A: Yes.
Q: What was it like working with Malcolm McDowell?
A: I found it very pleasant. I liked him very much. He was very easy to work with and I felt he was a very professional actor and a very good actor as well.
Q: Have you kept in touch with Malcolm now that you two are big villains?
A: No, not Malcolm. No, he’s doing wonderful though. He’s playing all of these marvelous villain roles now. I mean he’s always played villain roles, but I think he’s playing more sinister villains than in the past.
Q: Is it true you suffered from exhaustion on the set of ACO from repeated takes of carrying Mr. Alexander in his wheelchair?
A: Well, it was more exhausting carrying Malcolm because we did that nonstop all day. We did like umpteen takes, and Malcolm is no lightweight, and when Stanley said that he wanted me to carry Patrick McGee in his wheelchair down the stairs I said, 'Look I’m not going to do it all day like the other scene.' He said, 'Of course not, we will shoot it as quick as we can.' So I said, 'Well your name's not 'One take Kubrick' is it?' And everyone thought I was going to get attacked right then and there for calling him 'One take Kubrick'. We ended up shooting in it in six takes. It was still a strenuous part and a strenuous role.
Q: Many actors say that Kubrick is cruel and too demanding to work with. What was your experience with him like?
A: As far as I was concerned I thought he was wonderful. I think Stanley certainly had a different perspective of me then of other actors. He never thought of me as an actor. He thought of me as more of a strongman and not as a regular actor and because of that I had a very nice association with him, he didn’t treat me like he treated actors, I mean he treated actors like shit, he really does. One time while we were filming the scene where they are trying to get Alex to commit suicide, John Savident is rolling the billiard balls across the table. Kubrick wanted him to get them in the pockets on the other side and Kubrick went mad trying to get John to get the balls in the pocket but it was just something he couldn’t do he actually made John break down into tears. I mean he was really a vicious director.
Q: Do you remember your lines from A Clockwork Orange?
A: No. No, I don’t.
Q: Do you have any final recollections on the making of ACO?
A: Yeah, I got involved in some of the stunt work. Stanley was very a demanding person and he would ask me to do things that I’ve never had to do on a movie before. For me it was a wonderful experience working with a wonderful director and I’ve never forgotten it. And of course the big thing for me was that all of a sudden it established me as an actor. I was acting for 10 years before "Star Wars" came out, I did 7 or 8 different movies and tons of TV work, but until Stanley and "A Clockwork Orange" everybody always thought of me as the monster, creature or the villain. Nobody would ever think of casting my as a happy father in a cornflake commercial. It was always because I had a big physique I was getting cast in all of these roles but Stanley saw something in me. After "ACO" I was doing all the major TV series and comedy series and all sorts of other work was coming my way. Then eventually Lucas came and offered me two parts in the movie. He offered me Chewbacca’s role and I turned it down. Then he said, 'Well how about doing the big villain in the film for me?' and I said, 'Sure I’d love to!' and that was it. I didn’t have to audition, I didn’t have to read and I was there. I would say that "Clockwork" was the most influential job in my career, I mean "Star Wars" was big but it didn’t do me much good as far as getting me work where as "ACO" was fantastic.
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