Malcolm McDowell

Malcolm McDowell (born Malcolm John Taylor; June 13, 1943) is a British actor, best known for his boisterous villainous and charismatic roles. He was born in the Horsforth suburb of Leeds and raised in Liverpool. He later trained at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art before embarking on an acting career that has spanned over 50 years.

McDowell is best known for portraying Alex DeLarge in Stanley Kubrick‘s A Clockwork Orange (1971), with Patrick Magee, Adrienne Corri, and Miriam Karlin; the title character in Tinto Brass’s Caligula (1979), with Teresa Ann Savoy, Helen Mirren, Peter O’Toole, John Steiner and John Gielgud; and Mick Travis in Lindsay Anderson’s trilogy of if…. (1968), with Richard Warwick, Christine Noonan, David Wood, and Robert Swann; O Lucky Man! (1973), with Ralph Richardson, Rachel Roberts, Arthur Lowe, Mirren, Graham Crowden, and Dandy Nichols; and Britannia Hospital (1982), with Leonard Rossiter, Graham Crowden, Joan Plowright, Jill Bennett, and Marsha Hunt; and Dr. Samuel Loomis in Rob Zombie’s remake of Halloween (2007), with Tyler Mane, Scout Taylor-Compton, Daeg Faerch, Sheri Moon Zombie, Brad Dourif, Danielle Harris, and William Forsythe; and Halloween II (2009), with most of the previous cast.

Other films in the 1970s include Joseph Losey’s Figures in a Landscape (1970), with Robert Shaw; Bryan Forbes’s The Raging Moon (1971), with Nanette Newman, Georgia Brown, and Barry Jackson; Richard Lester’s Royal Flash (1975), with Oliver Reed, Alan Bates, Florinda Bolkan, Joss Ackland, Tom Bell, Alastair Sim, Michael Hordern, and Britt Ekland; Aces High (1976), with Christopher Plummer, Simon Ward, Peter Firth, David Wood, Gielgud, Trevor Howard, Richard Johnson, and Ray Milland; Stuart Rosenberg’s Voyage of the Damned (1976), with Faye Dunaway, Oskar Werner, Lee Grant, Max von Sydow, James Mason, and Lynne Frederick; J. Lee Thompson The Passage (1979), with Anthony Quinn, James Mason, Patricia Neal, Kay Lenz, Michael Lonsdale, Marcel Bozzuffi, and Christopher Lee; and Nicholas Meyer’s Time After Time (1979), with David Warner and Mary Steenburgen (whom he was married to from 1980-1990).

Films in the 1980s include Paul Schrader’s Cat People (1982), with Nastassja Kinski, John Heard, Annette O’Toole, Ruby Dee, Ed Begley Jr., Scott Paulin, and Frankie Faison; John Badham’s Blue Thunder (1983), with Roy Scheider, Warren Oates, Candy Clark, and Daniel Stern; Martin Ritt’s Cross Creek (1983), with Steenburgen, Rip Torn, Peter Coyote, Alfre Woodard, and Dana Hill; Allan Arkush’s Get Crazy (1983), with Allen Garfield, Stern, Gail Edwards, and Begley Jr.; The Caller (1987), with Madolyn Smith; Buy & Cell (1988), with Robert Carradine, Randall “Tex” Cobb, and Imogene Coca; and Blake Edwards’s Sunset (1988), with Bruce Willis, James Garner, Mariel Hemingway, Kathleen Quinlan, and Jennifer Edwards.

Films in the 1990s include Mark L. Lester’s Class of 1999 (1990), with Bradley Gregg, Traci Lind, John P. Ryan, Pam Grier, Joshua Miller, and Stacy Keach; Schweitzer (1990), with Susan Strasberg; Chain of Desire (1992), with Linda Fiorentino and Elias Koteas; Night Train to Venice (1993), with Hugh Grant, Tahnee Welch, Evelyn Opela, Kristina Söderbaum, and Rachel Rice; Morgan Freeman’s Bopha! (1993), with Danny Glover, Woodard, and Marius Weyers; Richard Benjamin’s Milk Money (1994), with Melanie Griffith and Ed Harris; Star Trek: Generations (1994), with Patrick Stewart, William Shatner, and Whoopi Goldberg; Tank Girl (1995), with Lori Petty, Naomi Watts, and Ice-T; Fist of the North Star (1995), with Gary Daniels, Costas Mandylor, Chris Penn, Isako Washio, Melvin Van Peebles, Tracey Walter, and Clint Howard; and Kids of the Round Table (1995), with Michael Ironside.

Films in the late 1990s include Robert Downey Sr.’s Hugo Pool (1997), with Alyssa Milano, Patrick Dempsey, Robert Downey Jr., Richard Lewis, Cathy Moriarty, and Sean Penn; Mr. Magoo (1997), with Leslie Nielsen, Kelly Lynch, Matt Keeslar, Nick Chinlund, Stephen Tobolowsky, Ernie Hudson, and Jennifer Garner; Love Lies Bleeding (1998), with Paul Rhys and Faye Dunaway; and Hugh Hudson’s My Life So Far (1999), with Colin Firth, Rosemary Harris, Irène Jacob, Tchéky Karyo, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, and Kelly Macdonald.

Films in the early 2000s include Gangster No. 1 (2000), with Paul Bettany, David Thewlis, and Saffron Burrows; Just Visiting (2001), with Jean Reno, Christina Applegate, Christian Clavier, Tara Reid, and Bridgette Wilson; Edoardo Ponti’s Between Strangers (2002), with Klaus Maria Brandauer, Gérard Depardieu, Sophia Loren, Pete Postlethwaite, Mira Sorvino, and Deborah Kara Unger; I Spy (2002), with Eddie Murphy,
Owen Wilson, and Famke Janssen; Mike Hodges’s I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead (2003), with Clive Owen, Charlotte Rampling, and Jonathan Rhys-Meyers; Tempo (2003), with Griffith, Rachael Leigh Cook, and Hugh Dancy; Robert Altman’s The Company (2003), with Neve Campbell and James Franco; Pact with the Devil (2004), with Ethan Erickson and Christoph Waltz; and uncredited role in Joe Johnston’s Hidalgo (2004), with Viggo Mortensen, Zuleikha Robinson, Omar Sharif, Louise Lombard, Adam Alexi-Malle, and J.K. Simmons; Bobby Jones: Stroke of Genius (2004), with Jim Caviezel, Claire Forlani, Jeremy Northam, and Aidan Quinn; and an uncredited cameo in Paul Weitz’s In Good Company (2004), with Dennis Quaid, Topher Grace, Scarlett Johansson, Marg Helgenberger, Clark Gregg, David Paymer, Selma Blair, and Philip Baker Hall.

Films in the mid to late 2000s and early 2010s include Mirror Wars: Reflection One (2005), with Armand Assante and Rutger Hauer; Neil Marshall’s Doomsday (2008), with Rhona Mitra, Bob Hoskins, Adrian Lester, and David O’Hara; and uncredited in The Book of Eli (2010), with Denzel Washington, Gary Oldman, Mila Kunis, Ray Stevenson, Jennifer Beals, Frances de la Tour, and Michael Gambon; Barry Munday (2010), with Patrick Wilson, Judy Greer, Chloë Sevigny, Jean Smart, Shea Whigham, Missi Pyle, Christopher McDonald, and Billy Dee Williams; and Easy A (2010), with Emma Stone, Stanley Tucci, Patricia Clarkson, Thomas Haden Church, Dan Byrd, Amanda Bynes, Penn Badgley, Cam Gigandet, Lisa Kudrow, and Aly Michalka.

More films in the early 2010s include Michel Hazanavicius’s The Artist (2011), with Jean Dujardin, Bérénice Bejo, James Cromwell, Penelope Ann Miller, Pyle, Beth Grant, Ed Lauter, Joel Murray, Ken Davitian, and John Goodman; Excision (2012), with AnnaLynne McCord, Traci Lords, Ariel Winter, Roger Bart, Jeremy Sumpter, Matthew Gray Gubler, Marlee Matlin, Ray Wise, and John Waters; Amy Heckerling’s Vamps (2012), with Alicia Silverstone, Krysten Ritter, Sigourney WeaverDan Stevens, Lewis, Wallace Shawn, Justin Kirk, and Kristen Johnston; Silent Hill: Revelation (2012), with Adelaide Clemens, Kit Harington, Martin Donovan, Carrie-Anne Moss, Sean Bean, Deborah Kara Unger, and Radha Mitchell; Silent Night (2012), with Jaime King, Donal Logue, Brendan Fehr, and Ellen Wong; and A Green Story (2013), with Ed O’Ross, George Finn, Billy Zane, Annabella Sciorra, and Shannon Elizabeth.

Films in the mid to late 2010s include and the anthology film Tbilisi, I Love You (2015), with Ron Perlman; Some Kind of Wonderful (2015), with Pierce Brosnan, Salma Hayek, Jessica Alba, and Ben McKenzie; Kids vs Monsters (2015), with Elaine Hendrix, Francesca Eastwood, Daniel David Stewart, and Lance Henriksen; and Bombshell (2019), with Charlize Theron, Nicole Kidman, Margot Robbie, John Lithgow, Kate McKinnon, Connie Britton, and Allison Janney.

Films in the 2020s include The Big Ugly (2020), with Vinnie Jones, Perlman, Nicholas Braun, Leven Rambin, Lenora Crichlow, Brandon Sklenar, Elyse Levesque, and Bruce McGill; and voicing in Chris Columbus’s The Christmas Chronicles: Part 2 (2020), with Kurt Russell, Goldie Hawn, Darby Camp, Judah Lewis, and Kimberly Williams-Paisley, Julian Dennison, Jahzir Bruno, Tyrese Gibson, Sunny Suljic, and Darlene Love; Blood on the Crown (2021), with Harvey Keitel.

Each review will be linked to the title below.

(*seen originally in theaters)

(**seen rereleased in theaters)

Poor Cow (1967) – directed by Ken Loach – scenes deleted
if…. (1968) – directed by Lindsay Anderson
Figures in a Landscape (1970) – directed by Joseph Losey
The Raging Moon (1971) – directed by Bryan Forbes
A Clockwork Orange (1971)** – directed by Stanley Kubrick
O Lucky Man! (1973) – directed by Lindsay Anderson – also story
Royal Flash (1975) – directed by Richard Lester
The Collection (1976) – directed by Michael Apted – TV movie
Aces High (1976) – directed by Jack Gold
Voyage of the Damned (1976) – directed by Stuart Rosenberg
She Fell Among Thieves (1978) – directed by Clive Donner – TV movie
The Passage (1979) – directed by J. Lee Thompson
Caligula (1979) – directed by Tinto Brass – uncredited directing by Giancarlo Lui & Bob Guccione – also uncredited writer
Time After Time (1979) – directed by Nicholas Meyer
Tigers are Better-Looking (1979) – directed by Hussein Shariffe – short
Cat People (1982) – directed by Paul Schrader
The Compleat Beatles (1982) – directed by Patrick Montgomery – narrator – documentary
Britannia Hospital (1982) – directed by Lindsay Anderson
Blue Thunder (1983) – directed by John Badham
Cross Creek (1983) – directed by Martin Ritt
Get Crazy (1983) – directed by Allan Arkush
Arthur the King (1985) – directed by Clive Donner – TV movie
Gulag (1985) – directed by Robert Young – TV movie
Look Back in Anger (1985) – directed by Lindsay Anderson, David Hugh Jones, & Ted Craig – TV movie
Monte Carlo (1986) – directed by Anthony Page – miniseries
The Caller (1987) – directed by Arthur Allan Seidelman
Sunset (1988) – directed by Blake Edwards
Buy & Cell (1988) – directed by Robert Boris
Mortacci (1989) – directed by Sergio Citti
Moon 44 (1990) – directed by Roland Emmerich
Il maestro (1990) – directed by Marion Hänsel
Class of 1999 (1990) – directed by Mark L. Lester
Maggio musicale (1990) – directed by Ugo Gregoretti
Schweitzer (1990) – directed by Gray Hofmeyr
In the Eye of the Snake (1990) – directed by Max Reid
Jezebel’s Kiss (1990) – directed by Harvey Keith
Disturbed (1990) – directed by Charles Winkler
Tsareubiytsa (1991) – directed by Karen Shakhnazarov
The Player (1992) – directed by Robert Altman – cameo as himself
Chain of Desire (1992) – directed by Temístocles López
East Wind (1993) – directed by Robert Enrico
Night Train to Venice (1993) – directed by Carlo U. Quinterio
Bopha! (1993) – directed by Morgan Freeman
The Man Who Wouldn’t Die (1994) – directed by Bill Condon – TV movie
Seasons of the Heart (1994) – directed by Lee Grant – TV movie
Cyborg 3: The Recycler (1994) – directed by Michael Schroeder
Milk Money (1994) – directed by Richard Benjamin
Star Trek: Generations (1994)* – directed by David Carson
The Surgeon (1994) – directed by Carl Schenkel
The Second Greatest Story Ever Told (1994) – directed by Ralph Glenn Howard & Katharina Otto-Bernstein – TV movie
Dangerous Indiscretion (1995) – directed by Richard Kletter
Tank Girl (1995) – directed by Rachel Talalay
Fist of the North Star (1995) – directed by Tony Randel
Kids of the Round Table (1995) – directed by Robert Tinnell
Fatal Pursuit (1995) – directed by Eric Louzil
The Little Riders (1996) – directed by Kevin Connor – TV movie
Where Truth Lies (1996) – directed by William H. Molina
Yesterday’s Target (1996) – directed by Barry Samson – TV movie
Ringer (1996) – directed by Carlo Gustaff
2103: The Deadly Wake (1997) – directed by Philip Jackson
Asylum (1997) – directed by James Seale
Hugo Pool (1997) – directed by Robert Downey Sr.
Mr. Magoo (1997)* directed by Stanley Tong
The Fairy King of Ar (1998) – directed by Paul Matthews
The First 9 1/2 Weeks (1998) – directed by Alex Wright
The Gardener (1998) – directed by James D.R. Hickox
Can of Worms (1999) – directed by Paul Schneider – TV movie
Southern Cross (1999) – directed by James Becket
Love Lies Bleeding (1999) – directed by William Tannen
My Life So Far (1999) – directed by Hugh Hudson
Terminal Countdown (1999) – directed by Richard Pepin
The David Cassidy Story (2000) – directed by Jack Bender
St. Patrick: The Irish Legend (2000) – directed by Robert Hughes – TV movie
Gangster No. 1 (2000) – directed by Paul McGuigan
Island of the Dead (2000) – directed by Tim Southam
Stanley Kubrick: A Life in Pictures (2001) – directed by Jan Harlan – himself – documentary
Princess of Thieves (2001) – directed by Peter Hewitt – TV movie
Just Visiting (2001)* – directed by Jean-Marie Poiré
The Void (2001) – directed by Gilbert M. Shilton
Firestarter 2: Rekindled (2002) – directed by Robert Iscove – miniseries
Between Strangers (2002) – directed by Edoardo Ponti
I Spy (2002) – directed by Betty Thomas
The Barber (2002) – directed by Micheal Bafaro
Inhabited (2003) – directed by Kelly Sandefur
Dorian (2003) – directed by Allan A. Goldstein
I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead (2003) – directed by Mike Hodges
Tempo (2003) – directed by Eric Styles
The Company (2003) – directed by Robert Altman
Red Roses and Petrol (2003) – directed by Tamar Simon Hoffs – also associate producer
Hidalgo (2004) – directed by Joe Jonhston – uncredited
Evilenko (2004) – directed by David Grieco
Bobby Jones: Stroke of Genius (2004) – directed by Rowdy Herrington
Tempesta (2004) – directed by Tim Disney
Pinocchio 3000 (2004) – directed by Daniel Robichaud
In Good Company (2004) – directed by Paul Weitz – uncredited
Dinotopia: Quest for the Ruby Sunstone (2005) – directed by Davis Doi – TV movie
Rag Tale (2005) – directed by Mary McGuckian
Mirror Wars (2005) – directed by Vasiliy Chiginskiy
Bye Bye Benjamin (2006) – directed by Charlie McDowell – short
The Curse of King Tut’s Tomb (2006) – directed by Russell Mulcahy – TV movie
Cut Off (2006) – directed by Gino Cabanas & Dick Fisher
The List (2007) – directed by Gary Wheeler
Exitz (2007) – directed by Laurens C. Postma
Never Apologize (2007) – directed by Mike Kaplan – also writer, producer – documentary
Halloween (2007) – directed by Rob Zombie
War and Peace (2007) – directed by Robert Dornhelm – miniseries
Doomsday (2008) – directed by Neil Marshall
Delgo (2008) – directed by Marc F. Adler & Jason Maurer
Coco Chanel (2008) – directed by Christian Duguay
Bolt (2008) – directed by Chris Williams & Byron Howard
The Evening Journey (2008) – directed by Ye’ela Rosenfeld – short
Super Rhino (2009) – directed by Nathan Greno – short
Halloween II (2009) – directed by Rob Zombie
Suck (2009) – directed by Rob Stefaniuk
The Book of Eli (2010)* – directed by Albert and Allen Hughes – uncredited
Barry Munday (2010) – directed by Chris D’Arienzo
Monster Butler (2010) – directed by Doug Johnson – short
Tom and Jerry Meet Sherlock Holmes (2010) – directed by Spike Brandt & Jeff Siergey
Easy A (2010)* – directed by Will Gluck
Pound of Flesh (2010) – directed by Tamar Simon Hoffs
Green Arrow (2010) – directed by Joaquim Dos Santos – short
Superman/Shazam!: The Return of Black Adam (2010) – directed by Joaquim Dos Santos
Lego Hero Factory: Rise of the Rookies (2010) – directed by Mark Baldo – TV movie
L.A., I Hate You (2011) – directed by Yvan Gauthier
Golf in the Kingdom (2011) – directed by Susan Streitfeld
The Unleashed (2011) – directed by Manuel H. Da Silva
Suing the Devil (2011) – directed by Tim Chey – also producer
No Rest for the Wicked: A Basil & Moebius Adventure (2011) – directed by Ryan Schifrin – short
The Artist (2011) – directed by Michel Hazanavicius
Excision (2012) – directed by Richard Bates Jr.
Antiviral (2012) – directed by Brandon Cronenberg
The Philadelphia Experiment (2012) – directed by Paul Ziller – TV movie
Vamps (2012) – directed by Amy Heckerling
Silent Hill: Revelation (2012) – directed by Michael J. Bassett
Home Alone: The Holiday Heist (2012) – directed by Peter Hewitt – TV movie
Silent Night (2012) – directed by Steven C. Miller
A Green Story (2013) – directed by Nick Agiashvili
The Employer (2013) – directed by Frank Merle – also executive producer
Meet the Small Potatoes (2013) – directed by Josh Selig
Zombex (2013) – directed by Jesse Dayton
Metalocalypse: The Doomstar Requiem – A Klok Opera (2013) – directed by Mark Brooks – TV movie
Sanitarium (2013) – directed by Bryan Ortiz, Ryan Ramirez, & Kerry Valderrama – anthology
Richard the Lionheart (2014) – directed by Stefano Milla
Mischief Night (2014) – directed by Travis Baker
Elwood (2014) – directed by Louis Mandylor – short
Shock Value (2014) – directed by Douglas Rath
Free Fall (2014) – directed by Malek Akkad
Tbilisi, I Love You (2015) – directed by Nika Agiashvili, Irakli Chkhikvadze, Levan Glonti, Alexander Kviria, Tako Shavgulidze, Kote Takaishvili, & Levan Tutberidze – anthology
Some Kind of Beautiful (2015) – directed by Tom Vaughn
Scooby-Doo! Moon Monster Madness (2015) – directed by Paul McEvoy
Bereave (2015) – directed by Evangelos & George Giovanis – also executive producer
Oceanus: Act One (2015) – directed by Jeffrey Morris – short
The Soul of a Spy (2015) – directed by Vladimir Bortko
Kids vs Monsters (2015) – directed by Sultan Saeed Al Darmaki
Cowboys & Engines (2015) – directed by Bryn Pryor
31 (2016) – directed by Rob Zombie
The Black Hole (2016) – directed by Mark Steven Grove
Mississippi Murder (2017) – directed by Price Hall
Death Race 2050 (2017) – directed by G.J. Echternkamp
Walk of Fame (2017) – directed by Jesse Thomas
Grow House (2017) – directed by DJ Pooh
American Satan (2017) – directed by Ash Avildsen
Yamasong: March of the Hollows (2017) – directed by Sam Koji Hale
Culture of Fear (2017) – directed by Kayla Tabish
Lady Psycho Killer (2018) – directed by Nathan Oliver
Dreams I Never Had (2018) – directed by Iyad Hajjaj & Mahmoud Kamel – also associate producer
Corbin Nash (2018) – directed by Ben Jagger
Abnormal Attraction (2019) – directed by Michael Leavy
Bombshell (2019) – directed by Jay Roach
The Big Ugly (2020) – directed by Scott Wiper – also executive producer
The Christmas Chronicles: Part Two (2020) – directed by Chris Columbus
Free Lunch Express (2020) – directed by Lenny Britton
Timecrafters: The Treasure of Pirate’s Cove (2020) – directed by Rick Spalla
Blood on the Crown (2021) – directed by Davide Ferrario

Share this: