Malcolm John Taylor, better known by his stage name Malcolm McDowell, is an English actor best known for playing boisterous and nasty parts. He has played a wide range of cinema parts throughout the course of a career spanning more than five decades. He is best known, though, for his contentious performances as Caligula in Tinto Brass’ “Caligula,” DeLarge in “A Clockwork Orange,” and Mick Travis in Lindsay Anderson’s “If…,” “O Lucky Man,” and “Britannia Hospital” trilogies. McDowell, a former pupil of the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, has done some minor television acting, appearing in shows including “Wing Commander Academy,” “TripTank,” and “Jeff & Some Aliens.” He had worked a number of odd jobs before going into acting, including selling coffee for a while. The future actor, who had a reputation for being rebellious and confrontational from an early age, was sent off to boarding school when he was just 11 years old. He was frequently beaten for his misbehavior there. He also started to become interested in acting at this time. He then underwent specialist training in the area before beginning a wildly successful acting career. His deep raspy voice and dark blue eyes have become recognizable characteristics of him throughout time. The English actor has five children total, including film director Charlie McDowell, and has been married three times.
Early Childhood & Life
Malcolm John Taylor was Malcolm McDowell’s given name when he was born on June 13, 1943, in Horsforth, West Riding of Yorkshire, England. His father Edna Taylor ran a hotel, while his father Charles Taylor ran a bar. He grew up with his two sisters, Judy and Gloria.
After his father was assigned there, McDowell moved there. He was sent to the Tunbridge Boarding School when he was 11 years old, and he then attended the Cannock House School in Eltham, Kent. He discovered his love for performing while still in school.
To pursue a career in acting, he enrolled at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts (LAMDA). McDowell was also employed by a nut plant and his father’s bar. He worked many odd jobs when the tavern went out of business to help his family.
The Career of Malcolm McDowell
In 1968, Lindsay Anderson’s movie “If…”, starring Malcolm McDowell as Mick Travis, was released. Then, in the early 1970s, he made appearances in the movies “Figures in a Landscape,” “The Raging Moon,” and “A Clockwork Orange.” In the sequel to the trilogy, “O Lucky Man,” and the third film, “Britannia Hospital,” he played Mick Travis once more.
The actor appeared on stage in plays during the 1970s, including “The Collection.” He appeared in the French war movie “Aces High” in 1975. He worked on the film “Voyage of the Damned” the following year.
He appeared in the 1978 and 1979 movies “She Fell Among Thieves” and “Caligula,” respectively. McDowell also made his way to Hollywood in 1979, where he made his acting debut in the movie “Time After Time” as H. G. Wells.
He played F.E. Cochrane in the 1983 action movie “Blue Thunder.”
He performed as Wolf in the Faerie Tale Theatre’s production of “Little Red Riding Hood” in the same year and played Reggie Wanker in the film “Get Crazy.”
In 1984, the English actor served as the narrator of the documentary “The Complete Beatles.” He worked on the TV movies “Arthur the King” and “Gulag” in 1985. He played Christopher Quinn in the television movie “Monte Carlo” a year later. Following this, he received roles in the films “The Caller,” “Buy & Cell,” “Sunset,” and “Mortacci.”
McDowell played Hubert Bailey in the 1992 film “Chain of Desire.” He portrayed the eccentric Dr. Tolian Soran in “Star Trek Generations” two years later. He also appeared in the 1994 television film “The Man Who Wouldn’t Die.”
In 1995, he appeared in the science fiction/action comedy movie Tank Girl. As Commodore Geoffrey Tolwyn, he joined the cast of the television program “Wing Commander Academy” in 1996.
The actor voiced characters in the animated programs “Superman: The Animated Series,” “Can of Worms,” and “Captain Simian & the Space Monkeys” in the late 1990s.
In the 2000 British crime film “Gangster No. 1,” he played a brief but memorable mobster. In the film “The
Company” in 2003, he portrayed “Mr. A,” a director of the Joffrey Ballet in Chicago. McDowell also worked on the film “I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead” that year.
He made two appearances in “Teen Titans” episodes from 2003 to 2004. On “Law & Order: Criminal Intent,” he subsequently played Jonas Slaughter. He started as Mr. Linderman on NBC’s “Heroes” in 2007. He also made an appearance in “Halloween” same year as Dr. Samuel Loomis. He appeared in a Sky episode of “Masters of Science Fiction” that same year.
In 2009, Malcolm McDowell starred in the rock & roll movie “Suck.” He had a cameo appearance in the Slipknot music video “Snuff” in December of the same year. He portrayed Satan in the comedy-thriller movie “Suing the Devil” two years later. He was also cast as Stanton Infeld in the TNT sitcom “Franklin & Bash” about the same time.
He performed in the 2012 Oscar-winning picture “The Artist,” as well as the horror thrillers “Vamps” and “Silent Hill: Revelation.” In 2013, McDowell appeared in the short film “Cowboys & Engines.” In the same year, he appeared in the film “Richard the Lionheart” as King Henry II.
He starred as Cloud/Priest/Fart Philosopher in the adult animation series “TripTank” from 2015 to 2016. He also provided the Dr. Monty voiceover for the video games “Call of Duty: Black Ops III” and “Call of Duty: Revelations” at this time. Additionally, at this time, the actor played Father Murder in the movie “31.”
He provided the voices for the animated sitcoms “We Bare Bears” and “Jeff & Some Aliens” in 2017. He provided the voice for “Minister Hydan” in the television series “Star Wars Rebels” the following year.
Bigger Works of Malcolm McDowell
In the black comic satire “The Player” from 1992, Malcolm McDowell starred as himself. The lead character Griffin Mill gets reprimanded by the actor in Robert Altman’s film for disparaging him behind his back. Additionally, Tim Robbins, Fred Ward, and Greta Scacchi were featured in the movie.
The Employer, a horror movie, featured the English actor in the title role in 2013. In this film, McDowell conducts interviews with five applicants for a position at an unidentified, formidable company. He won the Best Actor prize at the Los Angeles Movie Awards for his role in the movie. Additionally, the movie went on to win Best Thriller at the Illinois International Film Festival.
Individual Life of Malcolm McDowell
Margot Bennett, an actress and publicist, and Malcolm McDowell were previously wed from 21 April 1975 to 15 September 1980. He wed actress Mary Steenburgen just a few days after divorcing her. Before getting divorced in 1990, the couple had two kids: Charles Malcolm and Lilly Amanda.
The English actor is currently wed to Kelley Kuhr, who is 24 years his junior. Beckett Taylor, Finnian Anderson, and Seamus Hudson are the couple’s three sons. McDowell resides in Santa Barbara, California, at the moment.
Alexander Siddig, a British-Sudanese actor who acted with him in the 2008 movie “Doomsday,” is related to McDowell through his mother.
Estimated Net Worth of Malcolm McDowell
The estimated net worth of Malcolm McDowell is around $1 million.
Trivia
His 1973 movie “O Lucky Man!” was inspired by his work as a coffee salesman.
Following the assassination of Captain James T. Kirk by his character, Dr. Tolian Soran, in the film “Star Trek: Generations,” the actor received death threats from Star Trek enthusiasts.