Star of the new
By Tim Ryan
'Fantasy Island' is as passionate
about his toy collection as
he is about acting
Star-BulletinTHE man who killed Captain Kirk, who, as "Clockwork Orange's" Alex, raped and murdered his way through a near-future London, and who in "If..." led an armed revolt in an English private school, may not be as tough a guy as you think.
Sitting in his air-conditioned, neat-as-a-pin trailer outside the "Fantasy Island" studio in Halawa Valley, Malcolm McDowell talks intently and passionately, about, uh, toys. Not just your run-of-the-mill Toys 'R' Us stuff. But very special toys; more expensive than what any kid can afford, and not the kind you actually play with.
They're called American Friction Toys, pressed steel vehicles popular from about 1895 to the early 1930s.
As luck would have it, one of the finest collections in the United States is just down the street from this sound stage, at Rick Ralston's Crazy Shirts.
"I'm becoming a big friend of Rick's, much too close really," McDowell said, smiling. "He has one of the finest collections I've ever seen. And it's a delight to get together with him and chat about the stuff."
It's more than just talk. McDowell has purchased a few pieces -- "Far too much," he admits. And the "Fantasy Island" television series at McDowell's urging has rented some pieces for Mr. Roarke's desk."It's perfect for his character," McDowell said.
The toys, also known as gyro toys, use a fly wheel that when pushed along the ground causes the wheels to spin and propel the toy. They sell for between $200 and $900; rare pieces may cost as much as $1,800, Ralston said.
McDowell and Ralston were introduced by "Fantasy Island's" set decorator Rick Romer.
"Talk about a fantasy. There are so few people who collect these toys and here's Malcolm and me just a few blocks from one another," Ralston said. "He has a good eye for the stuff and knows quality. He's a knowledgeable collector."
The two men don't get down on their hands and knees like kids and scream "vroom, vroom" when they push the toys across the floor, but they do discuss the merits of the various toys, rare ones, and where you can find the things, Ralston said.
In fact, McDowell owns an extremely rare early piece circa 1890 which Ralston has been trying to figure out for years.
"It has a wood frame, big iron wheels and a platform with something that obviously goes on top," Ralston said. "I've written to the most knowledgeable collectors on the subject and no one knew. But Malcolm knew because he has it. It's a rocking chair."
Known for his chilling portrayals of villains, McDowell says there's another side to him people may not realize.
"Even my darkest work is comedic," he said. "It may sound a bit odd, but I think everything I do is a bit comedic."
McDowell certainly has a dark side in this '90s version of "Fantasy Island," but he also keeps many moments light, especially when he torments his on screen co-stars.
"Yes there is some philosophizing and moral lessons but I think the real fun of the show, at least for me, is that I'm constantly terrorizing these two (co-workers, Edward Hibbert as Harry and Louis Lombardi as Cal), he said.McDowell is philosophical that so much of his career has been spent playing villians.
"This is the slot I've been dealt," he said, "but that's not me at all, or that's me as an actor."
But McDowell likes the dark side.
"I don't really like syrupy, sentimental schlock," he said. "Sentimental has always got to be resisted."
When he's reminded that in the last scene of the pilot, Roarke looks melancholy, emotionally touched when a beautiful woman asks him if he misses love and lust, he defends Roarke's momentary lapse as crucials to the character.
"Well, yes I suppose I was but you have to give (the audience) something. You can't just keep beating people over the head. I mean Mr. Roarke is human isn't he?"
McDowell smiles at his rhetorical question.
"Fantasy Island" is McDowell's first opportunity to work in Hawaii. He almost rejected the show because he's skeptical about remakes of successful shows.
"But when I met with the Barrys (executive producers Barry Josephson and Barry Sonnenfeld) it was obvious they were going to do something very different and dark and '90s," McDowell said. "And their track record was good enough for me."
Though McDowell has met and worked with Ricardo Montalban, he has not seen the original "Fantasy Island."
"I don't intend to see it unless I'm forced to," he said. "There's really no point for me to see it now because it was such a different show; it wouldn't be helpful."
Was there a bit of intimidation about stepping into a role that had been so well defined and recognized as Montalban's?
"Do I look intimidated?" McDowell said, staring. "There, you've answered your own question."McDowell says his input into the series has been minimal though it was his suggestion to change Roarke's suits from white to black.
"I try to save up my battles for really crucial moments, not about the size of trailers or bull-- about the script," he said.
On this day, McDowell is filming parts of four episodes. Scripts are stacked side by side on a small table. He scans each script while at the same time talking to an assistant about other personal business. Her dog lies inches from McDowell's feet.
The series only films weekdays, giving the actor and his wife time to play tennis, lounge on the beach, or visit Oahu's "world class restaurants," McDowell said.
"I'm a workaholic, doing like six films a year and the travel gets hard. The really nice thing about working on this show is I can stay in one location and it's beautiful. This is a much easier gig for me than I'm used to."
Make no mistake that this new Roarke is very much McDowell: mysterious, self confident, determined, playful and a whole lot impatient.
Roarke, McDowell says, is both "a name and a title."
"He says 'I am your host Mr. Roarke. And he also says 'I wasn't always Mr. Roarke.' You tell me what it means."
Oh and as for those clamps on his eyes in a scene from "A Clockwork Orange," yes they did hurt, a lot. (The clamps are called lid locks, and they're used in delicate eye operations.)
"When I actually had them in my eyes, I didn't feel anything because my eyes were anesthetized," McDowell said. "It was only an hour or two later, when the anesthetic wore off, that I realized that something was wrong and the pain was horrific. Turns out I'd scratched my corneas.
"Normally the patient is lying on his back, but I was sitting up, tied to a chair with a straight jacket on. The doctor was a real doctor ... who had to put drops in my eyes every 15 seconds, because if the eye dries up, then you become blind."
