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73-518: Craig Schwartz is an unemployed puppeteer in New York City, in a forlorn marriage with his pet-obsessed wife, Lotte. He finds work as a file clerk for the eccentric Dr. Lester in the Mertin-Flemmer building, on a floor between the 7th and 8th, where the ceiling is very low. He develops an attraction to co-worker Maxine Lund, who does not return his affections. While filing, Craig accidentally discovers

146-669: A speculative screenplay , is a non-commissioned and unsolicited screenplay . It is usually written by a screenwriter who hopes to have the script optioned and eventually purchased by a producer , production company, or studio . Spec scripts which have gone on to win Academy Awards include Thelma & Louise (sold by Callie Khouri to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer for US$ 500,000 in 1990), Good Will Hunting (sold by Matt Damon and Ben Affleck to Miramax for US$ 675,000 in 1994), and American Beauty (sold by Alan Ball to DreamWorks Pictures for US$ 250,000 in 1998), which all won

219-409: A May 2020 interview, he revealed that Melissa is his only surviving sibling. His paternal grandparents were Croatian immigrants from the vicinity of Ozalj ; his other ancestry includes English, Scottish, French, and German descent. Malkovich attended Logan Grade School, Webster Junior High School, and Benton Consolidated High School . During his high-school years, he appeared in various plays and

292-707: A Serial Killer , directed by Michael Sturminger  [ de ] , that toured many countries and venues between 2010 and 2013, including at the Deutsches Schauspielhaus in Hamburg, Germany, in May 2010. This was an operatic production, about the life of the Austrian serial killer Jack Unterweger . In 2011, he directed Julian Sands in A Celebration of Harold Pinter in the Pleasance Courtyard , Edinburgh, for

365-647: A Steppenwolf co-production, the 1984 revival of Lanford Wilson 's Balm in Gilead , for which he received a second Obie Award and a Drama Desk Award . Other Steppenwolf productions in which Malkovich has appeared include: The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams , directed by H. E. Baccus (1979); Burn This by Lanford Wilson , directed by Marshall W. Mason (1987); and The Libertine by Stephen Jeffreys , directed by Terry Johnson (1996). He made his feature-film debut as Sally Field 's blind boarder Mr. Will in Places in

438-639: A Steppenwolf production of the Sam Shepard play True West (1980). He made his Broadway debut as Biff in the revival of the Arthur Miller play Death of a Salesman (1984). He directed the Harold Pinter play The Caretaker (1986), and acted in Lanford Wilson 's Burn This (1987). Malkovich has received two Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor nominations for his performances in Places in

511-690: A Wallflower (2012). For his work on television he received the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie for Death of a Salesman (1985). His other Emmy-nominated roles were for portraying Herman J. Mankiewicz in RKO 281 (1999) and Charles Talleyrand in Napoléon (2002). Other television roles include in Crossbones (2014), Billions (2018–19), The New Pope (2020), and Space Force (2020–2022). Malkovich

584-538: A bomb and it's got not only my name above the title but my name in the title, so I'm fucked that way; or it does well and I'm just forever associated with this character." Jonze explained in the same interview that he had not realized how brave Malkovich's performance was. With a budget of $ 10 million, principal photography of Being John Malkovich began on July 20, 1998, and continued through August. Filming took place primarily in Los Angeles ; specific locations included

657-460: A brief cameo , as a miffed star in the documentary on Malkovich's career, who seems to be on the verge of saying something before the shot ends. Sean Penn appears as himself, a fan of Malkovich's puppeteer work. Film director David Fincher makes an uncredited appearance as Christopher Bing in the American Arts & Culture pseudo-documentary on John Malkovich. Winona Ryder , Andy Dick , and

730-424: A cumulative gross of $ 480,000 from 82 screens. Its German release brought in a total of $ 243,071. Being John Malkovich had a total foreign gross of $ 9,523,455, combined with its domestic gross to give an international total of over $ 32 million. Being John Malkovich was initially released in 2000 on VHS , both as a regular edition and a limited edition collector's set, and on DVD , with special features including

803-574: A further 33% the following week despite further expansion to 624 screens. It finished its theatrical run after 26 weeks with a total gross of $ 22,863,596. PolyGram Filmed Entertainment was originally supposed to release this film outside the United States. However, as a result of Seagram acquiring PolyGram's assets, its film division was folded into a new entity named Universal Pictures International , with all projects in different stages of development now transferred to that company. The film opened in

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876-473: A lot of sense to me." On June 6, 2013, Malkovich was walking in Toronto when a 77-year-old man named Jim Walpole tripped and accidentally cut his throat on a piece of scaffolding. Malkovich applied pressure to Walpole's neck to reduce bleeding before Walpole was rushed to a hospital, where he received stitches and later credited Malkovich with saving his life. Spec script A spec script , also known as

949-573: A man. She and Craig visit Dr. Lester's home, where Lotte finds a room filled with Malkovich memorabilia. Maxine arranges a date with Malkovich while he is inhabited by Lotte, who becomes smitten with Maxine. She reciprocates, but only when Lotte is inside Malkovich; Maxine manipulates him into having sex with her while Lotte is in his mind. Craig, forsaken by both women, locks Lotte in a cage and forces her to set up another tryst with Maxine. He inhabits Malkovich instead and discovers that his puppeteering skills allow him some control over Malkovich. Meanwhile,

1022-468: A number of prospective buyers who may range from small independent producers to executives working in the major studios, and attempt to build up "heat" under the script. The script may be sent out simultaneously to all the prospective buyers in the hope of attracting a bidding war. If the script sells, the writer may receive a payment of anything from a few tens of thousands of dollars to several million. The script may then be developed even further until it

1095-418: A per-screen average of $ 10,857. In its third week, the film's release widened to 467 locations and grossed $ 2.4 million, averaging a lower $ 5,041 per screen with a cumulative gross of $ 6.1 million. It moved into a wide release the next week, expanding to 591 screens, and grossed $ 1.9 million with a 20% drop in ticket sales. Its fifth week brought in $ 2.2 million with a 17% increase in ticket sales, which dropped

1168-854: A play directed and adapted by Malkovich about Lee Harvey Oswald , and, in January 2011, she appeared with him in The Giacomo Variations at the Sydney Opera House , as part of the Sydney Festival . In April 2023, Dapkūnaitė acted alongside Malkovich in In the Solitude of Cotton Fields in Tallinn , Estonia. Malkovich created his own fashion company, Mrs. Mudd, in 2002. The company released its John Malkovich menswear collection, "Uncle Kimono", in 2003, which

1241-618: A slight variation of himself, as indicated by the character's middle name of "Horatio". Malkovich's directorial film debut, The Dancer Upstairs , was released in 2002. That same year Malkovich made a cameo appearance in Adaptation . He played Patricia Highsmith 's antihero Tom Ripley in Ripley's Game (also 2002), the second film adaptation of Highsmith's 1974 novel, the first being Wim Wenders ' 1977 film The American Friend . Malkovich's other film roles include The Hitchhiker's Guide to

1314-479: A small hidden door. He crawls through it into a tunnel and finds himself inside the mind of actor John Malkovich . After 15 minutes, Craig is ejected, landing on the side of the New Jersey Turnpike . He tells Maxine about the door, and she realizes they can sell the experience for profit. Lotte enters the portal, and based on her experience being John Malkovich, she becomes fascinated with the idea of becoming

1387-442: A theatrical trailer, TV spots, cast and crew biographies, the director's photo album and featurettes on floor 7½ and puppeteering. A special edition DVD, released later the same year, included the aforementioned features, an interview with Jonze and two behind-the-scenes featurettes. It was released on HD DVD in 2008. The Criterion Collection released a special edition of the film on Blu-ray and DVD in 2012. On Rotten Tomatoes ,

1460-637: A three-part adaptation of Agatha Christie 's The A.B.C. Murders co-starring Rupert Grint for BBC television, playing the role of fictional Belgian detective Hercule Poirot . In 2019, Malkovich performed in London's West End at the Garrick Theatre , starring in David Mamet 's new play Bitter Wheat . He also starred as the title character in the HBO drama series The New Pope (2020). On September 26, 2019, it

1533-403: Is "greenlit" – meaning it goes into production. If not, the script is sometimes dead in the water because it is now in the databases of the studios and development executives, and has been marked as having been "passed" on. There is the chance, however, a film that has not been greenlit could make The Black List – "a list of the ten best unproduced specs." If a spec script is not picked up, but

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1606-448: Is freed by her pet chimpanzee and warns Maxine that Craig is inhabiting Malkovich, but Maxine is attracted to Craig's ability to control him. Lotte confronts Dr. Lester, who reveals that he is, in fact, Captain Mertin, who, having discovered the portal to a "vessel body" in the late 1800s, erected the Mertin-Flemmer building to conceal it. He has obtained immortality by moving from one body to

1679-525: Is the co-owner of the restaurant Bica do Sapato and Lux nightclub in Lisbon . He lost millions of dollars in the Madoff investment scandal in 2008. In the 1990s, Malkovich and Peyran bought a farm near Lacoste, Vaucluse , which the couple later turned into a wine label named Les Quelles de la Coste; they started planting grapevines there in 2008 and produced their first vintage in 2011. He has raised funds for

1752-540: Is to showcase a screenwriter's talent of telling a story through action and dialogue. Spec scripts are often written by unknown screenwriters looking to prove their storytelling ability and make a name for themselves in the film industry. In 1933, Preston Sturges is believed to have sold the first spec script in Hollywood history. Fox bought The Power and the Glory for US$ 17,500 plus back-end revenue. The movie did poorly at

1825-475: The Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay . A spec script reads differently from a shooting script or production script in that it focuses more on the storytelling itself, while focus on cinematography and other directing aspects should rarely, if ever, be used. Videographic and technical directions are often added in the later drafts. The sole purpose of a spec script, also called a selling script ,

1898-1011: The Edinburgh Festival Fringe . In 2012, he directed a production of a newly adapted French-language version of Les Liaisons Dangereuses for the Théâtre de l'Atelier in Paris. The production had a limited engagement in July 2013 at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City. He returned to theatre, directing Good Canary in Spanish in Mexico, then in English at the Rose Theater in London in 2016. Ilan Goodman, Harry Lloyd, and Freya Mavor were in

1971-630: The Steppenwolf Theatre Company , his sole charity. Malkovich stated in a 2011 interview that he is not a "political person" and that he does not have "an ideology", revealing that he had not voted since George McGovern lost his presidential run in 1972 . At the Cambridge Union Society in 2002, when asked whom he would most like to fight to the death, Malkovich replied that he would "rather just shoot" journalist Robert Fisk and politician George Galloway , stating that Galloway

2044-619: The University of Southern California campus and the Observation Bar on board the RMS Queen Mary . The puppets were created by Kamela Portuges-Robbins and Images in Motion. Phillip Huber animated the puppets. About Huber's puppetry, Jonze has said he was a full-time puppeteer and controlled his puppets with impressive means, such as using strings and no rods to control them, as well as swinging

2117-802: The William Esper Studio . In 1976, Malkovich, along with Joan Allen , Gary Sinise , and Glenne Headly , became a charter member of the Steppenwolf Theatre Company in Chicago. He moved to New York City in 1980 to appear in a Steppenwolf production of the Sam Shepard play True West directed by Sinise, for which he won an Obie Award . One of his first film roles was as an extra alongside Allen, Terry Kinney , George Wendt , and Laurie Metcalf in Robert Altman 's film A Wedding (1978). In early 1982, he appeared in A Streetcar Named Desire with Chicago's Wisdom Bridge Theatre. Malkovich then directed

2190-624: The Croatian national anthem Lijepa naša domovino ( Our Beautiful Homeland ) in Nenad Bach 's song "Can We Go Higher?" Malkovich starred in the 1992 film adaptation of John Steinbeck 's novella Of Mice and Men as Lennie alongside Gary Sinise as George. He was nominated for another Oscar, again in the Best Supporting Actor category, for In the Line of Fire (1993). He was the narrator for

2263-826: The Galaxy (2005), Eragon (2006), Beowulf , Colour Me Kubrick (both 2007), Changeling (2008), Red , Secretariat (both 2010), Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011), and Red 2 (2013). In 2000, Malkovich was approached to play Green Goblin in Spider-Man (2002), but he passed due to scheduling conflicts and Willem Dafoe was cast in the role. In 2001, film director Michael Cimino had also approached Malkovich to star in his never filmed 3-hour long epic of André Malraux 's Man's Fate , alongside Johnny Depp , Uma Thurman , Daniel Day-Lewis and Alain Delon . In 2009, Malkovich

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2336-651: The Heart (1984) and In the Line of Fire (1993). Other films include The Killing Fields (1984), Empire of the Sun (1987), Dangerous Liaisons (1988), Of Mice and Men (1992), Con Air (1997), Rounders (1998), Being John Malkovich (1999), Shadow of the Vampire (2000), Ripley's Game (2002), Johnny English (2003), Burn After Reading (2008), and Red (2010). He has also produced films such as Ghost World (2001), Juno (2007), and The Perks of Being

2409-652: The Heart (1984). For his portrayal of Mr. Will, Malkovich received his first Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor . He also portrayed Al Rockoff in Roland Joffe 's epic film The Killing Fields (1984). His Broadway debut that year was as Biff in Death of a Salesman alongside Dustin Hoffman as Willy. Malkovich won an Emmy Award for this role when the play was adapted for television by CBS in 1985. He continued to have steady work in films such as Empire of

2482-452: The Sun , directed by Steven Spielberg , and the film adaptation of Tennessee Williams 's The Glass Menagerie (both 1987) directed by Paul Newman (who appeared in the film) and Joanne Woodward . He then starred in Making Mr. Right (also 1987), directed by Susan Seidelman . Malkovich gained significant critical and popular acclaim when he portrayed the sinister and sensual Valmont in

2555-625: The United Kingdom in March 2000, earning £296,282 in its debut week and closing after fifteen weeks with a total gross of £1,098,927. In France, the film opened in December 1999 with a gross of US$ 546,000 from 94 venues and went on to further success due to positive reviews and word of mouth . It grossed $ 205,100 from 109 screens on its opening weekend in Italy and ticket sales dropped by 37% the following week with

2628-487: The assurance of someone else having thought a property worth publishing [...] In those days, if you went to a party in the Hollywood community and somebody would ask, "What are you working on, Ernie?" and you replied, "I'm doing an original now," the response would be "Oh." [...] Like they were a little embarrassed [...] If you were working on something that you were going to create all by yourself, they'd secretly think, "He's in bad shape. Working on an original." That definitely

2701-547: The box office. However, in 2014 the film was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry . Spec scripts have not always held as much cachet in the business as they do now. Ernest Lehman describes how his original script for the 1959 film North by Northwest was unusual at that point in his career: Originals were not smiled upon in those days, believe it or not. There was very little interest in originals in those days. [...] Studios, distributors wanted

2774-646: The cast. Malkovich won the Milton Schulman Award for the best director at the Evening Standard Theater Awards in 2016. He appeared in Just Call Me God in Hamburg in March 2017. Malkovich wrote and starred in a movie called 100 Years (2016), directed by Robert Rodriguez . The movie is locked in a vault in the south of France, not to be seen before 2115. In 2018, Malkovich appeared in

2847-779: The film Alive (1993) and starred in The Man in the Iron Mask (1998). Malkovich has hosted three episodes of the NBC sketch show Saturday Night Live . The first occasion was in January 1989 with musical guest Anita Baker , the second in October 1993 with musical guest Billy Joel (and special appearance by former cast member Jan Hooks ), and the third in December 2008 with musical guest T.I. with Swizz Beatz (and special appearances by Justin Timberlake , Molly Sims and Jamie-Lynn Sigler ). Malkovich

2920-687: The film Dangerous Liaisons (1988), a film adaptation of the stage play Les Liaisons Dangereuses by Christopher Hampton , who had adapted it from the 1782 novel of the same title by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos . He later reprised this role for the music video of " Walking on Broken Glass " by Annie Lennox . He played Port Moresby in The Sheltering Sky (1990), directed by Bernardo Bertolucci and appeared in Shadows and Fog (1991), directed by Woody Allen . In 1990, he recited, in Croatian , verses of

2993-517: The film a full four stars, writing: "What an endlessly inventive movie this is! Charlie Kaufman, the writer of Being John Malkovich , supplies a dazzling stream of inventions, twists, and wicked paradoxes. And the director, Spike Jonze, doesn't pounce on each one like fresh prey, but unveils it slyly, as if there's more where that came from... The movie has ideas enough for half a dozen films, but Jonze and his cast handle them so surely that we never feel hard-pressed; we're enchanted by one development after

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3066-841: The film adaptation of Jonah Hex (2010). Malkovich in 2014 was the voice actor of Dave the Octopus in Penguins of Madagascar . In 2008, Malkovich directed in French a theater production of Good Canary  [ fr ] written by Zach Helm , with Cristiana Realli and Vincent Elbaz in the leading roles, at the Comédia théâtre in Paris . Malkovich won the Molière Award for best director for it. He wrote and acted in The Infernal Comedy – Confessions of

3139-429: The film holds an approval rating of 94% based on 136 reviews, with an average rating of 8.2/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Smart, funny, and highly original, Being John Malkovich supports its wild premise with skillful direction and a stellar ensemble cast." On Metacritic , the film has a weighted average score of 90 out of 100 based on 36 critics reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". Roger Ebert awarded

3212-410: The film in partnership with production company Single Cell Pictures. Single Cell producers Michael Stipe and Sandy Stern pitched the film to numerous studios, including New Line Cinema , who dropped the project after chairman Robert Shaye asked, "Why the fuck can't it be Being Tom Cruise ?" Jonze recalled that Malkovich asked the same question, and that Malkovich had felt that "Either the movie's

3285-400: The film. All tracks are written by Carter Burwell , except where noted Being John Malkovich was given limited release in the United States theatres on October 22, 1999, and opened across 25 screens. On its opening weekend, the film grossed US$ 637,731 across 25 screens with a per-screen average of $ 25,495. It expanded to another 150 screens the following week, bringing in $ 1.9 million with

3358-430: The members of Hanson can be seen in the audience of a Malkovich puppet show. Kaufman's idea of Being John Malkovich originated simply as "a story about a man who falls in love with someone who is not his wife." Gradually he added further elements to the story which he found entertaining, such as floor 7 + 1 ⁄ 2 of the Mertin Flemmer building; among his first ideas, Malkovich was "nowhere to be seen". He wrote

3431-437: The music video for Eminem 's single " Phenomenal ". In 2017, he appeared in some humorous Super Bowl commercials portraying himself attempting to gain control of the johnmalkovich.com domain. Malkovich married actress Glenne Headly in 1982. In 1988, the couple divorced following his affair with Michelle Pfeiffer . He began dating Nicoletta Peyran in 1989 after meeting her on the set of The Sheltering Sky , on which she

3504-460: The musical Carousel . He was also active in a folk gospel group, with whom he sang at churches and community events. As a member of a local summer theater project, he co-starred in Jean-Claude van Itallie 's America Hurrah in 1972. After graduating from high school in 1972, Malkovich enrolled at Eastern Illinois University . He then transferred to Illinois State University , where he majored in theater, but dropped out. He studied acting at

3577-507: The next eight months, he makes Malkovich into a world-class puppeteer and marries Maxine. Later, Maxine discovers that she is pregnant. On Malkovich's 44th birthday, Lester and Lotte kidnap Maxine. They call to demand that Craig leave Malkovich, threatening to kill Maxine, but he hangs up. In desperation, Lotte decides to shoot Maxine, who escapes into the portal. Lotte pursues her through Malkovich's subconscious before they are both ejected. Maxine confesses that she kept her unborn child because it

3650-407: The next". He concluded: "Every once in a long, long while a movie comes along that is unlike any other. A movie that creates a new world for us and uses it to produce wonderful things. Forrest Gump was a movie like that, and so in different ways were M*A*S*H , This Is Spinal Tap , After Hours , Babe and There's Something About Mary . What do such films have in common? Nothing. That's

3723-472: The next, which becomes "ripe" on the host's 44th birthday, allowing him to take possession. If he were to enter the portal past midnight on that day, he would instead be trapped in the next newborn vessel, helpless inside the new host's mind. This time, Lester has invited a group of friends to join him in occupying Malkovich once he turns 44, and Lotte warns them that Craig has taken control. Craig discovers he can occupy Malkovich indefinitely. Inhabiting him over

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3796-458: The photographer Sandro Miller recreated 35 iconic portraits of John Malkovich as the subject, in a project called Malkovich, Malkovich, Malkovich: Homage to Photographer Master . Malkovich starred in his first video-game role in Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare in the "Exo Zombies" mode. In 1992, he appeared in period costume along with Hugh Laurie in the music video for " Walking on Broken Glass " by Annie Lennox . In 2015, he appeared in

3869-486: The point. Each one stakes out a completely new place and colonizes it with limitless imagination. Either Being John Malkovich gets nominated for best picture, or the members of the Academy need portals into their brains." He later named it the best film of 1999. Peter Rainer, writing for New York , commented that "dazzlingly singular movies aren't often this much fun" and Owen Gleiberman , writing for Entertainment Weekly , called it "the most excitingly original movie of

3942-403: The portal, which now leads to the mind of Maxine's daughter Emily. Craig, who entered the portal too late, is permanently trapped inside Emily, forced to watch Lotte and Maxine live happily together. Spike Jonze makes a cameo appearance as Derek Mantini's assistant; Mantini is billed in the story as the greatest puppeteer in the history of the world and arouses Craig's envy. Brad Pitt also has

4015-459: The puppets on high wires. Diaz's make-up artist Gucci Westman described styling Diaz in the role as "a challenge, to make her look homely." The script included minimal physical descriptions of characters, and thus when Diaz took up the role she did not know that "people weren't going to recognize me." Cusack read the film's script after he had asked his agent to present him with the "craziest, most unproduceable script you can find." Impressed with

4088-430: The real Malkovich, disturbed by his loss of control, confides in his friend Charlie Sheen and becomes suspicious of Maxine. Malkovich follows her to the office, where she and Craig are charging customers to use the portal. When Malkovich enters it himself, he finds himself in a world where everyone looks like him and says only "Malkovich." After he is ejected, he demands that Craig close the portal, but Craig refuses. Lotte

4161-425: The script on spec in 1994 and though it was widely read by production company and film studio executives, all turned it down. Hoping to find a producer, Kaufman sent the script to Francis Ford Coppola , who passed it on to his daughter's then boyfriend Spike Jonze . Jonze first read the script in 1996 and had agreed to direct the film by 1997. Jonze took the script to Propaganda Films , which agreed to produce

4234-409: The script, he asked his agent to follow its progress and book him an audition, which won him the role. Keener cited Being John Malkovich as an instance of her taking up a role based on the director's previous work. She had heard about Jonze's experience with music videos and took up the part of Maxine although she initially disliked the character and did not feel that she was right for the part. She

4307-434: The sound of his name in repetition. Kaufman explained that "When we were thinking of alternatives, we found that a lot of them weren't fun to say." Jonze's then-father-in-law Francis Ford Coppola was able to contact Malkovich, and Jonze flew with producer Sandy Stern to Malkovich's home in France. Stern said that Malkovich was "half intrigued and half horrified" when he first read the script, but he eventually agreed to star in

4380-423: The story of Jack Unterweger in a performance for one actor, two sopranos, and period orchestra entitled Seduction and Despair , which premiered at Barnum Hall in Santa Monica, California . A fully staged version of the production, entitled The Infernal Comedy premiered in Vienna in July 2009. The show has since been performed in 2009 through 2012 throughout Europe, North America and South America. Malkovich

4453-456: The writing is good, the screenwriter may be offered a writing assignment. This could be a "development deal" – where a studio or producer asks a screenwriter to write another original script or adapt an idea or book into a screenplay. Outside of the traditional route of finding an agent, there are a number of competitions that a screenwriter can enter, such as the Nicholl Fellowship or Final Draft's Big Break Contest, among others. Another way

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4526-471: The year." John Malkovich John Gavin Malkovich (born December 9, 1953) is an American actor. He is the recipient of several accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award , in addition to nominations for two Academy Awards , a BAFTA Award , two Screen Actors Guild Awards , and three Golden Globe Awards . Malkovich started his career as a charter member of the Steppenwolf Theatre Company in Chicago in 1976. He moved to New York City, acting in

4599-400: Was also directed by Sturminger in Casanova's Variations and its movie adaptation in 2014 (co-starring Fanny Ardant ). For their third collaboration, in 2017, Michael Stürminger directed Malkovich in Just Call me God – the final speech , in which he played a Third World dictator called Satur Dinam Cha, who is about to be overthrown. He frequently worked with Julian Sands . In 2014,

4672-499: Was announced that Malkovich had been cast as Dr. Adrian Mallory in the Netflix comedy series Space Force . Malkovich has collaborated with Lithuanian actress Ingeborga Dapkūnaitė on many productions; by April 2023, there had been nine, and he has called her his "oldest, closest, colleague". In 1992 they both appeared in the Steppenwolf production of A Slip of the Tongue , which later played in Shaftesbury Avenue in London, directed by Simon Stokes. She also appeared in Libra ,

4745-486: Was approached and then cast for the role of the Marvel Comics villain Vulture in the unproduced Spider-Man 4 . Malkovich played the title role in the film The Great Buck Howard (2008), a role inspired by mentalist the " Amazing Kreskin ". Colin Hanks co-starred and his father, Tom Hanks , appeared as his on-screen father. In November 2009, Malkovich appeared in an advertisement for Nespresso with fellow actor George Clooney . He portrayed Quentin Turnbull in

4818-438: Was born in Christopher, Illinois , on December 9, 1953. He grew up in Benton, Illinois . His father, Daniel Leon Malkovich, was a state conservation director, who published the conservation magazine Outdoor Illinois . His mother, Joe Anne (née Choisser), owned the Benton Evening News daily newspaper and Outdoor Illinois . He grew up with an older brother, Danny, and three younger sisters, Amanda, Rebecca, and Melissa. In

4891-515: Was conceived while Lotte was in Malkovich's mind, meaning that it is Lotte's child, too, and the women cement their love for each other. Craig, believing Maxine is still in danger, leaves Malkovich's mind, allowing Lester and his friends to enter. Discovering that Maxine has discarded him for Lotte, Craig swears to reenter the portal to take back Malkovich's mind. Seven years later, an older Malkovich, now inhabited by multiple people, tells Sheen about Lester and his friends' plan to extend their lives via

4964-453: Was directed for the second time (after Dangerous Liaisons ) by Stephen Frears in Mary Reilly (1996), a new adaptation of the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde tale, co-starring Julia Roberts . Malkovich also appeared in The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc (1999), directed by Luc Besson , playing the French king-to-be Charles VII . Though he played the title role in the Charlie Kaufman -penned Being John Malkovich (1999), he played

5037-557: Was not honest. Journalists speculated that the comment was related to criticism of Israel and the war in Iraq . When asked in an interview with the Toronto Star in 2008 whether having spiritual beliefs was necessary to portray a spiritual character, he said, "No, I'd say not... I'm an atheist . I wouldn't say I'm without spiritual belief particularly, or rather, specifically. Maybe I'm agnostic , but I'm not quite sure there's some great creator somehow controlling everything and giving us free will. I don't know; it doesn't seem to make

5110-627: Was subsequently covered in the international press, and its second clothing line, "Technobohemian", in 2011. Malkovich designed the outfits himself. In an interview with Big Issue in 2024, Malkovich said that he "stopped doing fashion about six, seven years ago" but still enjoys seeing collections by "the great fabric designers". Malkovich was directed many times by Chilean director Raúl Ruiz — Le Temps retrouvé ( Time Regained , 1999), Les Ames Fortes ( Savage Souls , 2001), Klimt (2006) and Lines of Wellington (2012). In 2008, directed by Austrian director Michael Sturminger, he portrayed

5183-402: Was subsequently nominated for an Oscar. Kaufman said that there was never another actor in Malkovich's place in the script: "The screenplay was always "Being John Malkovich", even before I had any expectation that John Malkovich would even read the script." He chose Malkovich because he believed there to be "an enigmatic quality about him that works", though Malkovich was partly chosen because of

5256-470: Was the climate at one time in this town. In the late 1960s, William Goldman sold his spec script Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid to 20th Century Fox for US$ 400,000 in a studio bidding war. The script went on to win the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay . This event precipitated a rise in screenwriters writing on spec. If the writer of a spec script has an agent, the agent will identify

5329-537: Was the second assistant director. The couple has two children, Amandine and Loewy. Malkovich has a distinctive voice quality , which The Guardian has described as "wafting, whispery, and reedy". He does not consider himself a method actor . Malkovich is fluent in French, having lived and worked in theater in southern France for nearly 10 years. He and his family left France in a dispute over taxes in 2003 and have since lived in Cambridge, Massachusetts . Malkovich

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