Malcolm McDowell

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Malcolm McDowell

Malcolm McDowell (born 13 June 1943; age 80) is the prolific British actor who played Doctor Tolian Soran in Star Trek Generations. Hailing from Leeds, Yorkshire in England, McDowell has amassed an acting career which spans well over 150 film and television credits. He is perhaps most famous for his role as the wicked Alex DeLarge in Stanley Kubrick's 1971 film, A Clockwork Orange.

He is the maternal uncle of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine actor Alexander Siddig. Before his appearance as Soran, McDowell wanted to appear on Deep Space Nine, but only if his nephew was directing the episode. This became difficult after Generations, as McDowell would have had to appear as an alien, which was something he did not want to do. Regardless, McDowell never appeared on DS9 before the series ended in 1999.

Career

Films

1960s–1980s

McDowell made his film debut with the starring role in the acclaimed, Cannes Film Festival Golden Palm-winning 1968 drama, If..., in which he plays a revolutionary at an English private school. However, it was his performance in Stanley Kubrick's controversial A Clockwork Orange three years later which attracted McDowell worldwide attention. His acclaimed portrayal in this film earned McDowell a Golden Globe nomination for Best Motion Picture Actor in a Drama and would secure his place as a movie star.

In 1976, McDowell co-starred with Christopher Plummer in the war drama Aces High and then with Star Trek: The Next Generation guest actor Nehemiah Persoff in Voyage of the Damned. He also played the title character of Caligula in 1979; the role had been previously played by TOS guest actor Jay Robinson in two 1950s biblical films. With his roles in Caligula and A Clockwork Orange, McDowell has the distinction of starring in two of the most controversial movies of all time.

McDowell is also known for his role as writer H.G. Wells in the 1979 time travel film Time After Time, under the direction of Nicholas Meyer. In the film, Wells travels to the 20th century in pursuit of Jack the Ripper, who is played by McDowell's fellow Star Trek film actor David Warner. McDowell earned a Saturn Award nomination from the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films for his performance in this film.

McDowell later starred in such films as Cat People (1982, with Ed Begley, Jr. and John Larroquette), Cross Creek (1983, with Alfre Woodard), and Blue Thunder (also 1983, with Anthony James, Jack Murdock, and James Read). In 1983, McDowell starred as rock musician Reggie Wanker in the cult comedy Get Crazy. Also appearing in this film were fellow Star Trek alumni Ed Begley, Jr., Clint Howard, Dick Miller, and Robert Picardo. Five years later, McDowell played a film studio executive in Blake Edwards' film Sunset, with Andreas Katsulas playing his chauffeur. In 1989, McDowell appeared as a warden in the film Buy & Cell, with Tony Plana and Ben Vereen.

1990s–2000s

Throughout the early 1990s, McDowell acted in such films as Jezebel's Kiss (1990, with Meg Foster and Bert Remsen), Moon 44 (1990, with Leon Rippy and Brian Thompson), Class of 1999 (1990, with Patrick Kilpatrick and Lee Arenberg), Bopha! (with Alfre Woodard), and Cyborg 3: The Recycler (1994, with Zach Galligan, Richard Lynch, and Bill Quinn). In the cult 1995 action film Tank Girl, McDowell played the nemesis of the title anti-hero, played by Star Trek: Voyager guest star Lori Petty. Also appearing in this film are the likes of Reg E. Cathey, Ann Cusack, Jeff Kober, and Iggy Pop.

In 1996, McDowell appeared with his Generations co-star LeVar Burton and Voyager guest actor Richard Herd in the science fiction thriller Yesterday's Target. That same year, he co-starred with Kim Cattrall and John Savage in the thriller Where Truth Lies. He later had roles in such films as Mr. Magoo (1997, with Miguel Ferrer), I Spy (2002, with Famke Janssen), and Hidalgo (2004, with Jeff Kober).

McDowell played Dr. Samuel Loomis in the 2007 remake of Halloween, which also starred Brad Dourif, Sid Haig, Clint Howard, and Daniel Roebuck. McDowell also appeared in the 2008 futuristic action thriller, Doomsday, in which he worked alongside his nephew, Alexander Siddig. That same year, McDowell was heard as Dr. Calico ("the man with the green eye") in the animated Disney film Bolt, which also featured the voice of Diedrich Bader.

McDowell has many more films currently in the works. He is currently reprising the role of Dr. Loomis for the sequel, H2: Halloween 2; Brad Dourif and Daniel Roebuck are returning for the sequel, as well. His other upcoming films include Barry Munday (with Michael Durrell, Christopher McDonald, and Matt Winston) and Suck (with Iggy Pop).

Television

Although he is best known for his film roles, McDowell has worked on numerous television projects, as well. In fact, he began his career by appearing on British television programs in the 1960s. Since then, he has starred in many made-for-TV movies and has even made some guest appearances.

Among those shows on which he has made live appearances include Tales from the Crypt, Monk, and Law & Order: Criminal Intent. During the 1998-99 television season, he starred in the short-lived revival of the classic TV series Fantasy Island, working alongside Mädchen Amick. McDowell portrayed Mr. Roarke in this series, the originally played by Ricardo Montalban in the original series. McDowell would reprise the role of Roarke in a 2002 TV special.

Much of McDowell's television work has been voice-over roles for shows like Frasier (starring Kelsey Grammer in the title role) and such animated programs as Batman, Spider-Man, Superman, and Teen Titans. He even worked on the irreverent Comedy Central animated series South Park, appearing (in live action) as "A British Person" (the narrator) in the episode "Pip."

More recently, McDowell played the recurring role of Terence in the HBO series Entourage. In addition, he currently voices the role Vater Orlaag on the Adult Swim animated series Metalocalypse. McDowell also appeared as Mr. Linderman, a villain with the ironic ability to heal others, in the first season of the NBC series Heroes, along with Greg Grunberg, Zachary Quinto, Christine Rose, and George Takei. Despite his character's apparent death at the end of the first season, McDowell returned to the role of Mr. Linderman for the show's third season.

Video games

In addition, McDowell is recognized by video game enthusiasts for his appearance as Geoffrey Tolwyn in several Wing Commander games. McDowell also played the role in the short-lived USA Network series Wing Commander Academy in 1996. His fellow Trek actor and Time and Again co-star David Warner played the role of Tolwyn in the 1999 feature film version of Wing Commander.

McDowell also lent his voice to the 2002 video game Superman: Shadow of Apokolips, along with his Tank Girl co-star Lori Petty, as well as Clancy Brown and Joanna Cassidy. McDowell's voice can also be heard in the 2004 video game Champions of Norrath: Realms of Everquest, as can the voices of Greg Ellis, James Horan, and Tony Jay. In addition, McDowell voiced President John Henry Eden in 2008's Fallout 3, which was narrated by Ron Perlman.

External links

• Malcolm McDowell at Wikipedia
• Template:IMDb-link