Malcolm McDowell Assassin of the Tsar Russian Interview 2001

"In real life I'm not a debaucher," Malcolm McDowell says.
by Elena Karakoleva for Arguments & Facts 2001

The British actor Malcolm McDowell - one of the most famous and mystical actors of the Western cinema - will play a Soviet aircraft designer in "Night Witches." Without McDowell's participation in Tinto Brass' "Caligula," the film would have been an ordinary porn movie, financed by Penthouse. The producers insisted on inclusion of sex scenes, but McDowell turned "Caligula" into a high drama of a man who was allowed everything. A man who was both satiated and miserable. Several years earlier there was Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange, in which McDowell played an anti-hero again. Later the actor had a nervous breakdown that lasted several months. Somehow he always gets those parts...people with broken souls, living on the edge of madness, embraced by demons...Our conversation took place in exotic surroundings - it started at Molotov's summer house near Moscow, continued in the car, and came to the end near the ancient walls of Kremlin.

Q: Malcolm, did Russia make an impression on you? What kind of impression?

A: There is something mysterious in your country, something that denies cognition. Sometimes your people don’t have enough bread, but they keep the soul of the nation intact. They didn’t lose a sense of humor despite the pain they had to endure. I was amazed by your fantastic ability to see the funny side of things. I’m sure the golden age for your country is close.

Q: In Karen Shaknazarov’s Assassin of the Tsar you played two parts. Timofeyev, an insane inmate of a mental hospital, and the assassin of tsar named Yakov Yurovsky. Why did you take this part, knowing the fee would be nowhere near your usual Hollywood level?

A: That’s a good question. All I can say, I don’t know the answer to that one. When Karen came to Switzerland to meet me, bringing the screenplay of his film with him, I agreed immediately. Usually I take a part if it meets at least two conditions out of three - good script, good money, and an interesting location. You can guess what I had here.

Q: Have you left the theater in the US forever?

A: I wouldn’t want to play the same part for a long-time as most theaters here demand you to...though maybe I’ll return to stage.

Q: You’re living in the US now. Do you considering yourself a British actor, or an American one?

A: Twenty years ago I came to the USA to work in Hollywood. There I met Mary Steenburgen, who became my wife and mother of my two children. Unfortunately, our marriage didn’t last for a long time. I guess the difference in our attitudes - European and American - affected it.

Q: But you stayed...

A: Yes. America is the center of the world cinema industry, not the tired UK. It seems like there is a sort of a national nervous crisis in England. Today I understand that there isn’t much connection between me and my native land. I wouldn’t be able to live there, though I like going back to visit my mother. I have a certain nostalgia for the English landscape. I guess Russians feel the same about their own country. America fits me better. Americans remind me of Russians, they are just like you, simple, generous, and very friendly. I even suppose it has something to do with the size of a country. Though there are a lot of annoying things for a European in the USA. There is no culture - the country is too young. There is no romanticism or sensuality. All Americans are crazy about their careers. It seems they are brain-wired to think about it 24/7. It is a society of consumers.

Q: People often identify you with your demonic, brute characters. Does it insult you?

A: Of course not. It is just ridiculous. Following that logic, if I kill on the screen, I’m a murderer in life? Very naive. As for the character of Yurovsky, I had to understand what kind of person this fanatic was. I think he is a straightforward character. He serves the idea. He is a professional, yet he cares about himself. The price of his terrible work is a career step-up. It is not a murder for him. It’s his day job. I’m always attracted to the unusual parts, the characters that have individuality, but I don’t mean necessarily immoral characters. Well, personally I’m not into violence.

Q: Do you believe in God?

A: Perhaps, as an expression of the highest truth. But I don’t believe in religion, especially in organized religion. It restrains personality.

Q: What do you consider the main trait of an actor?

A: Intuition. I always rely on my gut feeling. When I’m asked how I do it, I say I don’t know. And I’m not sure I want to know. Some things can’t be explained.

Q: You make an impression of a strong-willed man. What do you respect yourself for?

A: The best thing I did, I quit drinking. It’s been more than fifteen years… and it affected my life a lot. I gained additional energy. I began to understand and love people more. I’m also proud of my children. I like spending time with them in my small castle in Italy. It is near Andrei Tarkovski’s house.