Malcolm McDowell enjoys villainy. He even got to slay a starship
captain--with a bridge.
Malcolm McDowell has been a very, very good bad boy,
and for a very long time, too. Need proof? Just look at his resume, a few of the
highlights of which include 'A Clockwork Orange', 'Cat People', 'Star Trek
Generations' and the upcoming 'Tank Girl'.
Though the actor likes to stretch by portraying the
occasional good guy or sympathetic character, as he did in 'Time after Time',
he's quite comfortable joining fellow Brits David Warner, Steven Berkoff and
Alan Rickman on the short list of filmdom's most dependable villains.
"Villains are just great. You don't have to be there every damned day. When
you're on, it's you and you can take it wherever you want. I don't think you
should ever go, what we call in England, OTT (over the top), "observes
McDowell. "You have to be very careful not to do that. Villains have to be
real people. The audience has to feel, somehow, that they have a real
life."
Most recently, of course, McDowell gave reel life to
Dr. Tolian Soran in 'Star Trek Generations' and, at the same time, gave Captain
Picard a hard time and captain Kirk his death sentence. In the film, Soran,
though not necessarily insane, was willing to let 230 million people die in his
efforts to get back in to the powerfully attractive, utopian Nexus. Ultimately,
Picard and Kirk joined forces to stop Soran, and they managed to do so, though
Kirk perished after making a difference one last time.
As Trek fans know by now, Kirk's demise was never
exactly a secret. News crews were even allowed on the Valley of Fire location in
Nevada to watch as Soran fired a fatal phaser blast into Kirk's back, leaving
the legendary captain to die in a helpless Picard's arms. However, just weeks
before the film's unveiling, director David Carson returned to Nevada with
Shatner, Picard and McDowell, along with much of the production team, to reshoot
Kirk's swan song. When the film hit theaters, Kirk still hit the intergalactic
bucket, but in an entirely different manner.
In the new version, Soran shoots a phaser blast at the
bridge on which Kirk is desperately trying to reach a device that will enable
him to decloak the rocket launcher Soran intends to use to alter the course of
the energy ribbon/Nexus. Ultimately, Soran dies when the launcher explodes but,
while the deaths of the endangered millions are averted, the bridge crashes to
the ground, crushing Kirk. "I think I would have preferred to have been the
man that did the deed, but I shoot the bridge down and that is what kills him,
"says McDowell. "They wanted to reshoot the ending, because it didn't
have enough bang to it. It had too many fist-fights and all that.
They wanted to get on with it, to have the bridge go,
the chase up the rocks, and for the rocket to explode. I also think they want
the two captains to be working together more, which was a smart move. It's a
better ending, anyway, the way it turned out. Whether it was worth another $6
million, who am I to say?"
Quite early in Generations' production, McDowell was
happily and loudly touting the fact that it was he who got to snuff out Capt.
Kirk. He also noted that Trekkers would probably be split 50-50 in their
reaction to Kirk's passing, figuring that as many would be thrilled to be rid of
Kirk as would be saddened by his departure. "I think that's the truth. Some
people think, 'Thank God you've done him at last.' Bill did actually say to me,
'Who are the 50 percent?' I said, 'They're people who are sick of you after 30
years, Bill.' You know what? Killing Kirk didn't make any difference to me one
way or the other. I'm not a Trekkie. It's just a part in a movie. I'm not a
regular. It's one more heavy, one more role, and onto the next. That's the way I
feel about it. Listen, I'll kill 'em all. Just give me the chance!" That's
not to say McDowell didn't have a good time making Generations - he had a
terrific time. First, he enjoyed playing a rather obsessive doctor. "Soran
is a wonderful villain. He's quite a character. They had some terrific dialogue
for him. I particularly liked that line, 'Time is the fire in which we burn,'
though I understand they got it from a book of quotations and had to pay for it,
which I find quite amusing," says McDowell with a bemused chuckle. "I
don't really think Soran's and evil character. I suppose I am the heavy in the
piece, but he's really like a drug addict. Once you've tasted Shangri-la, or the
Nexus, it's like a drug addict on his drug of choice. Are these people really
evil? No, they just have to get the drug. Soran doesn't want power. He's not a
manipulator in that sense."
As for sharing the screen with Shatner and Stewart, as
well as Barbara March and Gwynyth Walsh as the lovely sisters Duras, that too
was apparently a satisfying experience. "I worked with Patrick, oh, 29
years ago at the Royal Shakespeare Company. He went on to stay there for 12
years, while I was out very quickly. I just had one brief taste of being in
company of 100 actors at Stratford, going crazy." he remembers. "I
couldn't take it, but Patrick went on to do very well there. He's a very good
actor and has certainly made his mark as Picard. It was great to work with him
again after all these years.
I also enjoyed working with Bill quite a lot. He has a
twinkle in his eye and I think he's awfully good in the film. You don't do
something for 30 years and not come up with the goods. He's the real thing. The
scenes with with the Klingon sisters are just great, aren't they? I loved
working with Gwynyth and Barbara. I'm just glad to have met them before we
started filming or I never would have known what they looked. The make up was
tremendous. Soran's scenes with the Klingons are classic. To come on and crack
her a good one like that was so much fun. Then to have B'Etor say that line
about it having better been a mating ritual was just great stuff. They're like
the witches from Macbeth."
As always happens with films, moments were edited out
to quicken the pace or to change the viewer's overall perspective on a
character. The latter was the case with Soran. A sequence was shot in which
Soran tortured Geordi LaForge (LeVar Burton) in an effort to learn what he knows
about trilithium and Guinan's (Whoopi Goldberg) presence aboard the Enterprise.
The scene was dropped, and McDowell believes he knows why. "I think that's
better for the character. Soran wouldn't waste time torturing somebody," he
argues. "He's not into that. It's more to do with his obsession with the
Nexus than the cruelty of manipulating a human being. I think that [the torture
scene] was always a little bit weird, but I enjoyed doing it."
Although it was clear that Soran would do absolutely
whatever it took, short, perhaps, of torture, to get back into the Nexus, what
he intended to do once he got there was never revealed. One might assume,
however, that he hoped to be reunited with his family, who, it was explained,
had been wiped out by the Borg. Yet, as Picard noted to no avail, Soran was
planning to do to 230 million people what the Borg had done to his family.
"What would Soran do in the Nexus? It's a good question. I don't
know," says McDowell. "I honestly didn't think about it. What's
enjoyable about shooting a film like Generations is that you read the script,
can hardly make any sense of it, and then you see it up on the screen.
"Let me tell you a story. I'm not one for reading
stage directions very closely. So, when it says in one sentence, 'the Enterprise
crashes,' and then you see what they did, it's extraordinary. That model
sequence is brilliant. What they can do at George Lucas' place [Industrial Light
and Magic] I'm in awe of, it's so great. When I saw the film for the first time,
I was absolutely amazed at how extraordinary the FX have become in these films
today."
That comment leads to an overview of McDowell's many
genre credits, be they futuristic dramas, horror movies, full-blown SF epics or
adventures. Interestingly, the actor describes himself as being "far from a
huge fan" of science fiction, and one who finds works of H.G. Wells, whom
he portrayed in 'Time after Time', "rather hard to read." The place to
begin, of course, is 'A Clockwork Orange', the 1971 Stanley Kubrick classic in
which he portrayed the brutal punk Alex, who thrived on teaching society a
lesson until it turned the tables on him. "That's the watershed film in my
career," notes McDowell. "It's extraordinary, and I could spend hours
talking about Kubrick. He's worthy of a whole book and so is the film. I really
became aware of science fiction when I saw '2001: A Space Odyssey'. That was the
first time I really saw science fiction and believed it, didn't think it was all
styrofoam, and was moved by it." McDowell played H.G. Wells, the somewhat
wimpy good guy who gets the girl in the Nicholas (Star Trek 4) Meyer-directed
feature 'Time after Time.' "I got to be the hero in that one. It's a very
whimsical part, a wonderful part, H.G. running after Jack the Ripper [David
Warner] and meeting this modern woman [Mary Steenburgen]. Of course, " he
notes, "it's very special to me because I met Mary, we got married, and we
had two children. Even though we're not together now, she is the mother of my
children and that film is where we met. It's also a damned good film."
In the Paul Shrader, remake of 'Cat People,' McDowell
starred as the rather nasty feline brother of Nastassia Kinski in what some
people felt was a terrific fright flick and others deemed stylish trash. "I
think it's a good movie,' says McDowell, casting his own vote. "It was
brilliantly designed and had a great look to it. Some people argue over whether
it's better than the original. I don't know about that, because the original was
something special. But I enjoyed the experience. It was also my introduction to
New Orleans, which I loved."
McDowell was the villainous pilot in the 1983 film
'Blue Thunder.' "Hate flying. Hated the whole damned thing. But I must say
I loved working with John Alonzo and [director] John Badham. Alonzo did the
cinematography on 'Generations,' too, and it was wonderful to work with him
again," the actor enthuses. "He's one of the best. His work transforms
films into something else."
Following 'Blue Thunder,' McDowell's career seemed to
lose, well, it's thunder. He had gone from leading man of the stage and screen
in England to character actor and villain for hire after his move to America to
marry Steenburgen in 1980. The result was a long period in which McDowell found
himself receiving scripts of a lesser quality and because he had to make a
living, accepting roles in those films. Rather than go into much detail about
them, each genre-oriented film is mentioned to McDowell, who proceeds to give a
synopsized recollection of the project.
Moon 44: "That's the name of that one! Thank you.
I couldn't remember it's name. That's a real science fiction film, very
interesting and probably a failure," he admits. "It was Roland
Emmerich's big break. He's an extraordinary director, no question about it. He
just did 'Stargate' and I'm rather shocked, actually, that he didn't ask me to
play a part in that. I always thought he was going places. The only thing I
didn't like about 'Moon 44' was that it didn't have a great script. But all the
model shots Roland did were extraordinary. He did that film for just $3 million,
which was amazing to me." Cyborg III: "I did one day on that one. It
was all they could afford," he recalls. "It was a great scene and the
director was very good."
Class of 1999, Mark L. Lester's sequel to his own
'Class of 1984:' "Yes, I did that one too. Where are you coming up with
these? They're not in my bio, are they?" he wonders. "They offered me
the heavy, which I turned down. So, I played the school's principal. Stacy Keach
played the heavy. It was not a very good film at all, but it was fun."
Wing Commander III, a CD-rom game: "That was very
interesting. People were always talking about these CD-roms and I honestly don't
understand it. When I was offered the part, with Mark Hamill and John Rhys-Davies,
I thought, 'I'll do it. Let's go try it and see what it's all about.' I'm very
glad I did," he decides. "It's really where film is going to be in the
future. In other words, by computer they'll put in incredible backdrops. Want a
starfield? Boom, there's a starfield. The technology changes every week. The
only thing they couldn't do then, which they can now, is that we couldn't move
or talk. You had to sort of be in one spot and they couldn't move the camera
very much. Now, of course, they can do that, too."
One of McDowell's more intriguing credits in the years
prior to 'Generations' was the laugh-inducing, yet somehow moving 'Tales from
the Crypt' episode "The Reluctant Vampire," which he played the title
character, who worked at a blood bank and did all he could to avoid killing
people. The segment and McDowell's strong performance are both well-regarded by
Cryptophiles. "It was charming in its own little way and I'm pleased to
hear that it's popular with people. But I'll tell you my memories of it,"
he warns. "I was in Italy, and they called me to do it, I said I didn't
really want to leave Italy, where I was living at that time. My agent said,
'It's a real hip thing to do.' So, I flew back, went from the airport right into
it, so they could do the makeup special FX, and I got the flu. I had a
temperature of 104 for practically the whole time, and I barely remember
shooting it. I would walk to the set shivering, get it together for each take,
then trudge back to my trailer, just dying."
Most recently, McDowell has appeared in such films as
'Milk Money' with Melanie Griffith, the little-seen and vastly underrated
apartheid drama, 'Bopha!' and several other foreign or independent films few
American moviegoers have caught (like 'The caller' and 'Disturbed'). 'Star Trek
Generations' should reintroduce McDowell to the mass audience, as might the
big-budget, futuristic epic 'Tank Girl' in which he co-stars with Lori Petty
under the direction of Rachel (Ghost in the Machine) Talalay. "Tank Girl
takes place in the year 2033, after earth has been hit by an asteroid and
virtually wiped out. Desert conditions prevail," he explains. "The
gold standard is water and I am Kesslee, the head of the Department of Water,
and, as such, a very powerful man. There are these [half-human, half-kangaroo]
mutants running around, sort of under the ground, called the Rippers, and this
Tank Girl is raising her middle finger to the world. She's this anarchist,
almost, who's a thorn in my side. It's a cartoon, basically, a wonderful sort of
irreverent comic book that comes from Europe. We shot [parts of it] in the most
awful place, a disused copper mine outside of Tucson, Arizona, in the summer.
Not to be recommended. Just opening that hotel room door in the morning was like
going into the furnace."
As much as Tank Girl may be a thorn in Kesslee's side,
Kesslee, as the - what else - villain, makes her life a living hell.
Fortunately, reveals McDowell, Petty was up to the many challenges of the role
and the demanding physicality of the film's lengthy shoot. "Lori was great.
I have tremendous admiration for her. She took a tremendous beating. It was a
very active role she had to play in extreme conditions and she was in every
frame of the film. Still, she managed to do great work," he observes.
"I haven't seen the finished film, so it's very hard to talk about, but I
think it will be a major stepping stone for her."
The actor also appreciated what director Talalay brought to
the table. "Rachel is a very interesting director and a very interesting
person, too - very, very bright. She knew exactly what she wanted. The only
thing that must have gotten frustrating for her was that it took a lot longer to
do the film than expected. We had these extreme conditions, such as heat and
dust. It was torture. It ruined shots and affected cameras. For me, those
conditions don't have much of an effect. I try to be professional and just do
what I have to do when the camera is rolling. But I think if you're under really
adverse conditions, it can give you a certain edge or spontaneity.
"I'm always suspicious when I do a film that's all
lovely and everyone's lovely and loves each other. You see the movie later and
think, 'My God, what happened? It's horrendous.' Then you do a physically
nightmarish film, like 'Tank Girl,' or one with money problems, or this or that,
and the film turns out great and has real energy. Again, I haven't seen 'Tank
Girl' yet, but I have a good feeling about the work we did."
Always busy, McDowell has several projects on his
plate. He has signed to work in England for three weeks on a BBC mini-series
called 'Boys from the North [Our Friends in the North],' written by Peter
Flannery, who has written a play, Singer, in which McDowell might also appear.
Beyond that, he plans to spend some time at his California home with his wife,
Kelley, all the while trying to find funding to make his film directing debut
with Monster Butler. The project had been created, which McDowell in mind to
star, by the late Lindsay Anderson, his close friend and the director who gave
McDowell his first major role in 'if...' and later cast him in 'O Lucky Man!'
and 'Britannia Hospital.'
McDowell is hopeful that both 'Generations' and 'Tank
Girl' will both be seen by the film industry's power brokers. If that turns out
to be the case, look for 'Monster Butler' to become a reality and for McDowell,
courtesy of his career resurgence, to turn up in more juicy roles in more
A-pictures. "I guess it is something of a renaissance for me and I am, to
say the least, quite pleased by it. Many people will see 'Generations' and 'Tank
Girl.' These big films are very hard to get into. It has nothing to do with
talent anymore. It's power plays with agencies and all this weird stuff going
on. I could always go back to the stage and I'm kind of king of independent
films. I can do them here and in Europe. But I've got a new agent who said,
'That's it. Now, you're going to do mainstream, major studio pictures.' And so
far, so good," concludes Malcolm McDowell. "I'm going after good roles
in good films. Soran in 'Generations' and Kesslee in 'Tank Girl' are just that.
So, I couldn't be happier."
© Starlog, April 1995
Archived 2001-08 Alex D. Thrawn for www.MalcolmMcDowell.net