Anecdotes

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 School's 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.

His performance as Alex DeLarge in Orange mécanique (1971) was ranked 100 on the list of the "100 Greatest Film Performances of All Time" and was ranked 68 on Premiere magazine's "100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time".

Was the first well-known actor to appear non-animated and in the flesh for South Park (1997) because he is one of Trey Parker's favorite actors and he was specifically requested. He appeared in a South Park parody of Charles Dickens' classic novel "Great Expectations", playing the narrator and simply calling himself A British Person (2000).

Trained as an actor at the prestigious London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts (LAMDA), the United Kingdom's oldest drama school.

Has a deep fear of reptiles. When Stanley Kubrick learned this while shooting Orange mécanique (1971), he introduced Basil, Alex's pet snake. The explained purpose was to make Alex DeLarge seem more intimidating, but with lesser importance this functioned as a prank by Kubrick.

His job as a coffee salesman provided inspiration for Le Meilleur des mondes possible ! (1973).

Claims Gangster Number One (2000) to be his best work since Orange mécanique (1971).

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, McDowell's friend and mentor, Lindsay Anderson, showed him most of Kubrick's films from Les Sentiers de la gloire (1957) to 2001 : L'Odyssée de l'espace (1968).

He was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6714 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California on March 16, 2012. Gary Oldman, Rob Zombie, Mark-Paul Gosselaar and longtime friend Mike Kaplan were guest speakers at the ceremony.

His granddaughter Clementine Mae Walton was born in January 2012. Her mother is Malcolm's daughter Lilly McDowell Walton.

In an interview, he said that a magazine named him "King of Punk" after his appearance in Orange mécanique (1971). This is probably because of the punk references that appears in the movie, such as the droogies costume style.

Is 24 years older than his wife Kelley McDowell.

Currently resides in Santa Barbara, California.

Along with Sir John Gielgud and Michael York, he is one of three actors to play both King Arthur and Merlin. He played King Arthur in L'épée du sorcier (1985) and Merlin in Kids of the Round Table (1995).

His first wife, Margot Bennett, was also Keir Dullea's first wife. Dullea was the main character in Stanley Kubrick's 2001 : L'Odyssée de l'espace (1968), while McDowell was the main character in Kubrick's next film, Orange mécanique (1971).

Has said that his favourite actor of all time is James Cagney.

As he wanted to get into the Screen Actors Guild (SAG), he took his mother's maiden name McDowell because there was another British actor named Malcolm Taylor.

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, which McDowell attributed to previous eye problems stemming while filming Orange mécanique (1971).

Born to Charles Taylor, a publican, and his wife Edna McDowell of Clan MacDowall, a hotelier, he grew up with two sisters: Gloria (older) and Judy (younger).

Was captain of the rugby and cricket teams at his high school.

Has appeared in four films involving time travel: C'était demain (1979), Star Trek : Générations (1994), Les Visiteurs en Amérique (2001) and Le Projet Philadelphia : L'Expérience interdite (2012). He auditioned for the role of Al Calavicci on the television series Code Quantum (1989), which would have made five times. There was a character in A Leap for Lisa - June 25, 1957 (1992) played by Roddy McDowall, who was not related (notice the dissimilarity in spelling of the last names).

As he wanted to get into the British Actors' Equity, he took his mother's maiden name McDowell because there was another British actor named Malcolm Taylor.

13 of his films were shown at retrospective tribute at New York City's Walter Reade Theatre. (mai 2002)

Was good friends with Christine Noonan and David Sherwin.

Has worked with David Warner in C'était demain (1979). Both stars appeared in the very popular Star Trek series. Warner appeared in Star Trek VI : Terre inconnue (1991) and McDowell appeared in Star Trek : Générations (1994).

Has worked with Alice Krige in the psychological horror film She Will (2021). Both stars appeared in the very popular Star Trek series. McDowell appeared in Star Trek : Générations (1994) and Krige appeared in Star Trek : Premier Contact (1996).

Has appeared in a scene in Orange mécanique (1971) with David Prowse, who played Darth Vader in Star Wars. In 2014, he appeared in a cellular television commercial with James Earl Jones, who provided Darth Vader's voice. McDowell also appeared in Robot Chicken: Star Wars (2007).

As of 2018, has appeared in two films that were nominated for the Best Picture Oscar: Orange mécanique (1971) and The Artist (2011). Of those, The Artist (2011) is a winner in the category.

He has appeared in one film that has been selected for the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant": Orange mécanique (1971).

He has two roles in common with his C'était demain (1979) co-star David Warner. (1) McDowell played Admiral Geoffrey Tolwyn in Wing Commander III: Heart of the Tiger (1994), Wing Commander IV: The Price of Freedom (1995) and Wing Commander Academy (1996) and Warner played him in Wing Commander (1999) and (2) McDowell played Professor Van Helsing in Suck (2009) and Warner played him Penny Dreadful (2014).

He has two roles in common with both Michael York and Sir John Gielgud. (1) McDowell played King Arthur in L'épée du sorcier (1985), York played him in Le chevalier hors du temps (1998) and Gielgud played him in Cœur de dragon (1996) and (2) McDowell played Merlin in Kids of the Round Table (1995), York played him in Arbalète et rock'n roll (1995) and Gielgud played him Excalibur, l'épée magique (1998).

Pictured as the character Dr. Tolian Soran as one of a set of 18 British commemorative postage stamps issued 13 November 2020, celebrating the "Star Trek" television and film franchise. Stamps were issued as 12 individual stamps, honoring captains and crew members; and 6 stamps in a single souvenir sheet, highlighting heroes and villains. All stamps were nondenominated and marked first class (76p on day of issue). Others honored by this set are William Shatner, Patrick Stewart, Avery Brooks, Kate Mulgrew, Scott Bakula, Jason Isaacs, Leonard Nimoy, Marina Sirtis, Alexander Siddig, Dominic Keating, Sonequa Martin-Green, Shazad Latif, Simon Pegg, Tom Hardy, David Warner, Alice Eve, and Idris Elba.

Despite the fact that they played enemies in Tonnerre de feu (1983), 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 Scheider's funeral on account 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 condolences to Scheider's family.

During the Ludivico scene in Orange mécanique (1971), McDowell's eyes were clamped open using a surgical device for eye surgery. The doctor applying eyedrops in the scene was a actual physician who was on hand in case of an injury. Nevertheless, McDowell's cornea was accidentally scratched as a result of the eye clamping and he suffered temporary blindness.

During the production of Tinto Brass' infamous epic Caligula (1979), McDowell took members of the production team to dinner at an expensive restaurant to celebrate England's victory in a football match against an Italian team. However, he leave the choreographer to pay for the huge meal, saying he had forgotten to bring enough money.

He was interested in guest starring on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993), but only once his nephew - Alexander Siddig (who played Dr. Bashir) - would direct the episode. He was offered the role of Hagath in Business as Usual (1997), but he was unavailable. The role went to Steven Berkoff, McDowell's co-star in Orange mécanique (1971).

He accepted the villain role in Star Trek : Générations (1994) despite not being a huge fan of Star Trek and not liking the screenplay very much, because he was asked "How would you like to kill Captain Kirk?". He later received death threats from overzealous Star Trek fans after his character Dr. Tolian Soran killed Captain James T. Kirk.

Had a very close relationship with director Stanley Kubrick while filming Orange mécanique (1971). After filming wrapped, he was deeply upset when Kubrick seemed uninterested into continuing their friendship and never contacted him again.

He listened to recordings of the immortal H.G. Wells to prepare for the role in C'était demain (1979). According to McDowelll, Wells' voice was high-pitched and had a Southeast London accent so he decided not to imitate his voice.

Has an uncredited cameo appearance in the horror thriller Froid comme la mort (1987). His photograph was featured in the film, which Mary Steenburgen's character autographs. He was married to Steenburgen at the time, the film's star.

His scenes in the miniseries Our Friends in the North (1996) were filmed into one continuous block as opposed to the production. He was only available for three weeks in the United Kingdom on account of residing in the United States.

He was offered the roles of John H. Mallory and Sean Nolan in Il était une fois... la révolution (1971), but he was busy with Le Meilleur des mondes possible ! (1973). The roles went to James Coburn and David Warbeck, respectively.

He auditioned for the role of Brian Robbins in Bob Fosse's musical drama Cabaret (1972), which he turned down when he found out that this was not a singing role. The role eventually went to Michael York.

He was the first choice for the role of Sir Winston Churchill in Baron Richard Attenborough's epic movie Les griffes du lion (1972), which he repeatedly turned down. The role eventually went to Simon Ward.

He turned down the role of Admiral Geoffrey Tolwyn in Wing Commander (1999) on account of his commitment to Fantasy Island (1998). The role went to David Warner. He previously played the role in Wing Commander III: Heart of the Tiger (1994).

He was originally going to star opposite Robert De Niro in Gangs of New York (2002) when Martin Scorsese was developing the project in 1978. The lead role eventually went to Leonardo DiCaprio.

He declined to be awarded the CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) in 1984, and a knighthood (Knight Bachelor of the Order of the British Empire) in 1995.

He was going to have a role in Michael Powell's unmade film version of "The Tempest".

He co-starred with his real-life nephew Alexander Siddig in the film Doomsday (2008).

Father of Lilly McDowell and Charlie McDowell. Father-in-law of actress Lily Collins.