Malcolm John Taylor was born on June 13, 1943 in Leeds, England, to working-class parents Edna . Today, with more than 100 films under his belt, he is one of the greatest actors in America. He still does not have American citizenship, but he likes the no-nonsense American ways. He resides in the northern suburbs of Los Angeles, California.
His first wife, Margot Bennett , was Keir Dullea s ex-wife. Keir was the main character in Stanley Kubrick s 2001: A Space Odyssey , while McDowell was the main character in Kubricks next film, A Clockwork Orange .
Father of Lilly McDowell and Charlie McDowell. Uncle of Alexander Siddig.
Along with Sir John Gielgud , he is one of only two actors to play both King Arthur and Merlin. He played King Arthur in Arthur the King and Merlin in Kids of the Round Table .
(May 2002) 13 of his films were shown at retrospective tribute at New York Citys Walter Reade Theatre, where he introduces the least known of these, The Connection .
Has said that his favorite actor of all time is James Cagney.
Claims Gangster No. 1 to be his best work since A Clockwork Orange .
Was the first well-known actor to appear non-animated and in the flesh for "South Park" because he is one of Trey Parker s favorite actors and he was specifically requested.
Has appeared in four films involving time travel: Time After Time , Star Trek: Generations , Just Visiting and The Philadelphia Experiment . He auditioned for the role of Al Calavicci on the television series "Quantum Leap" , which would have made 5 times. There was a character in "Quantum Leap" {A Leap for Lisa - June 25, 1957 (#4.22)} played by Roddy McDowall , who was not related (notice the difference in spelling of the last names).
His performance as Alex DeLarge in A Clockwork Orange was ranked 100 on the list of the "100 Greatest Film Performances of All Time" and was ranked 68 on Premiere magazines "100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time".
Currently resides in Santa Barbara, California.
Owns another home in Britain and a summer retreat in Tuscany.
Good friends with Christine Noonan and David Sherwin.
Was captain of the rugby and cricket teams at his high school.
As he wanted to get into the SAG, he took his mothers maiden name McDowell because there was another British actor called Malcolm Taylor.
Born to Charles Taylor, a publican, and his wife Edna McDowell, a hotelier, he grew up with two sisters: Gloria (older) and Judy (younger).
His job as a coffee salesman provided inspiration for O Lucky Man! .
In an interview, he said that a magazine named him "King of Punk" after his appearance in A Clockwork Orange . This is probably because of the punk references that appears in the movie, such as the droogies costume style.
Has been friends with Aubrey Morris ever since they worked together in A Clockwork Orange .
Trained as an actor at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) in London, England.
Has three sons with his wife Kelley McDowell : Beckett Taylor McDowell (born January 29, 2004), Finnian Anderson McDowell (born December 23, 2006) and Seamus Hudson McDowell (born January 7, 2009).
When he went to meet with Stanley Kubrick for the first time, he had little knowledge of film and confused him with Stanley Kramer. In preparation, McDowells friend and mentor, Lindsay Anderson , showed him all of Kubricks films from Paths of Glory to 2001: A Space Odyssey .
As a schoolboy, Malcolm was so bored having to listen to long, tedious speeches by minor local dignitaries at official school functions, when he became a star, he took his revenge. Asked to give the keynote speech at Cannock Schools annual Open Day in 1969, he flew all the way from the United States to attend. Before a packed assembly, he simply announced "I hereby pronounce this Open Day open" and sat down.
Has a fear of reptiles. When Stanley Kubrick learned this while shooting A Clockwork Orange , he introduced Basil, Alexs pet snake.
Is 24 years older than his wife Kelley McDowell.
As he wanted to get into the British Actors Equity, he took his mothers maiden name McDowell because there was another British actor called Malcolm Taylor.
He was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6714 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California on March 16, 2012.
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.
Granddaughter Clementine Mae Watson was born January 2012. Her mother is Malcolms daughter Lilly McDowell Watson.
Has appeared in a scene in A Clockwork Orange with David Prowse , who played Darth Vader in Star Wars. In 2014, he appeared in a cellular telephone commercial with James Earl Jones , who provided Darth Vaders voice. McDowell also appeared in Robot Chicken: Star Wars.
Has appeared in a "South Park" parody of Charles Dickens "Great Expectations", playing a British Person.
Received death threats from overzealous Star Trek fans after his character Dr. Tolian Soran killed Captain James T. Kirk in Star Trek: Generations .
He listened to recordings of H.G. Wells to prepare for the role in Time After Time . According to McDowell, Wells voice was high-pitched and Cockney-accented so he decided not to imitate his voice.
Despite the fact that they played enemies in Blue Thunder , 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 Scheiders funeral because 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 condolence to Scheiders family.
He has two roles in common with his Time After Time co-star David Warner : (1) McDowell played Admiral Geoffrey Tolwyn in Wing Commander III: Heart of the Tiger , Wing Commander IV: The Price of Freedom and "Wing Commander Academy" while Warner played him in Wing Commander and McDowell played Professor Abraham Van Helsing in Suck while Warner played him in "Penny Dreadful" .
He has two roles in common with both Michael York and John Gielgud : (1) McDowell played King Arthur in Arthur the King , York played him in "The Wonderful World of Disney" {A Knight in Camelot (#2.6)} and Gielgud played him in DragonHeart and McDowell played Merlin in Kids of the Round Table , York played him in A Young Connecticut Yankee in King Arthurs Court and Gielgud played him in Quest for Camelot .
During the Ludivico scene in A Clockwork Orange , McDowells eyes were clamped open using a surgical device for eye surgery. The doctor applying eyedrops in the scene was an actual physician who was on hand in case of an injury. Nevertheless, McDowells cornea was accidentally scratched as a result of the eye clamping and he suffered temporary blindness.
During the production of Tinto Brass s infamous epic Caligola , McDowell took members of the production to dinner at an expensive restaurant to celebrate Englands victory in a football match against an Italian team. He left the choreographer to pay for the meal, saying he had forgotten to bring enough money.
He was the first choice for the role of Winston Churchill in Young Winston , which he repeatedly turned down. The role eventually went to Simon Ward.
Although his little known film Night Train to Venice was shown at the Cannes Film Festival in 1993, the film was not released until 1996, and then only in several countries.
He co-starred with his real-life nephew Alexander Siddig in the film Doomsday .
He appeared in the music video "Snuff" by the heavy metal band Slipknot.
His scenes in "Our Friends in the North" had to be shot in one continuous block, as he was only available for a limited time due to living in America.
He was considered for the role of Martin Taylor in Brimstone & Treacle , which went to rock star Sting.
He was considered for the role of Tod Hackett in The Day of the Locust , which went to William Atherton.
He was considered for the lead role of Don Morgan in Mad Dog Morgan , which went to Dennis Hopper.
He was considered for the role of Perseus in Clash of the Titans , which went to Harry Hamlin.
He was Richard Lester s first choice for DArtangan in The Three Musketeers , which went to Michael York.
He was considered for the role of Billy the Kid in Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid , which went to Kris Kristofferson.
He was considered for the role of Pennywise the Dancing Clown in the horror miniseries "It" , which went to Tim Curry.
He was going to have a role in Michael Powell s unmade film version of "The Tempest".
He refused the CBE in 1984 and a knighthood in 1995.
He was originally going to star opposite Robert De Niro in Gangs of New York when Martin Scorsese was developing the project in 1978.
He was considered for the role of Ernest J. Belloq in Pretty Baby , which went to Keith Carradine.
He was considered for the role of Scar in the Disney epic The Lion King , which went to Jeremy Irons.
He was considered for the role of Juan Snchez Villa-Lobos Ramrez in Highlander , which went to Sean Connery.
He turned down the role of Admiral Geoffrey Tolwyn in Wing Commander due to his commitment to "Fantasy Island" . The role went to David Warner. He previously played the role in Wing Commander III: Heart of the Tiger .
He was considered for the role of Francis Bacon in Love Is the Devil: Study for a Portrait of Francis Bacon , which went to Derek Jacobi.
He accepted the villain role in Star Trek: Generations despite not being a Star Trek fan and not liking the script very much, because he was asked, "How would you like to kill Captain Kirk?".
He was the original choice for the role of Peter Smythe in the horror film Black Christmas , which he turned down. The role went to Keir Dullea.
He auditioned for the role of Brian Roberts in Cabaret , which he turned down when he found out that this was not a singing role. The role went to Michael York.
He was offered the roles of John Mallory and Nolan in Gi la testa , but he was busy with O Lucky Man! . The roles went to James Coburn and David Warbeck respectively.
He was interested in guest-starring on "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" , but only if his nephew - Alexander Siddig (who played Dr. Bashir) - would direct the episode. He was offered the role of Hagath in "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" {Business as Usual (#5.18)} , but he was unavailable. The role went to Steven Berkoff , McDowells co-star in A Clockwork Orange .
He was considered for the role of Saruman in Peter Jackson s Lord of the Rings trilogy, which went to Christopher Lee.
He named O Lucky Man! as his favourite film of his own.
Has English and Irish ancestry.
There are no great scripts - just great films.
I did a picture I loved called Time After Time (1979) , and the,people who saw it loved it. We had a big opening in Toronto at the,Festival of Festivals - huge - and they gave us a fabulous reception.
[2012, on his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame] For a lad that grew up,in Liverpool, Hollywood was this notion of everything that was,incredible in the movies, and Hollywood has meant so much for the rest,of the world - we take it, because we live in L. A.
