Malcolm McDowell Height, Weight, Age, Facts, Biography

Malcolm McDowell is an English actor, producer, and TV presenter whose illustrious and prolific acting career has spanned more than 5 decades. He is best known for his work in films such as If…. (1968), A Clockwork Orange (1971), O Lucky Man! (1973), Caligula (1979), Blue Thunder (1983), Star Trek Generations (1994), Gangster No. 1 (2000), Halloween (2007), Richard the Lionheart (2013), and Bombshell (2019). He is also well recognized for portraying characters such as Mr. Roarke in the fantasy drama TV series Fantasy Island (1998–1999), Terrance McQuewick in the comedy-drama TV series Entourage (2005–2011), Daniel Linderman in the superhero drama TV series Heroes (2006–2007), Stanton Infeld in the comedy-drama TV series Franklin & Bash (2011–2014), Thomas Pembridge in the comedy-drama streaming TV series Mozart in the Jungle (2014–2018).

Born Name

Malcolm John Taylor

Nick Name

Mick, King of Punk

Sun Sign

Gemini

Born Place

Horsforth, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom

Residence

Ojai, Ventura County, California, United States

Nationality

Education

Malcolm had attended the Tonbridge School, a public, independent day and boarding school for boys in Tonbridge, Kent, England. He had also studied at the Cannock House School in Eltham, Kent.

He later joined The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA), a drama school in Hammersmith, London. It is the oldest specialist drama school in the British Isles.

Occupation

Actor, Producer, TV Presenter

Family

• Father – Charles Taylor (Pub Owner, Former Officer of the RAF (Royal Air Force), the United Kingdom’s air and space force)
• Mother – Edna McDowell (Hotelier)
• Siblings – Judy Taylor (Younger Sister), Gloria Taylor (Older Sister) (Model, Theatrical Press Agent) (d. February 2001)
• Others – El Tahir El Mahdi (Ex-Brother-in-Law), Alexander Siddig (Nephew) (Actor, Director), Nana Visitor aka Nana Tucker (Ex-Niece-in-Law) (Actress), Django El Tahir El Siddig (Grand Nephew), Michael Birkett (Brother-in-Law) (Film Producer, Director, Author) (d. 2015), Thomas Birkett (Nephew), Lily Collins (Daughter-in-Law) (Actress, Model), Phil Collins (Brother-in-Law) (Drummer, Singer, Songwriter, Record Producer, Actor), Jill Tavelman (Sister-in-Law) (Former President of the Beverly Hills Women’s Club), Charles Abram Walton (Son-in-Law), Frederick Taylor (Paternal Grandfather), Louisa Tyrer (Paternal Grandmother), Albert Edward McDowell (Maternal Grandfather), Ellen Spencer (Maternal Grandmother), Maurice Hoffman Steenburgen (Ex-Father-in-Law) (Former Freight Train Conductor) (d. 1989), Nellie Mae Wall (Ex-Mother-in-Law) (Former School Board Secretary) (d. 2010), Nancy Kelly (née Steenburgen) (Ex-Sister-in-Law) (Teacher)

Net Worth

Malcolm McDowell’s net worth had been $40 million according to CelebrityNetWorth.com.

Build

Average

Height

5 ft 9 in or 175 cm

Weight

79 kg or 174 lbs

Girlfriend / Spouse

Malcolm has dated –

1. Margot Bennett (1969–1980) – Malcolm began dating American publicist and former actress Margot Bennett in March 1969. They eventually got married on April 21, 1975, in a ceremony held in London. They had parted ways in 1978 and got divorced in September 1980.
2. Mary Steenburgen (1978–1990) – He started dating American actress, comedian, singer, and songwriter Mary Steenburgen in 1978 after meeting her on the sets of the American science fiction film Time After Time (1979). The couple got married on September 29, 1980, and have 2 children together – a daughter named Lilly Amanda McDowell (Actress) (b. January 22, 1981) and a son named Charles Malcolm ‘Charlie’ McDowell (Film Director, Writer) (b. July 10, 1983). Through Lilly, he has a granddaughter named Clementine Mae Walton (b. January 2012). Malcolm and Mary filed for divorce in 1989 which was finalized in October 1990.
3. Kelley Kuhr (1990-Present) – Malcolm began dating an artist named Kelley Kuhr, 24 years his junior, in 1990. The couple got married on November 12, 1991. They have 3 sons together named Beckett Taylor McDowell (b. January 2004), Finnian Anderson McDowell (b. December 2006), and Seamus Hudson McDowell (b. January 2009).

Race / Ethnicity

White

He is primarily of English, and part Scottish and Irish descent.

Hair Color

Gray

Eye Color

Blue

Sexual Orientation

Straight

Distinctive Features

• Mildly stocky frame
• Receding hairline
• Sports a rugged beard
• Affable smile
• Raspy, deep-throated voice
• Broad, bulbous nose

Brand Endorsements

He has been featured in the TV/Radio commercials for –

• McDonald’s (the 1990s) (Radio)
• Kay Jewelers (2008) (TV) (Voice-over)
• Sprint Corporation’s One up cell phone service (2013) (TV), with James Earl Jones
• Amazon Fire TV (2015) (TV) (Voice-over)

Malcolm McDowell Facts

1. Born in Horsforth, West Yorkshire, Malcolm, and his family had moved to Bridlington, East Riding of Yorkshire, when he was quite young. This was because his father, a Royal Air Force officer, at that time, was stationed there.
2. The family later moved to Liverpool where he grew up. He soon became a fan of English soccer giants Liverpool F.C. and is now a lifelong supporter of the club.
3. He was the captain of the rugby and cricket teams at his high school. He had also started taking acting classes while he was still in school.
4. As a teenager, he had taken up a job in a nut factory of the Planters Nut & Chocolate Company (an American snack food company) in Aintree, a village and civil parish in Sefton, Merseyside, England.
5. He also used to work at his parents’ pub in Burscough, Lancashire, but lost his job when the pub went bankrupt. He then worked several odd jobs including coffee salesman and messenger.
6. After his stint at The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, he initially secured work as an extra with the Royal Shakespeare Company, a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England.
7. His first film role was in the British kitchen-sink drama movie Poor Cow (1967) but his 2-minute scene was cut from the completed film.
8. As he wanted to become a member of the British Actors’ Equity Association (a trade union for creative workers in the United Kingdom), he had started using Malcolm McDowell (utilizing his mother’s last name) as his stage name. This was because his birth name, Malcolm John Taylor, was similar to another British actor called Malcolm Taylor.
9. During the shooting of a pivotal scene of the 1971 dystopian crime film A Clockwork Orange, the film that gave him worldwide fame, Malcolm’s eyes were clamped open using a surgical device.
10. The doctor applying eyedrops on his eyes in that scene was an actual physician who had been invited to take over in case of any accidental injury during the filming of this difficult scene. Despite all the precautionary measures that were undertaken, Malcolm’s cornea was accidentally scratched and he suffered temporary blindness.
11. Around 1979, as the British film industry collapsed, he was forced to move to the United States to continue working.
12. In the mid-1980s, years of alcohol and drug abuse had taken a toll on him, turning his black hair gray. Because he looked much older than he was, there was a scarcity of acting roles for him. This forced him to act in many B-rated movies in the late 1980s.
13. He refused the CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) in 1984 and a knighthood (Knight Bachelor of the Order of the British Empire) in 1995.
14. He has lent his voice to characters in several video games including Adm. Geoffrey Tolwyn in Wing Commander III: Heart of the Tiger (1994), Dr. Tolian Soran in Star Trek Generations (1997), Pres. John Henry Eden in Fallout 3 (2008), Daedalus in God of War III (2010), Molag Bal in The Elder Scrolls Online (2014), and Dr. Monty in Call of Duty: Black Ops III (2016).
15. He is herpetophobic (someone who has a fear of reptiles).
16. He was awarded a ‘Star’ on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on March 16, 2012.
17. In September 2012, he underwent 3-and-a-half-hour emergency surgery on his eye for what was discovered to be a detached retina.

Featured Image by Malcolm McDowell / Instagram