The Only Actors Still Alive From The Main Cast Of A Clockwork Orange
Stanley Kubrick's "A Clockwork Orange" is one of the best sci-fi movies of all time and a chilling look at violence and sociopolitical issues in a dystopian, crime-addled Britain. The film tells its story through a ruthless youngster called Alex DeLarge (Malcolm McDowell), a lover of ultraviolence and classical music and a leader of a small band of delinquent Droogs. After his flippant attitude and criminal ways catch up with him, Alex becomes a test subject in a psychological conditioning system known as the Ludovico Technique and ends up a pawn in a political game while constantly bumping into his past sins.
Being a Kubrick film, "A Clockwork Orange" is an elaborately constructed movie that can withstand the test of time ... but it also premiered in 1971, which means that much of the film's cast has passed away. Here's a look at the only actors still alive from the main cast.
Malcolm McDowell (Alex DeLarge)
Just like in the movie, Alex DeLarge persists. The central character of "A Clockwork Orange" wasn't the magnetic Malcolm McDowell's first movie role, but it definitely put him on the map. McDowell has been acting steadily for decades, and he tends to take multiple roles per year. Some of his best-known roles since "A Clockwork Orange" include the titular role in Tinto Brass' controversial historical drama "Caligula," Soran in "Star Trek: Generations," and Dr. Samuel Loomis in Rob Zombie's "Halloween" movies.
McDowell has stayed busy for quite a long time, but he personally finds it hard to remember the majority of his impressive résumé. "People stop me and say: 'Oh, we loved you in blah-blah' and I say: 'Sorry, that wasn't me,'" he told The Guardian. "And then they'll show me on their phone or show me the DVD cover and sure enough, there I am. And I have no memory of doing it at all."
Clive Francis (Joe the Lodger)
In "A Clockwork Orange," Clive Francis plays Joe, a man with impressive sideburns and an impeccable taste in knitwear. Alex's parents (Sheila Raynor and Philip Stone) take him in as a lodger during their son's much-publicized absence. When Alex returns and becomes incensed by his presence, the two have a brief face-off, and Joe quickly backs off when Alex unsuccessfully attempts to resort to violence.
Like Malcolm McDowell, Francis has appeared in numerous movies and TV shows and has remained active into the 2020s. In recent years, viewers may have spotted him on Netflix as Lord Salisbury on "The Crown," Pope Abel on "Cursed," and Rear-Admiral Wilkinson in "Official Secrets." He's also a highly prolific stage actor who has been getting theater roles since 1965.
In other words, Francis is an actor with plenty of experience in the industry's ebb and flow, and in an interview with BroadwayWorld, he shared a few tips for people eager to enter the acting game. "Have faith," he said. "Never stop listening to those with experience. Be prepared to pick yourself up, dust yourself down and start all over again. But more important than anything, be nice!"
James Marcus (Georgie)
Apart from Alex, the most clever and ruthless Droog is James Marcus' Georgie, who challenges the protagonist's authority and ultimately betrays Alex with the other Droog underlings. Georgie and Dim (Warren Clarke) later return as police officers who brutalize their former gang leader after a chance encounter.
Marcus continued acting after "A Clockwork Orange" and has appeared in over 60 movies and TV shows — usually as a guest star, but occasionally in a larger role. His longest tenures in a single role have been as Bert Bamford on the children's show "Grandad" and as Station Officer Tate on the firefighter drama "London's Burning." He also wrote and directed the 1989 crime thriller "Tank Malling," starring Ray Winstone.
Apart from Marcus and McDowell, a third Droog actor is also still with us. Michael Tarn, who plays the comparatively minor role of background Droog Pete, was only 16 when the movie was filmed. He kept acting throughout the 1970s but has made only a small handful of screen appearances since then. His last role was in the 2002 crime film "Shooters."