AOL Online Chat with Malcolm McDowell 1995

OnlineHost: If starring in "if...." made him famous, then his role as Alex in A Clockwork Orange made him infamous. Malcolm McDowell has had a career of legendary roles. He continues in the 90's with memorable roles in MGM's "Tank Girl" (with Lori Petty and Ice-T) as the villainous head of Water and Power, and let's not forget his turn in "Star Trek: Generations" where he did away with the legendary Captain Kirk.

AOLMC: Welcome Mr. McDowell!

Malcolm: Hello!

Muldar372: Malcolm, we all loved your performance in WC3, and are looking forward to WC4. What are your future plans for interactive movies/games and feature films?

Malcolm: That's rather a long question, but I'll try to be brief. Well, of course, WC4 is the biggest CD-ROM game that's ever been produced to date. I did do another one called The Mummy which will be out in the spring. That was very enjoyable, but it obviously was on a modest scale compared to Wing Commander, which was like doing an epic movie. I finished a Disney movie this summer. I was co-starring with Paul Scofield and Rosemary Harris, and it's for the Disney Channel. It's called The Little Riders, and it will be out in February. I've also got two independent movies waiting to come out. One's called Yesterday's Target, and the other is called Where Truth Lies.

NikiPike: If you had to do Clockwork Orange over as a director, how would you change it?

Malcolm: I don't honestly think it could be changed. I think Stanley Kubrick made the ultimate movie that could be made of that book. I really don't think that anyone could do it better than he did it.

DEFEN: Malcolm, what was your most enjoyable role as an actor?

Malcolm: I'd have to really split it between stage and screen roles. I got a lot of pleasure out of playing Alex in Clockwork Orange in the movies. It was a bit like doing Shakespeare's Richard III, it's such a great part. I think every play that I've done I've loved, because I don't do that many, and you invest so much time. But if I had to pick one role that was my favorite I suppose it would be Jimmy Porter in Look Back in Anger. I did that in 1981, a long time ago now.

TCN Eagle: Did you enjoy working with the cast of Wing Commander 3 and 4?

Malcolm: Yes, I did very much indeed. I didn't really know what to expect when I did WC3, which was my first CD-ROM game. Most of that was done on blue screen. In other words you stand on a mark with a blue screen behind you and the backgrounds are put in electronically by computer. That was a new experience for me. But I had a good time with Mark Hamill. It was fun to get to and criticize and demean Mark Hamill, who in my mind will always be Luke Skywalker.

NEO GREO: Have you actually played Wing Commander III? As you're in it and all.

Malcolm: I have to admit, the first time I tried to play the game I got no further than fizz on a screen. But a quick call to Chris Roberts, and he told me a) I was using the wrong computer, and b) the computer I was using was underpowered, so he very kindly sent me a bigger one that would do the job. But unfortunately, I only got about half way through the game. My 12-year-old son does a lot better than I do!

CFORMATS: As an actor, how was it working with Kubrick? You got a chance to do a bit of improvisation with him.

Malcolm: Yes, I did improvisation in that part. But not too much. Most of it we rehearsed many, many times...all day we rehearsed. We didn't start shooting the scene until sometimes 5 or 6 o'clock in the evening, when he was satisfied that it was good enough to film. Like any highly-talented man, he is a very complex person, and in the main I got on with him very well indeed. But I think, with Stanley Kubrick, you only really work with him once, because I think we burnt each other out.

CFORMATS: What do you like to do when you're not working?

Malcolm: I like to go to my house in the country, be with my dogs, and I love to play tennis, and I love to drive my little Morgan sports car, and go out and relax with my wife and have great dinners. Because we travel so much in this profession, just being at home for a week or so is a great pleasure. So you basically don't want to leave home.

ArtRisc: Any comments on the censorship of Clockwork in England?

Malcolm: In fact there is no censorship of Clockwork Orange in England by the government. The censorship comes from Stanley Kubrick himself, who has withdrawn the film because he doesn't want to blamed for any unnecessary violence.

SciFiTalk: Describe playing Mick Travis in "If" and "O Lucky Man!" "O Lucky Man!" was also your idea, right?

Malcolm: O Lucky Man! was my original idea, and in fact, I wrote the first few scenes of it--maybe the first 10 or 12 scenes. When I was cast in if...., it was my first film, and of course, Mick Travis was a plum part. When it was a great success, and we went on to do O Lucky Man!, David Sherwin, the scriptwriter, couldn't think of me as any other character than Mick Travis. Of course, they're not really the same character, because in if...., Mick Travis is a pure revolutionary, even maybe an anarchist. But by contrast, in O Lucky Man!, he's rather a naive, Candide-like figure who goes on his journey through life. He's rather an innocent really.

RedScorpn: In A Clockwork Orange did those clamps on your eyes hurt while you were undergoing treatment?

Malcolm: Well, when I actually had them in my eyes, I didn't feel anything because my eyes were anesthetized. It was only an hour or two later, when the anesthetic wore off, that I realized that something was wrong and the pain was horrific, and in fact I had scratched my corneas. The clamps are called lid locks, and they're used in delicate eye operations. But normally the patient is lying on his/her back, whereas I was sitting up, tied to a chair with a straight jacket on. The doctor, if you'll notice, was a real doctor from Moorefield's Eye Hospital, who had to put drops in my eyes every 15 seconds, because if the eye dries up, then you become blind.

NikiPike: Is Roddy (McDowall) your brother, and if he is, what do you think of his career as an actor towards another actor?

Malcolm: Oh, we are not related in any way, shape or form. But I know Roddy rather well, and he's a wonderful actor and I think he's had a marvelous career. He's still working and he's been acting since he was child, so it must be more than 50 years! I do know that some people stop him in airports and congratulate him on his performance in Clockwork Orange. He just smiles sweetly and says, "Thank you very much."

SciFiTalk: The Royal Shakespeare Company has produced a lot of great actors including "Time After Time" co-star David Warner. How helpful was this company for you to develop as an actor?

Malcolm: Unfortunately, I hated the experience of working at the Royal Shakespeare Company. I couldn't wait to get out, because I found it like working for the government - a real bureaucracy. Of course, practically every English actor passes through the Royal Shakespeare Company or the National Theater at some point in their career. These, of course, are the two largest acting companies in England. For me, being 21 years old, I just couldn't bear the restraints of a big, sprawling company and couldn't wait to get into more modern drama like "Kitchen Sink". Of course there are some actors that stay the Royal Shakespeare Company for years, like Patrick Stewart, who I believe was there for 12 years. He obviously loved it and went on to Captain Picard in Star Trek.

SciFiTalk: Did you do any research to play HG Wells in "Time After Time"?

Malcolm: No. I did listen to some BBC tapes of an actual recording of H.G. Wells. He spoke in a very high pitched, sort of Southeast London whine, and I didn't think Hollywood was quite ready for that, as we weren't making a docudrama of his life. I played what was in the script rather than the psychological background of what was in his life. My responsibility was to play a man who was a socialist who through his time machine makes a time jump of about 100 years or thereabouts. And the fun for the audience is seeing the modern world through this Victorian's eyes. By the way, David Warner was fantastic as Jack the Ripper. A very underrated actor in my opinion.

SLOKE: What role are you most proud of, and which would you rather forget?

Malcolm: I think the ones we've talked about I'm most proud of, like O Lucky Man, Clockwork Orange, "if.... And I enjoyed very much playing Dr. Soran in Star Trek Generations. But the ones I don't care for, I don't think it would be fair to list them off. Usually when I work I always enjoy myself, and sometimes you're lucky and work on things that people really love, and sometimes you're not as lucky. But as far as my work goes, I always try and do the best I can. Of course, I'm a professional actor, and I always manage to have a good time.

MavUNG: My name is Michael McDowell. I've often wondered if McDowell is Scottish or Irish? And which are you?

Malcolm: My ancestry is Irish, and because it's Mc, not Mac, and it's Dowell, whereas the Scottish is usually Dowall. So, if you're spelling is the same as mine, you'll probably be of Irish ancestry. If it's spelled like Andie MacDowall, she's probably Scottish. Somebody had the nerve the other day to ask me if I was her father! Which I thought was a bit much. So I can say to everybody online, I'm definitely not Andie MacDowall's father, or related to her.

TomS32859: Every time I see A Clockwork Orange, I see your part as a very difficult one to play. Did you have reservations about the extreme violence in the movie?

Malcolm: No, I didn't. In fact, this may horrify you, but I thought we were making a black comedy. In fact, it is a black comedy, which I suppose makes the violence all the more horrific. I think it makes it a lot worse, perhaps, if in the scene of beating up the writer and raping his wife, one is doing it in a stylistic way, while singing "Singing in the Rain." I think it's very funny and very horrific at the same time; and it was meant to make you squirm in your seat. Incidentally, "Singing in the Rain" was an improvisation of mine because the character of Alex was supposed to be feeling euphoria in that scene, and my image of euphoria, which came via Hollywood, was Gene Kelly in "Singing in the Rain."

Halogen3: I remember seeing you talk about the "corridor shots" in Cat People - that there are no unimportant scenes. Do you think any of today's actors bring that kind of professionalism to the screen?

Malcolm: Well, the short answer is yes, I do. I think there are some great actors working right now. Of course, one can count them on your fingers and thumbs, but there are some brilliant actors.

MJDonahue: Did your part in Caligula make it hard for you to get roles afterward?

Malcolm: That's an interesting question. I really don't know the answer. But you're probably right. It's probably not a good thing to be associated with sort of a soft porno movie. But I still think there is a great movie bursting to get out of Caligula, and I'm pleased with my own work in the movie, even though I think some of it is rather confused.

Moirayne: Who are your major influences in life, and why did you decide to act?

Malcolm: Well, I started acting when I was 11 at school, and the principal of the school I was at was very enthusiastic about the theater. I had played most of the great parts of Shakespeare before I was 18 (probably not very well). But my main influences come from all over the place; from James Cagney to a whole list of British comics. Because, believe it or not, most of the scenes that I play, I always look for the comic angle.

SandJH: I loved you in "ST: Generations"! What do you think of Star Trek fandom? And what do you think of your nephew being in "Star Trek"?

Malcolm: Let me take the last question first. I'm extremely proud of Siddig. He's a very fine actor and I'm sure he'll go on to do many wonderful performances. He also seems to be very interested in directing. At some point it would be wonderful to be directed by my nephew! I enjoyed very much working on "Star Trek Generations," the movie. I loved the character very much, and I found working with Bill Shatner and Patrick Stewart a lot of fun. All the regular cast were very welcoming to me and made the whole experience very pleasant. The fans rather baffle me. They baffle me in their intense devotion to the genre. But hey, if it does nobody any harm, why not? Do whatever you want!

BE0WLF: Have you done any books on tape? If so, what are they?

Malcolm: No, I haven't done any books on tape, although I have been asked to do them on numerous occasions. But unfortunately I've always been busy doing something else.

HOOPIN32: Do you still have the time to do live theater?

Malcolm: I think that I have to make time to go back to the stage. Maybe next year I will go back, because I like very much to work in New York. There is a play that I've been asked to do, but I'll have to wait and see if I can fit it in with my film commitments. Next year I'm supposed to go to London to make a film about the painter Francis Bacon.

MarcusCr: Any more science fiction roles in the works for you?

Malcolm: Not that I can think of at the moment.

NikiPike: Who is your favorite actor/actress and why?

Malcolm: From yesteryear, of course it's Jimmy Cagney. My favorite actress would be Jean Arthur. But of my contemporaries, I would have to say that Anthony Hopkins always surprises me in his performances, and I think he's rather brilliant. Of the younger actresses, I'm very keen on Jennifer Jason Leigh, who has tremendous edge as a performer. She again is very dangerous on the screen, an unpredictable.

AOLMC: Thank you for all this great information, Mr. McDowell!

Malcolm: Thank you for your time. It was enjoyable to be online, and I hope to speak with you all again in the future.