WITH roles on “En tourage” and “Heroes” and a creepy turn as the shrink in the re make of “Halloween,” Malcolm McDowell is again one of Hollywood’s most in-demand character actors. He talked about the new DVD of his infamous X-rated “Caligula” – perhaps the worst movie to star four eventual Oscar nominees – why high-paid actors ruin the business, and his favorite obscure film.
Have you ever before watched “Caligula,” which just came out on DVD with your commentary track?
No. It brought back some memories. I think everyone went on strike at one point. It took forever to do it. There’s a terrific film somewhere in there, but they didn’t quite bring it out.
Peter O’Toole and I would go out at 4 in the morning and see these acres of debauchery going on. Everyone was naked, it sort of became the norm. I think when [producer] Bob Guccione inserted all the porn a couple of years after we finished shooting he didn’t see why there was anything wrong with it. I don’t think he saw it as we did as a sort of betrayal.
Helen Mirren was a dear friend of mine, and I’m sort of responsible for getting her on that gig. She loved it, and she got paid very well. She’s game for anything. John Gielgud loved everything about it. He told me so when I saw him in New York walking down Third Avenue when he was shooting “Arthur.” I think by the time he got back to England somebody said, “You shouldn’t be saying this,” and he started saying it was a dreadful film.
Will you be back playing the villain on “Heroes”?
You never say never. Even though my brain was squashed.
Were you friends with Stanley Kubrick after “A Clockwork Orange”?
Not really, no. But I’m going to London to host a retrospective of his. Stanley [who died in 1999] was an amazing talent, and I’m very close to the family. But we weren’t the best of friends and I regret that I didn’t pick up the phone and say, “How are you?” I was very young, and I expected Stanley to be a friend because we’d been so close making the film. I was so young that I wasn’t equipped to deal with it. I was very hurt, actually. I used to be a friend of Peter Sellers, and he used to say, “We’re in a very exclusive club, Malcolm. We starred in Stanley Kubrick movies.” He was really proud of it, and so was I.
Are you going to do more horror movies?
I don’t want to do any more. It’s good to do one, but I think that honestly that’s enough.
What film of yours do you most wish more people would see?
“O Lucky Man” – it’s coming out on DVD tomorrow. There’s a documentary, “O Lucky Malcolm,” to be included with that DVD.
How has the business changed?
Movies are about 100 times more expensive. One show of “Heroes” is twice the budget of “Clockwork Orange.” Actors are getting lottery money now.
Which is good for actors.
No, it’s only good for like five actors, and then the rest of them they pay nothing. They say, “We’re paying scale plus 10.” So everyone loses.
Were you ever passed over for something you really wanted?
You don’t talk about the stuff you didn’t get. I was just passed up yesterday. Another actor got it – and fine. You move on. Otherwise you get crazy. I try to tell that to my daughter [Lily], who’s an actress, but it’s harder when you’re younger, let’s face it.