More than 50 years after his breakout performance in “A Clockwork Orange,” actor Malcolm McDowell is reflecting on the intense fame that followed — and admits it was not something he handled easily.
According to an interview with Page Six, the now 82-year-old actor shot to international recognition after starring in the 1971 film directed by Stanley Kubrick.
While the movie became a landmark in cinema, McDowell said the sudden spotlight that came with it was unsettling.
“I don’t think I handled it particularly well, actually,” he said in a recent interview with Page Six. “It actually frightened me somewhat.”
According to McDowell, the rapid rise to fame left little room to simply enjoy the success of the film.
“Everybody’s pulling on you,” he explained. “They don’t allow you really just to enjoy it.”
He said the attention quickly turned into a flood of new job offers. Many of the projects, he recalled, were pushed on him not because of the scripts themselves but because of the money involved or the people attached to the productions.
When McDowell would question the quality of a script, he said the response from others in the industry was often blunt.
“The script’s very bad,” he would say.
“Well, who cares?” was the answer he remembered hearing.
Looking back on his early career decisions, one opportunity still stands out as a regret. McDowell said he turned down a role in “Frenzy,” the final film directed by Alfred Hitchcock.
Even though he believed the script was “absolute rubbish,” he now thinks the experience of working with the legendary filmmaker would have been worth it.
“Now, in retrospect, I should have just done the damn movie,” he said. “I mean, just to work with him.”
Reflecting on the choices he made at the time, McDowell said he tried to be realistic about the roles he accepted.
“There are a few things I really should have done, you know,” he said. “But you know, at the time, I think the decisions I made about my career were because I knew what I could do and I knew what my limits were, and I knew that I wouldn’t be good in certain parts.”
He also acknowledged that the surge of opportunities he received was a common experience for actors who suddenly become popular.
“I was the ‘flavor of the month,’ every actor at some point, who’s made it, is the flavor of the month,” he said. “It’s a very hot period, and then it cools off.”
Although he never reached quite the same level of fame again, McDowell built a long and steady career with roles across film and television.
His credits include “Star Trek Generations,” the HBO series “Entourage,” and the Amazon series “Mozart in the Jungle.” He also portrayed Dr. Samuel Loomis in the 2007 remake of “Halloween” and its 2009 sequel “Halloween II.”
McDowell continues acting today, most recently appearing in the horror film “Psycho Killer,” which follows a police officer searching for a serial killer known as “The Satanic Slasher” after the murder of her state trooper husband.
Looking back on his decades in the industry, McDowell said he has come to appreciate the variety of roles he has played over the years.
“You’re not worried about what your persona is,” he said. “You just do it, do the work as honestly as you can, and move on. And, you know, there’ve been a great range of parts I’ve played, you know.”
“But, I’ve always enjoyed what I do, I think.”
