McDowell became a fan of Liverpool F.C. after moving to Liverpool as a child; he spent much of his childhood at Anfield. McDowell continues to support the team.[34][35]

List of performances

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Main article: List of Malcolm McDowell performances

References

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  1. ^ "Famous birthdays for June 13: Tim Allen, Stellan Skarsgard". United Press International. 13 June 2023. Retrieved 21 August 2023.
  2. ^ "Celebrity birthdays for the week of June 11-17". The Independent. Associated Press. 5 June 2023. Retrieved 21 August 2023.
  3. ^ "British Actor Malcom McDowell Receives Star on Hollywood Walk of Fame". Retrieved 3 January 2018.
  4. ^ "Malcolm McDowell profile at". Filmreference.com. 13 June 1943. Retrieved 28 February 2012.
  5. ^ MacKenzie, Suzie (24 April 2004). "What if". The Guardian. London.
  6. ^ "2005 Philadelphia Film Festival – Artistic Achievement Award – Malcolm McDowell". 23 October 2006. Archived from the original on 23 October 2006.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  7. ^ a b "Malcolm McDowell Honoured With Walk Of Fame Star, Gary Oldman Pays Tribute". Huffington Post. 17 March 2012.
  8. ^ "One on One with Malcolm McDowell". HoboTrashcan. 2 October 2008. Retrieved 28 February 2012.
  9. ^ British Film Institute – Top 100 British Films (1999). Retrieved 27 August 2016
  10. ^ "Malcolm McDowell on Linderman and Dr. Loomis". CraveOnline. 14 May 2007. Archived from the original on 10 October 2007. Retrieved 28 February 2012.
  11. ^ "Malcolm McDowell Killed Kirk... But Hated It, Part II". Star Trek. 2 June 2011. Retrieved 5 September 2019.
  12. ^ Reesman, Bryan (3 June 2011). "Malcolm McDowell: Ultraviolent Past, Satanic Future". Attention Deficit Delirium. Retrieved 1 January 2012.
  13. ^ Zap2It.com (4 August 2006). "Cast Set for 'Masters of Sci Fi'". Zap2it.com. Archived from the original on 22 November 2012. Retrieved 28 February 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  14. ^ Catsoulis, Jeannette (14 August 2008). "An Actor's Playful Tribute to a Dissident Director". The New York Times.
  15. ^ Bradshaw, Peter (2 November 2007). "Never Apologise: A Personal Visit With Lindsay Anderson". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
  16. ^ TRINITY OF TERRORS Guest Profile: Malcolm McDowell Archived 14 October 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  17. ^ Turner, Matthew (28 September 2007). "Halloween review". The View London. Retrieved 11 August 2008.
  18. ^ Newman, Kim (4 October 2007). "Halloween Review". Empire. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
  19. ^ "Red Roses and Petrol". Redrosesandpetrol.com. Retrieved 28 February 2012.
  20. ^ "Malcom McDowell Scores Starring Role in 'Two Wolves'". Bloody Disgusting. 26 October 2009.
  21. ^ "AOL.com Video – Housewife of NYC Jill Zarin Offends Southern Ladies". Video.aol.com. Retrieved 28 February 2012.
  22. ^ "Funny 'Devil': Malcolm McDowell Talks Playing the Dark One in New Film". Bloody Disgusting. 28 June 2010.
  23. ^ "List of 2013 Los Angeles Movie Award Winners". Retrieved 25 May 2013.
  24. ^ "Rob Zombie's '31′ Begins Filming With…Malcolm McDowell". 10 March 2015.
  25. ^ "Malcolm McDowell Joins Rob Zombie's 31". 10 March 2015.
  26. ^ "Abnormal Attraction (2018) – IMDb". IMDb.
  27. ^ "Malcolm McDowell to play the scheming Stahl Arms CEO". 6 January 2011.
  28. ^ Fangoria's Dreadtime Stories, Vols. 1 and 2 by Malcolm McDowell – Ebook.
  29. ^ Morris, Jeffrey, Oceanus: Act One (Short, Adventure, Drama), Megan Dodds, Sharif Atkins, Bruce Davison, FutureDude Entertainment, retrieved 9 May 2024
  30. ^ "Malcolm McDowell reads Canti di Pietra – Incipit Tragoedia by Gabriele Tinti". Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities (Italy). 24 April 2020. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  31. ^ Burke, Tom (30 January 1972). "Movies". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 25 September 2019.
  32. ^ a b "Malcolm in middle age". Evening Standard. 7 March 2002. Retrieved 25 September 2019.
  33. ^ "Evil villain, murderous thug and family man". Los Angeles Times. 29 August 2009. Retrieved 21 August 2023.
  34. ^ "Malcolm McDowell – Maxim Interview". Maxim. Retrieved 9 January 2013
  35. ^ "Never Apologize – An interview with Malcolm McDowell" Archived 9 January 2014 at the Wayback Machine. Movie Mail. Retrieved 9 January 2013

Interviews

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