A biography for Malcolm McDowellhasn’t been written yet.
“I'm not quite as buoyant as I was in my youth.”
“The villains that I play, I always think that they are grounded, wonderful people with enormous intellects who are very exciting to spend an evening with. I never see them as bad people.”
“I am a professional actor, and I don't go about moralizing about what the character does. Otherwise, seriously, why be an actor? You're not making some kind of social statement. That's not what actors do.”
“Every university in America teaches 'Clockwork Orange.' I get fed up with it.”
“My favorite actor who played villains - who could play anything, really - was Jimmy Cagney.”
“You know, I've had an incredible career and I'm blessed.”
“If you dunk your head in cold water, you can't stay under for more than five seconds. I mean, that's it.”
“I love doing every role I do!”
“If you look a little punkish, then they're going to give you the parts. And if you play an iconic villain early on in your career, you tend to get asked to play one over and over and over again.”
“Once you commit to something, you've got to commit the whole way. Try and make the best of it.”
“I never do research unless it's extraordinary circumstances.”
“I think we're all a little afraid of the dark. If you lived in the country, as I did, there's nothing quite like country dark, which was really black. And as a child, your imagination runs wild.”
“I don't worry about whether I'm making a masterpiece, because I know that if you get just one of those in a lifetime, you should get down on your knees and say 'Thank you!'”
“Let's not get too precious about it: actors are not heart surgeons or brain surgeons. We are just entertaining people.”
“I've always been one to do the work and just hone my craft.”
“I just take it as it comes, and if I'm not offered something, there's always a reason, and usually it's a pretty good one. I'm not worried about it. You know, I've had an incredible career, and I'm blessed.”
“An actor cannot be a censor. I'm there to interpret.”
“I just love a challenge, and always have, and will do anything to make it interesting. I'll try anything, really, as long as it's a challenge and you can have some fun doing it.”
“I'm from a country where acting is taken very seriously; it's a very serious profession.”
“It is true I'd rather get a hole in one than win an Academy Award.”