14 Bizarre Facts About The Brilliant And Eccentric John Malkovich
Who is John Malkovich, you ask? Why, he's only one of the most famous, brilliant, and downright eccentric actors of his generation. Any John Malkovich biography will detail his time as a Hollywood A-lister: he's starred in films including In the Line of Fire, Dangerous Liaisons, and of course, Being John Malkovich. His success on the screen isn't surprising. Malkovich is a highly trained actor, and was a flagship member of Chicago's acclaimed Steppenwolf Theatre. With his severe forehead, intense gaze, and a slow voice, it's no wonder he's become one of Hollywood's go-to villains.
But facts about John Malkovich detail a strange and fascinating life off-stage and off-screen. He's notoriously private for a celebrity, but stories about him prove that he's one of the most out-there people in the world. From adopting all-Jell-O diets to saving the lives of strangers, here are some of the oddest facts about the actor.
- 1
He Saved An Elderly Man's Life
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While walking around the streets of Toronto in 2013, Malkovich happened upon a 77-year-old man who had fallen and cut his throat on a piece of sharp metal. Malkovich applied pressure to the wound, preventing the man from bleeding out. He apparently told the man, "My name is John and you're going to be all right."
- 2
He Only Ate Jell-O For Four Months When He Was Sixteen
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Malkovich says he was a chubby child, and he adopted a drastic Jell-O only diet in an attempt to lose weight. It worked, apparently - he lost 70 pounds over a four-month period.
When asked why his parents allowed the diet, Malkovich responded, "I came from an odd family. I can safely say I don't think they noticed."
- 3
He Confronted A Stalker In Central Park With A Knife
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The story seems too outrageous to be true, but Malkovich has confirmed it. He was once verbally harassed in Central Park, New York by someone who had been stalking him. Malkovich then ran to his apartment, changed clothes, and returned to the park a short time later with a bowie knife in hand to scare the stalker off.
- 4
He Starred In A Movie You Won't Live To See
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Malkovich wrote and starred in a film titled 100 Years: The Movie You Will Never See. The film, directed by Robert Rodriguez and completed in 2015, imagines three different versions of the future. But if you want to see it, you're out of luck: upon completion, 100 Years was locked away in a vault, not to be seen by the public until 2115.
One thousand people from all over the world were given tickets to the future event, and it's up to every ticket holder to pass down the ticket to their descendants. The movie was made as part of a marketing project with Louis XIII Cognac, which is aged for 100 years.
- 5
He Hasn't Voted Since 1972
The last time Malkovich voted in 1972, George McGovern lost the presidential election to Richard Nixon. Malkovich was 19 at the time.
"Did I miss something? I don’t think so," he told The Guardian. "It kind of goes on tick-tocking from left to right, with two sides shouting and squabbling for what common good I’m not quite sure. As I’ve said before, if politics had anything to do with the solving of problems then you could count me in."
- 6
He Suggested That 'Being John Malkovich' Become Being Tom Cruise
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Malkovic suggested Spike Jonze and Charlie Kaufman write Being John Malkovich about Tom Cruise instead.
“When they asked me to do it, I was slightly worried," he told The Independent. "Not at all about the tone or content, but the feeling of, if you do a film where your name is not above the title but in the title, then you may have some serious narcissistic tendencies which would require looking at."
But the filmmakers insisted, and the movie was a hit.
