MALCOLMMcDOWELL.US's 6TH One-On-One
Interview with Malcolm McDowell

MALCOLMMcDOWELL.US had the great pleasure of speaking to Malcolm after the 1st of the year (2010) about his current and past projects, including—SUING THE DEVIL, his unforgettable experience meeting FLEETWOOD MAC, the SLIPKNOT music video, his return to ENTOURAGE, and much, much more! Check it all out below!

The below one-on-one interview (summary) with Malcolm McDowell was conducted by MALCOLMMcDOWELL.US Webmaster Jenny Clark. MALCOLMMcDOWELL.US sends a huge thanks to Malcolm McDowell and CR Management for making this interview happen!

Jenny: Malcolm thank you for doing this interview for MalcolmMcDowell.US. I know you came back from Australia in December after working on SUING THE DEVIL -- what’s it like playing the Devil in SUING THE DEVIL?

Malcolm: “That was fun”…“I had played [Satan] before in another movie”…“It was a movie that we did a few years ago”… “It was from the Oscar Wilde thing, The Portrait of Dorian Gray--kind of a modernized version of it”… “So, I was actually playing the part again, but very different. The devil in this one is very different. It was a lot of fun. It was a huge amount of work in a very short amount of time.”

Jenny: Tell me about the story.

Malcolm: “Well, it’s about a guy – everything is kind of unraveling in his life and he’s a little bit out of control. He blames everything on the devil, and in the end he decides to go into court and sue the devil. And I answer the suit! It’s sort of a courtroom drama-comedy about this. It’s kind of fun!”	Photo taken on the Set of SUING THE DEVIL Click the image to enlarge. Click here to see more photos from the Set!

Jenny: That sounds very unique. I like that!

Malcolm: “I think it’s very well written. I think it’s terrific. And we’ll see how it comes out. I hope it comes out well.”

Jenny: Well, it sounds very cool. Now, as an actor, when you’re given the role of “The Devil” – in a way that’s kind of an abstract figure, technically he’s not human. Do you approach this kind of character any differently than any of your others?

Malcolm: “No, not at all, because the whole point is that he is very human. Otherwise, it wouldn’t work. Of course he’s very human. He has all the… maybe the traits of humanity that we wish that we didn’t have, perhaps, but that a lot of us do have. And that’s what makes it so much fun to do. He has tremendous energy and charisma and charm, which is what one would expect from a devil because he’s a tempter – and to be able to tempt people you have to be able to ‘woo’ them and engage them, and he does that very well.”

Photos taken on the Set of SUING THE DEVIL. Bottom photo shows Malcolm McDowell with his Manager Chris Roe (center). Click the image to enlarge. Click here to see more photos from the Set!

Jenny: As soon as I heard the title [Suing The Devil] I thought…this movie’s gonna be good -- this movie’s gonna be different!

Malcolm: “I think the script is wonderful. I mean, I thought the script…immediately I read it, I said to Chris [Roe]…I gotta do this movie!”…“If they’re offering it, let’s do it! I was very determined to do it and it worked out pretty well.”

Jenny: Who directed the film?

Malcolm: “Tim Chey, who wrote it also.”

Jenny: Now, when I was talking to Chris Roe, your Manager, he told me that while you guys were in Australia, you both went to a Fleetwood Mac concert and that Lindsey Buckingham dedicated a song to you – tell me what that experience was like!

Malcolm: “Well, it was very surreal and very beautiful. I’ve always been great fan of Fleetwood Mac. I’ve always thought they were one of the great, great groups of all-time. We all know that, and of course, they are. It was interesting that when I first came out to Hollywood – I think it was in ’71 or ’73, I’m not sure which trip, because there were two of them… I remember very distinctly that Warner Bros. had Fleetwood Mac on their label and they were like the hottest band. [Warner Bros.] were so proud of them and they were going on to me about them. I’ve also kind of followed [Fleetwood Mac] from a distance, but I always felt…I always felt that the music spoke very well for me. I always felt kind of, you know…I don’t know what it is…I felt sort of a connection with them. I don’t want that to sound pretentious, but I always felt very comfortable listening to their stuff. It was just weird that I never actually met them in the early days. We could have easily gone to the same parties, but we didn’t. Of course, I knew Susan Fleetwood, who is Mick’s sister, who was a great actress”…“She was a great actress in the Royal Shakespeare Company and in the West End of London for many years. Her name was Susan Fleetwood. I knew her a bit and I always admired and liked her a lot. I thought she was the real deal. And sadly, she passed away, I think in ’97”…“When I met Mick, the first thing he said was – ‘You knew my sister, didn’t you?’ And I said, ‘Yeah I did.’ He goes, ‘I thought so.’ It was really, honestly, like meeting an old friend. Even though I had never met him before, it was like meeting an old friend, because there we were, parts of the seventies …a big part of it, really. And, meeting in Australia, it was fantastic”…“Anyway, he invited us to come to their concert, and we invited some of the kids from the film and they were very excited to go. The concert was incredible. Live, they’re even better than the records. And you don’t realize just how brilliant this Lindsey Buckingham is. They’re all brilliant -- John McVie on the bass, and of course Mick is one of the world’s great drummers, and then you have Stevie Nicks, I mean what more...” …“They’re all hitting it out of the ball park, and there they are all together.”

From left to right: Chris Roe (Malcolm's Manager), Malcolm McDowell and Lindsey Buckingham (Fleetwood Mac)	From Left to right: Chris Roe (Malcolm's Manager), Mick Fleetwood (Fleetwood Mac) and Malcolm McDowell

Jenny: When Chris told me about the concert, I just thought – wow, that’s so amazing!

Malcolm: “It was….I mean Lindsey Buckingham dedicated ‘Big Love’ to me…and I thought maybe it was another Malcolm, because I didn’t know him! But, it wasn’t. And then Mick told me”… “Apparently Lindsey said to him – ‘Is he [Malcolm] in?’ And [Mick] said, ‘Yes.’ And [Lindsey] said, ‘Are you sure?!’ And [Mick] said, ‘Yes, I have it on very good authority that he’s here.’ And [Lindsey] said, ‘All right then!’ So, that was great. I was very touched. It meant a lot to me. It was an amazing thing because I admire them so much.”

Jenny: What an incredible thing to do. Good for them, I’m so glad that they did that.

Malcolm: “Yeah, well it’s absolutely mutual. I’m a huge fan of theirs and they’re very influential and they’re still great”…“I would say that’s as good of an evening that I’ve spent at a rock concert that I’ve ever had in my life. And that’s from going back – way back to seeing…I’ve seen them all, from Jimi Hendrix to the Beatles to a lot of them. So, I think that they are truly something else. As a band they’re amazing.”

Jenny: You know what’s especially cool to me? When you go to conventions and such, all of your fans come out and are so excited and happy to see you…finally here, the situation got to be reversed – you got to be the fan!

Malcolm: “Yeah. Yeah, I did. I went weak at the knees. I was very, very moved. Because what he said was, and I wish I could remember it verbatim, but [Lindsey Buckingham] said something like–‘This is for a friend who has come through the journey like we have.’ [It] was really nice of him to say that. He implied that we had both been on a parallel plane, in a way….and then at the end he just said, ‘Well, this one’s for you Malcolm.’ And it was like…wow! And of course all of my friends were like – Oh my God! They couldn’t believe it!”

Jenny: That’s great!! That gives me chills.

Malcolm: “Yeah, it did me too, I’ll tell you. I’m not often at a loss for words, but I was at that point. It meant an awful lot. Honestly, I think Lindsey Buckingham is an absolute genius at what he does. It’s amazing”…“I think his voice is staggering and just his whole athletic being on the stage, his presence his physicality and his extraordinary guitar playing, I mean it’s mind-boggling. He’s absolutely great. He’s one of the greats and it was certainly…even if I hadn’t have been in Australia to do a movie, it would have been worth it just for that night.”

Jenny: I bet. Good for you, Malcolm. That’s really special and I can’t tell you how happy I am that that happened for you. Now, while you were in Australia, I know you obviously were working hard on the movie and you got to go to the concert -- did you also get to have fun taking in all the sights and sounds of the country?

Malcolm: “I really did because I did the work before I left. I did all the work before I left because I knew it was a small budget, there was no time – one take, move on. Ten pages a day, so that was it. I knew that I better do all the work beforehand, which I did”…“I was well prepared and I didn’t have to worry and all the rest of it, so it was great. I could go out in the evening and have dinner”…“[Sydney is] absolutely one of the world’s most beautiful cities. I guess it’s because it’s so far from anywhere and it hasn’t been ruined”…“It’s absolutely, physically, the most beautiful city on this planet.”

Jenny: Another recent project of yours was a Slipknot music video – for the song “Snuff” – tell me about that!

Malcolm: “I met [Slipknot] in Vegas. Corey [Taylor], the lead singer, he had done this absolutely incredible song”…“He asked me if I’d do it. And, you know, Chris, of course, said – ‘You should do it’”…“And I said, ‘Okay, why not!’ It’s on YouTube and it’s a very nice song. It’s actually a terrific video”…“He’s very talented, that Corey, so I was happy to do it”…“They’re all very talented. They’re amazing, actually.”

Jenny: Let me take you back now – back to September 21st (2009) when there was a screening of Never Apologize at the Edgemar Center, I wanted to know what the response was like.

Malcolm: “They said they loved it. [The Theatre] was full”…“Every time that film plays, it plays amazingly well. At all the festivals I’ve been to, at Cannes, it’s been incredible. I know that audiences respond to it.”

Jenny: Very good. I was thinking about you back on Sept 21 – I’m glad it went so well! Another movie of yours that I think plays amazingly well is Blue Thunder – I recently got to see it.

Malcolm: “Oh, you did? Oh, it is amazing. I mean, it was beautiful on a big screen with those flying sequences”… “It was fun to do. The part I had to play, it was a horrible person… this arrogant…whatever. But, of course, people love to hate that character, and I was happy to oblige!”

Jenny: Were you ever able to look at a real cockpit during filming?

Malcolm: “Oh good Lord, no – I’m not a method actor – you know that, Jenny!”

Jenny: I know, I know – but even so, I thought it might be neat to hang out in a real cockpit…or, perhaps not?

Malcolm: “No, I hate flying. The truth is, I said I would do the part but I wouldn’t do any flying. And they said—‘Oh that’s okay, you won’t have to do it, you’ll be in a mock-up on the back lot.’ But, halfway through the film, [Director] John Badham who’s an extremely nice man, a gentleman and a lovely person – [he] called me into his trailer to show me the chase of the helicopters, and I was absolutely amazed. I went, ‘Oh, is that me?! Oh, that’s so great!’ But he said, ‘Yes, but Malcolm… we can’t do that. We can’t possibly match that on the back lot – we’re gonna to have to put you in the machine and…’ – And I said, ‘Oh my god, you know I hate that. I’ll be sick!’ Anyway, I did it, but I was frightened to death!”…“But [then] I got a call from the head of the studio on the Wednesday, we shot it on Sunday”… “He said, ‘Oh Malcolm, I want you to know there were 80 people from the studio watching the dailies’ – And I said, ‘Oh, really?’ – And he said, ‘Yes, and I must say, we have never laughed so much at seeing you so terrified in that helicopter – I mean, screaming, shouting covering your face, covering your eyes’ – And I said, ‘Yes! That’s exactly what I was doing!’ - And he said, ‘Well, unfortunately, we’ve gotta go back this Sunday and re-do it.’"

Jenny: Oh no!

Malcolm: “So I had to go back and do the whole bloody thing again!”

Jenny: Oh, gosh. Well, you should be very proud of the work you did on the film. I think everyone involved did a terrific job.

Malcolm: “Yeah, everyone involved”…“And John Badham - a very underrated director, and extremely good.”

Jenny: Another film of yours from the past that I recently saw was Disturbed.

Malcolm: “Yeah, how was it?”

Jenny: It was funny! It reminded me of the story of Macbeth…only in a comedic setting!

Malcolm: “Yeah, well that was the only way I could possibly do it. And I said to them, these young guys, I said – ‘Look, I’ll do it if I can do it as a comedy.’ And they said, ‘My God, it opens with a rape!’ And I went, ‘Well, we’re going to have to find a way.’ And that was it.

Jenny: Was it fun returning to Entourage in ’09?

Malcolm: “Oh yeah, it was. It was fun”…“Terrance is a beautiful character, I think, because he’s sort of a bigger monster-- even than Ari. But at the end he had a vulnerability and a heart, and I loved that last scene at the end, which I thought was terrific.”

Jenny: Last thing I’ll mention-- I know you attended different conventions this year and I wanted to tell you I’ve been getting emails from people saying how much they enjoyed meeting you--

Malcolm: “Oh really, are you serious?”

Jenny: Of course, I’m very serious. You always take time to make each fan feel very welcome and good. So, I wanted to thank you – on behalf of all the fans!

Malcolm: “Oh, well that’s nice to know. You know, the thing is, and I feel this-- if you agree to do those things you have to do them whole-heartedly and give the fans what they want and what they deserve, frankly. At the end of the day, it’s people like them that make your career possible”…“I’m glad you’re getting a good response.”

MALCOLMMcDOWELL.US wishes Malcolm the very best on all of his current and future endeavors. Stay tuned to www.MalcolmMcDowell.US for Malcolm McDowell news and information!

MALCOLMMcDOWELL.US thanks CR Management for providing the SUING THE DEVIL and FLEETWOOD MAC photos seen on this page.

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