Malcolm McDowell was catapulted into instant fame when he starred in the 1971 Stanley Kubrick sci-fi classic \u201cA Clockwork Orange.\u201d<\/p>\n
However, the actor, 82, told Page Six in a recent exclusive interview that it was a treacherous time.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think I handled it particularly well, actually,\u201d he shared. \u201cIt actually frightened me somewhat.\u201d<\/p>\n
Malcolm McDowell became a huge star for his role in 1971\u2019s \u201cA Clockwork Orange.\u201d Courtesy Everett Collection<\/p>\n
The dystopian movie was directed by Stanley Kubrick. Courtesy Everett Collection<\/p>\n
McDowell added that he couldn\u2019t really enjoy it.<\/p>\n
\u201cEverybody\u2019s pulling on you,\u201d he explained. \u201cThey don\u2019t allow you really just to enjoy it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Instead, he was inundated with offers and pressured to accept new roles because of the money on the table or who he\u2019d be working with.<\/p>\n
When McDowell would say, \u201cThe script\u2019s very bad,\u201d he was told, \u201cWell, who cares?\u201d<\/p>\n
McDowell explained that after the movie, he was pressured to accept badly written parts for the money. Courtesy Everett Collection<\/p>\n
The actor told Page Six in a recent interview that fame \u201cactually frightened me somewhat.\u201d Page Six<\/p>\n
One film the actor still regrets not doing is Alfred Hitchcock\u2019s final film, 1972\u2019s \u201cFrenzy,\u201d despite an \u201cabsolute rubbish\u201d script.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow, in retrospect, I should have just done the damn movie,\u201d he confessed. \u201cI mean, just to work with him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are a few things I really should have done, you know,\u201d he continued. \u201cBut 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\u2019t be good in certain parts.\u201d<\/p>\n
The actor, seen here in 2024, said he was offered many roles because he was \u201cthe flavor of the month.\u201d malcolm_mcdowell\/instagram<\/p>\n
He transitioned into supporting parts in movies like 2007\u2019s \u201cHalloween.\u201d \u00a9Dimension Films\/Courtesy Everett Collection<\/p>\n
McDowell acknowledged that he was offered many roles because he was the \u201cflavor of the month, every actor at some point, who\u2019s made it, is the flavor of the month.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a very hot period, and then it cools off.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite never achieving that level of fame again, McDowell has carved out an enviable career that has included dozens of film and TV roles, including \u201cStar Trek Generations,\u201d \u201cEntourage,\u201d \u201cMozart in the Jungle,\u201d and Dr. Samuel Loomis in the 2007 remake of \u201cHalloween\u201d as well as its 2009 sequel, \u201cHalloween II.\u201d<\/p>\n
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He also had recurring roles in shows like \u201cEntourage,\u201d which ran from 2004 to 2011. HBO<\/p>\n
The 82-year-old, pictured at the 2022 Toronto Film Festival, said, \u201cThere\u2019ve been a great range of parts I\u2019ve played.\u201d Getty Images<\/p>\n
His latest film is another horror flick, \u201cPsycho Killer,\u201d which follows a police officer on her quest to apprehend a serial killer known as \u201cThe Satanic Slasher,\u201d after he murdered her state trooper husband.<\/p>\n
McDowell is refreshingly clear-sighted about his career, which transitioned into character and supporting parts.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re not worried about what your persona is,\u201d he shared. \u201cYou just do it, do the work as honestly as you can, and move on. And, you know, there\u2019ve been a great range of parts I\u2019ve played, you know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut, I\u2019ve always enjoyed what I do, I think.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Malcolm McDowell was catapulted into instant fame when he starred in the 1971 Stanley Kubrick sci-fi classic \u201cA…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":511918,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[57],"tags":[1508,236,3172,91,88,186,206,12080,126167,78417],"class_list":["post-511917","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-celebrities","tag-actors","tag-celebrities","tag-celebrity-interviews","tag-celebrity-news","tag-entertainment","tag-exclusive","tag-movies","tag-nostalgia","tag-stanley-kubrick","tag-the-70s"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/511917","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=511917"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/511917\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/511918"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=511917"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=511917"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=511917"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}