John Malkovich He became interested in acting during his high school years. He developed his workshop while studying. Since 1976 he has been associated with the Steppenwolf Theater Company of Chicago. In 1980, he won an Obie Award for his performance in the Sam Shepard drama True West. He soon tried his hand at directing. His film career developed alongside his theatrical career. He began as an extra, including in Robert Altman’s “Wedding Day” (1978).
The year 1984 was his breakthrough year when he appeared in two award-winning films. In Roland Joffé’s film “The Killing Fields” he played a journalist covering the civil war in Cambodia. However, critics were particularly impressed by his role in Places in the Heart, in which he played a blind World War I veteran who helps the local sheriff’s widow (Oscar-winner Sally Field) run a cotton plantation. He received an Academy Award nomination for this role. However, he is competing with Haing S. Ngor, his colleague in the group “The Killing Fields”.
One of the most notable roles in Malkovich’s career was that of Viscount Valmont in Stephen Frears’ Les Liaisons Dangereuses. The actor then perfected the attitude of the gentle satirist, which he would repeat – with better or worse results – in subsequent productions. “John Malkovich plays a still-young Valmont with such a disdain for the world that the viewer vacillates between admiration and disgust. This very masculine Viscount appears to be gay, which deepens his trait of depravity,” critic Krzysztof Kobotowski wrote of the Viscount’s role. Malkovich in a film by Stephen Frears.
Although the film received rave reviews and Malkovich was praised by almost everyone, he was the only one of the three main cast members not to receive an Academy Award nomination. In addition, during the filming of the film, he had an affair with Michelle Pfeiffer, who played Madame de Tourville. This cost him his marriage to actress Glenn Headley.
Years later, in an interview with Rolling Stone magazine, the actor admitted that he did not expect his younger friend to ever talk to him, let alone enter into a closer relationship. “It’s hard to believe Michelle Pfeiffer ever said hello to me,” he admitted. Their romantic relationship did not last long, but ended in divorce twice. While Pfeiffer and her husband parted on good terms, Malkovich’s ex-wife publicly described him as “the root of all evil.”
In 1992, Malkovich appeared in the film adaptation of John Steinbeck’s story “Of Mice and Men.” In the story set during the Great Depression, the actor played a mentally disabled man who, along with his friend, tries to find work on a farm. Malkovich’s second Oscar nomination came for his performance in the 1993 film “In the Line of Fire,” in which he played the professional assassin and makeup expert – Mitch Leary, who is prevented by an experienced government security agent from assassinating the US President – Frank Horrigan.
He is one of the few who can boast of participating in a film that has his name in its title. “Being John Malkovich” is a surrealist film made in 1999. The talented actor who is forced to start working as an employee finds a door in an office building that leads to the consciousness of the actor – John Malkovich. Thanks to this, a man can embody it and live his life. She began to see the world through his eyes.
Malkovich’s best performance in recent years was the Coen Brothers’ comedy “Confidential.” He played the role of secret CIA agent Osborne Cox. Not only are his jobs and marriage heading toward disaster, but he also has problems with alcohol.
Thanks to his good looks, Malkovich turned out to be the perfect actor to play evil characters. In Wolfgang Petersen’s In the Line of Fire (1993), Malkovich played a madman who decides to kill the President of the United States. Acutter stole every scene, having fun as a psychopath who was also a master of disguise. Petersen’s film earned Malkovich a number of major award nominations, including an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award.
In turn, Simon West cast him in the role of the crazy “virus” Cyrus in the thriller “Con Air.” The plot here is somewhat pretextual. A mutiny breaks out on a plane carrying the country’s most dangerous criminals. The plane, taken over by criminals, lands at a dilapidated airport in the middle of nowhere. The Virus quickly takes over leadership of the group. Malkovich’s character dies in a rather painful way at the end. But the actor himself seems to be having a good time. Especially in the scene where he executes a stuffed rabbit.
Unfortunately, even Malkovich sometimes gets lost in hyperbole. Examples include his roles in “The Gamblers” (1998) and “Johnny English” (2003). In the first part, Malkovich played the role of illegal poker master, Teddy KGB. The actor had to imitate a Russian accent and it turned out to be quite interesting. In turn, in “Johnny English”, a parody of James Bond films, he played the main antagonist who wants to seize the crown of the Queen of Great Britain from the wealthy Frenchman Pascal Sauvage. Whereas in “The Gamblers” he didn’t feel it, in “The Englishman,” Malkovich created perhaps the most over-the-top Frenchman in the history of cinema.
John Malkovich loves visiting Poland. His last visit was in May as part of the 16th Mastercard OFF CAMERA International Independent Film Festival. During the opening ceremony, the film “Dominion” was presented.. “It’s not easy to surprise me, maybe because I don’t have any special expectations. It’s true that I’ve spent a lot of time in Poland over the years. We shot a movie with Volker Schlöndorff in Poland for about four months.” [chodzi o “Króla olch” z 1996 roku – przyp red.]. Then I made two more films in Poland. Last summer I was in Wrocław, where I performed “Infernal Comedy: Confession of a Serial Killer” by Michael Sturminger – P.S. Ed.]And I also shot a film based on Schubert’s songs [Podróż zimowa” w reżyserii Alex Helfrecht – przyp. red.]”- He said in an interview with Interia.
“Is there anything that surprised me in Poland? Not particularly. I have always liked it here. I have very good experiences. Beautiful landscapes. Not only were I in the big cities like Warsaw, Katowice, Wrocław… During the filming of “King of Alders”, I spent Also some time in the countryside. There are a lot of valuable things in Polish culture. Polish design. I remember last year I passed by a certain museum in Wrocław, I don’t remember the name, but the actor added: “It was closed. For example, they had a wonderful exhibition of clothes from the time of the Soviet Union. Visiting the Tadeusz Kantor Museum today was also wonderful, like discovering a whole new world.” .
He is not only an actor, but also a wine producer. John Malkovich owns a vineyard in the Vaucluse region of Provence. One of the wines he made is called “Dangerous Liaisons” – just like the movie that made the American famous. Malkovich started a vineyard on his farm in 2008.
He produced his first wine in 2011. This place is mainly managed by Malkovich’s wife Nicoletta, who, in his opinion, is the best in this place. They grow Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon on four hectares. Their wines – there are five types, are sold under the name Les Quelles de la Coste.
The actor is particularly proud of the wine, which is 60 percent blend. Cabernet and 40 percent Pinot. “Our first winemaker found the idea of combining Cabernet and Pinot Noir unique,” recalls the actor who played the role. “He said it had great sales potential and suggested we call the wine ‘Dangerous Liaisons.’ So we did.” The Viscount in an interview with Sense magazine, Valmont in the film adaptation of the novel by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos.
Few people know that Malkovich is also a men’s fashion designer. In 2002, he founded the clothing company Mrs. clay. “These are very practical things. Things I wear myself, well-tailored suits made of good, wrinkle-free materials, cotton shirts, jackets, coats,” the actor said, adding that he is not a fan of fashion like baseball caps, sneakers and tracksuits. He believes that as a public figure, an actor should always look good, even outside the set.
