ACTOR · BORN 1943
Malcolm McDowell
- Born
- 13 June 1943
- Known for
- A Clockwork Orange (1971), I Spy (2002), Caligola (1979), Mozart in the Jungle (2014)
21 archived facts 4 topics 1 source Last reviewed Nov 2026
Malcolm McDowell (born 13 June 1943) is an actor best known for A Clockwork Orange, I Spy and Caligola.
Malcolm McDowell over the years
21 Interesting Facts About Malcolm McDowell
Interesting Facts (12)
- #001
As a schoolboy, Malcolm McDowell was so bored by having to sit through long, tedious speeches by minor local dignitaries at official school events that he took his revenge once he became a star. When he was asked to give the opening speech at Cannock School's annual Open Day in 1969, he flew all the way from the United States to attend. Before a packed assembly, he announced only "I hereby pronounce this Open Day open" and sat down.
- #002
He has a deep fear of reptiles. When Stanley Kubrick learned of this while shooting A Clockwork Orange (1971), he introduced Alex's pet snake, Basil. The stated aim was to make Alex DeLarge seem more intimidating, but the less significant effect was that it served as a joke by Kubrick.
- #003
When he first went to meet Stanley Kubrick, he knew very little about cinema and confused him with Stanley Kramer. In preparation, McDowell's friend and mentor Lindsay Anderson showed him most of Kubrick's films, from Paths of Glory (1957) to 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968).
- #004
During the shooting of A Clockwork Orange (1971) he had a very close relationship with director Stanley Kubrick. After filming ended, it upset him greatly that Kubrick was not interested in maintaining their friendship and never contacted him again.
- #005
In an interview, he said that after he appeared in A Clockwork Orange (1971), a magazine called him the "King of Punk." This is probably due to the punk references in the film, such as the costume style of the droogs.
- #006
Although he was not a big Star Trek fan and did not much like the script, McDowell accepted the villain role in Star Trek: Generations (1994) because he was asked, "How would you like to kill Captain Kirk?" He later received death threats from overly eager Star Trek fans after his character, Dr. Tolian Soran, killed Captain James T. Kirk.
- #007
To prepare for his role in Time After Time (1979), McDowell listened to recordings of the immortal H. G. Wells. According to McDowell, Wells's voice was very high-pitched and had a South East London accent, so he decided not to imitate it.
- #008
During the production of Tinto Brass's famous epic Caligula (1979), McDowell took members of the production crew to dinner at an expensive restaurant to celebrate England's victory in a football match against an Italian team. However, saying he had forgotten to bring enough money, he left the choreographer to pay for the large meal.
- #009
Malcolm McDowell was depicted as Dr. Tolian Soran on one of 18 British commemorative postage stamps celebrating the "Star Trek" television and film series, issued on 13 November 2020. The stamps were released as 12 individual stamps honouring captains and crew members, and 6 stamps on a single commemorative sheet highlighting heroes and villains. All stamps were denomination-free and marked as first class (76p on the day of issue). Others honoured in the set include William Shatner, Patrick Stewart, Avery Brooks, Kate Mulgrew, Scott Bakula, Jason Isaacs, Leonard Nimoy, Marina Sirtis, Alexander Siddig, Dominic Keating, Sonequa Martin-Green, Shazad Latif, Simon Pegg, Tom Hardy, David Warner, Alice Eve and Idris Elba.
- #010
Malcolm McDowell has an uncredited miniature appearance in the horror thriller Dead of Winter (1987). His photograph also appears in the film, which stars Mary Steenburgen; he was married to Steenburgen, the film's star, at the time.
- #011
Malcolm McDowell's scenes in the miniseries Our Friends in the North (1996) were shot in a single continuous block, unlike the rest of the production. Because he was residing in the United States, he was available in the United Kingdom for only three weeks.
- #012
Malcolm McDowell turned down the role of Admiral Geoffrey Tolwyn in Wing Commander (1999) because of his commitment to Fantasy Island (1998). The role went to David Warner. McDowell had previously appeared in Wing Commander III: Heart of the Tiger (1994).
Characters & Cast (3)
- #013
McDowell wanted to appear as a guest actor on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993), but his nephew Alexander Siddig (who plays Dr. Bashir) directed only one episode of the series. He was offered the role of Hagath in Business as Usual (1997), but was unavailable. The role went to Steven Berkoff, McDowell's co-star in A Clockwork Orange (1971).
- #014
McDowell auditioned for the role of Brian Roberts in Bob Fosse's musical drama Cabaret (1972), but turned it down when he learned it was not a singing role. The role ultimately went to Michael York.
- #015
Malcolm McDowell was the first choice for the role of Sir Winston Churchill in Richard Attenborough's epic Young Winston (1972), but he turned it down repeatedly. The role eventually went to Simon Ward.
Career & Awards (1)
- #016
He declined a CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) in 1984 and a knighthood (Knight Bachelor of the Order of the British Empire) in 1995.
Life & Family (5)
- #017
He was the first well-known actor to appear in the flesh, rather than in animation, on South Park (1997), because he was one of Trey Parker's favourite actors and was specifically requested. He played the narrator in South Park's parody of Charles Dickens's classic novel "Great Expectations," and was credited as A British Person (2000).
- #018
He took his mother's maiden name, McDowell, because he wanted to join the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and there was another English actor named Malcolm Taylor.
- #019
In the Ludovico scene of A Clockwork Orange (1971), McDowell's eyes were clamped open using a surgical device for eye surgery. The doctor who applied the eye drops on set was a real doctor present at the time of the injury. However, the clamping of McDowell's eye accidentally scratched his cornea and he experienced temporary blindness.
- #020
On September 25, 2012, he was rushed to the hospital and had to undergo a 3 1/2-hour emergency surgery on his eye, for what was discovered to be a detached retina, which McDowell attributed to previous eye problems stemming while filming A Clockwork Orange (1971).
- #021
Despite the fact that they played enemies in Blue Thunder (1983), both Roy Scheider, and Malcolm McDowell became very good friends during the production. As he would later state at various science fiction conventions, they enjoyed working together so much that they could not leave each other alone. After Scheider passed away, a very saddened McDowell was unable to attend Scheider's funeral on account of a film commitment that he could not get away from (much to his dismay). As a result, he immediately ordered flowers and sent a letter of condolences to Scheider's family.
Related pages
- Vamps — Malcolm McDowell comes up in the facts on that page
- Baby Driver — Malcolm McDowell comes up in the facts on that page
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Sources & editorial notes
Reference databases
- Wikipedia
- IMDb
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