Summer Jenkins: Tell me about your relationship with Mike Kaplan. How did you two come together to create Never Apologize, first as a live performance, and then a film?
Malcolm McDowell: I was asked by the Edinburgh Film Festival to come and introduce a retrospective of Lindsay's films which, was of course a retrospective of my own films. When they asked me to come and introduce him I said, sort of matter of factly, "I will do better than that. I will do a one man show about my relationship with him." Then I had a lot of material sent to me from the archives. They sent all the letters and things he had written over the years. I had his diaries and letters scattered all over my dining room table, Mike came for the weekend and there were certain things I knew I wanted [to include in the retrospective]. There was a question as to how many stories to include as opposed to what I would read out. I've known Mike since 1970, we met right after I finished shooting A Clockwork Orange. Mike was brought over by Stanley to work on the campaign and poster. We became friends and I asked him to come work on O Lucky Man! After we shot the movie [A Clockwork Orange] I sent Mike the soundtrack for O Lucky Man! and he loved it, he met with Lindsay and decided to come work with us. We've been good friends ever since. We've worked together quite a bit actually, on the films "I'll Sleep When I'm Dead," "O Lucky Man!" and Never Apologize. We're about to start shooting Mario and The Magician. It's a Thomas Mann novella.
SJ: What is your fondest memory of Lindsay?
MM: Oh my God there's so many…my fondest…well there are so many things that go through my head. It was rather sweet; he was staying with me in New York, I had a brownstone in the village, when my then wife Mary was about to deliver our first child. Lindsay was running around like a chicken with no head trying to organize a cab to get us to the hospital, very unlike the Lindsay one's used to. There were so many things though, so many moments of encouragement from him to me. You know I didn't realize quite how lonely he was and that made us all feel very sad. It makes me profoundly sad to know he was so lonely…when he gave so much to his friends. We sort of took him for granted I suppose, he was always such a huge presence in our lives. There is still not a day that goes by that I don't think about him.
SJ: You are so passionate throughout the film Never Apologize and it's obvious you have a love for your craft. What is your advice to college students and a generation plagued by apathy?
MM: Well, I suppose that's what separates the wheat from the chaff. If you're going to get on in life, you're going to have to invest a tremendous amount of passion and energy in what you do. No one on this planet is going to give you something, unless you are the child of someone wealthy and then we've seen what that does. I think it's true to say that Lindsay really instilled a passion in me and kindled it. He made me really think about the traditions of cinema and that we weren't the firsts. It had all been done by these great people before us. You can always learn a lot from what's been done before. You get what you deserve in a way. You get what you ask for in the end.
SJ: Who was one of your favorite actors to work with? Who do you respect for their craft?
MM: I loved working with Helen Mirren, we got on very well and we had a lot of fun. She's one of my favorites, actually. She has really matured into this extraordinary actress and she always has been talented, but now she's being given the parts, now is a great time for her. She seems more relaxed about it now. And Alan Bates. Two of the great actors that came out of England, Helen a contemporary, Alan more the generation before me. Albert Finney is also one of the greats. My favorite actor of all time is James Cagney, whom I love. I've always loved his work…it is still as fresh as ever, it looks like it's 60 years old and yet it's so modern, so brilliant.
SJ: After seeing Never Apologize, I can hardly wait to see if....
MM: It just came out on DVD, [after you see it] then go rent "O Lucky Man!," two absolutely great films, you will love them particularly [if you are saddened by our world's current condition]. It affects the human condition, it is really beautiful actually. You'll see Lindsay's humanity and what an extraordinary man he was and how ridiculous things are today. No wonder there's apathy; if this is our leader what do we have to look to? It's amazing really, we're looking to you - you know - your generation to revitalize, re-look and re-imagine. Bring your energy and creativity to change things, get involved whatever way you can however small a thing [it is].
© AO
Archived 2008 by Alex D. Thrawn for www.malcolmmcdowell.net