Veteran Actor Malcolm McDowell Talks New Series and ‘Clockwork Orange’

For over six decades, Malcolm McDowell has been in projects big and small. He's been in hundreds of movies and TV shows and has even loaned his voice to several video game franchises. More recently, on top of many movie projects, McDowell has been a recurring presence on the CBC show Son of a Critch.

A Canadian production currently in the middle of its third season, Son of a Critch might be unfamiliar to many American viewers. However, it's easily streamable on The CW app. Malcolm McDowell, who played Alex DeLarge in A Clockwork Orange and Dr. Samuel Loomis in Rob Zombie's Halloween movies, was kind enough to join me on the phone to talk about Son of a Critch as well as his work with the late, great Stanley Kubrick.

In our conversation, McDowell felt like the British grandfather I didn't know I wanted. He's eloquent and worldly, and he clearly loves reminiscing and telling stories. Focusing on the present, however, Son of a Critch is a show based off of its creator's, Mark Critch, early-life experiences. McDowell plays "Pop," young Mark's surly grandpa who gives him ("mostly terrible," per McDowell) advice:

The series is a coming of age story based on the childhood and adolescence of Canadian comedian Mark Critch. At the start of the series, 11-year-old Mark is growing up in 1980s Newfoundland, where he navigates starting junior high school, making friends, and connecting with the small collection of people in his limited world. - the plot of Son of a Critch, per CBC's website

McDowell also talked extensively about how he landed the role of Alex DeLarge in the beloved-yet-controversial film A Clockwork Orange. It also served as a platform for him to speak about his work with Stanley Kubrick, one of the best directors cinema has ever seen:

[Stanley] Kubrick was, in my mind, one of the greatest directors who ever lived. The reason I say that is because he made masterpieces in every single kind of genre. It wasn't just [westerns, comedies ....], he did it all, and he made arguably some of the best movies that have ever been made. Tremendous, incredible [....] I knew that I was in the presence of somebody very special, his intellect was very extraordinary - Malcolm McDowell

McDowell's details about working with Kubrick led him to discussing him pioneering the Steadicam and how he shot the climax of 2001: A Space Odyssey in his kitchen. To hear McDowell share these stories was nothing short of priceless.

Beyond A Clockwork Orange, McDowell has been in numerous movies and shows (enough to a Wikipedia article dedicated exclusively to his filmography). One of my favorite McDowell performances was his turn as Dr. Samuel Loomis in both Rob Zomie's Halloween (2007) and its sequel. McDowell has become a modern horror icon, appearing in dozens of projects.

Take a listen to my interview with Malcolm McDowell below, and be sure to check out Son of a Critch on The CW's website: