Maxwell Caulfield

Maxwell Caulfield
Born	23 November 1959 (1959-11-23) (age 51) Duffield, Derbyshire, England
Other names	Maxwell Findlater
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1981–present
Spouse	Juliet Mills (1980-present)

Maxwell Caulfield (born 23 November 1959) is a British film, stage, and television actor who is based in the United States, best-known for his roles as Michael Carrington in Grease 2 (1982) and as Miles Colby in The Colbys (1985–87) and its parent show Dynasty (1985–86). He has more than 70 film, stage and television credits. He starred in Ronald F. Maxwell's Gettysburg (1993) and Tom DiCillo's The Real Blonde (1987).^[1] He is a supporter of Chelsea F.C.

Early life

Maxwell Caulfield was born an only child in Duffield, Derbyshire — although he later claimed birth in Glasgow, reportedly to be "more interesting".^[2] Although not a child actor, aged around seven he played "Ted" (using the pseudonym Maxwell Findlater) in the 1967 film, Accident, written by Harold Pinter (screenplay) and starring Stanley Baker, Dirk Bogarde, and Michael York.^[3]

The actor's American stepfather, Peter Maclaine, a former Marine, reportedly kicked Caulfield out of the house at the age of 15. Caulfield has a half-brother by his mother's second marriage, Marcus Maclaine.

Caulfield became an exotic dancer at London's Windmill Theatre in order to obtain an Equity card enabling him to work as an actor. Later he got his green card through his stepfather.^[4] He took his stage surname, Caulfield, from the character in J.D. Salinger's novel Catcher in the Rye. In 1980, Caulfield, then 21, became the third husband of actress Juliet Mills, who is 18 years his senior.^[5]

Personal life

He has been married since 1980 to actress Juliet Mills, 18 years his senior, making him son-in-law of the late veteran actor Sir John Mills and writer Mary Hayley Bell, Lady Mills. He is brother-in-law to his wife's siblings, Jonathan Mills and actress Hayley Mills, and uncle to Hayley Mills' sons, Crispian Mills (lead singer of indie band Kula Shaker) and Jason Lawson. Caulfield is stepfather to actress Melissa Caulfield (née Melissa Miklenda; Juliet Mills's daughter from her second marriage) and Sean Alquist (Juliet Mills's son from her first marriage).^[6]

Theatre

Caulfield made his New York City debut in Hot Rock Hotel (1978) after moving from the UK to the United States, and the following year made his stage debut in Class Enemy (1979), in which he bagged the lead role (Players Theatre, West Village); he won a Theatre World Award for his performance.^[7] He made his Los Angeles debut in Hitting Town (1980); and took a role in The Elephant Man (1980) the same year, which was when he met Juliet Mills.^[7] Caulfield then made his debut Off-Broadway as the amoral titular drifter in Joe Orton's Entertaining Mr. Sloane (1981).^[5]

He made his Broadway debut in J. B. Priestley's An Inspector Calls opposite Siân Phillips. ^[5] He played opposite Jessica Tandy and Elizabeth Wilson in Salonika at the Public Theatre in New York (appearing fully nude for most of the play).^[5] He also appeared in Loot at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles.^[7]. In 2006 he drew attention for his bare-chested scene in the Off-Broadway two-hander Tryst (see Tryst (drama)), opposite Amelia Campbell. In 2007, Caulfield performed in the Charles Busch play, Our Leading Lady, opposite Kate Mulgrew. The same year he made his West End stage debut as Billy Flynn in the long-running London production of Chicago; he then resumed the roll of Flynn for the Broadway production of Chicago in November 2007.^[8] Alongside Lois Robbins, Caulfield - playing the character of Julian Winston - finished up an off-Broadway production of the comedy Cactus Flower (2011).^[9]

Films

1980s

• Grease 2 (1982): Caulfield's first major movie role was Michael Carrington in the American musical film Grease 2 (1982) opposite Michelle Pfeiffer. Grease 2 is the sequel to the hit 1970s musical film, Grease (film), which starred John Travolta and Olivia Newton John. Grease 2 is set two years after its Grease, introducing a new group of T-Birds and Pink Ladies, the latter led by Michelle Pfeiffer. Caulfield's role is that of a clean-cut, debonair English student, who attempts to win the affections of Stephanie (Pfeiffer); this is difficult, for Michael is not a member of the T-Birds. Michael changes his image and, when not in classes, transforms himself into a "cool" alter ego, known as "The Cool Rider". The film was directed by Patricia Birch and featured Lorna Luft, Christopher McDonald, and Adrian Zmed.^[10]

• The Parade (1984) is set in a small rural Kansas town during the run-up to the Fourth of July celebrations. Each year the town holds its annual Fourth of July parade. For Rachel Kirby (Michael Learned), however, the holiday is marred by the return of her convict-cum-drifter husband, Matt (Frederic Forrest), who wants to become a part of the family once more. His arrival signals trouble - not only for Rachel - but her teenage daughter Tilda (Rosanna Arquette) and her mother (Geraldine Page).^[11]

• Electric Dreams (1984): the story of an artificially intelligent PC and its human owner, Miles Harding (Lenny Von Dohlen), who find themselves caught up in a romantic battle over a woman, Madeline Robistat (Virginia Madsen). Caulfield plays Bill, a handsome classical musician, and a second potential rival for hopeless architect, Miles.^[12]

• The Boys Next Door (1985): Caulfield and Charlie Sheen starred as two high school graduates who take a trip to Los Angeles. Of the two, Roy Olsen (Caulfield) is the more sullen and withdrawn, having almost surrendered to the idea of starting work in the local factory following graduation. His best friend, Bo Richards (Sheen) appears to share his friend's disillusionment with the world, but not to such a great extent. Arriving in Los Angeles, the murders soon begin as Roy is witness to a wealth he can never hope to obtain. Directed by Penelope Spheeris, the film tackles subjects such as greed and envy, racism, homophobia and jealousy.^[13]

• The Supernaturals (1986): Caulfield appeared in The Supernaturals, a horror film which co-starred Talia Balsam, LeVar Burton, and Nichelle Nichols. Plot: one hundred years ago, deep in the sullen backwoods of the southern states, a Confederate town is held captive, the rebels forced to walk through a piece of woodland laced with mines. Wearing a Confederate outfit, Jeremy, a young boy is also forced to make the crossing. If they make it across the minefield the Union 44th will set them free. Only Jeremy and his mother survive, despite the latter stepping on a mine. Jeremy exhibits unearthly powers. Skip to circa 1986 when a platoon of soldiers are out on manouevres in the same backwater. They are the 44th, descendants of those who committed the atrocities. Trouble begins as, one-by-one, members of the 44th go missing. They lose radio contact. A strange fog rolls in, out of which appear the Confederate undead, seeking revenge on the descendants of the hated 44th. Caulfield plays Private Ellis.^[14]

Television

• Dynasty & The Colbys (1985-87): For the remainder of the 1980s, Caulfield concentrated on various high profile TV projects, such as Dynasty and The Colbys, as Miles Colby. He played the same role in 1991 in Dynasty: The Reunion.^[15]

1990s

• Sundown: The Vampire in Retreat (1990): Robert Van Helsing (Bruce Campbell) is an incompetent descendant of Abraham Van Helsing, exploring the small town of Purgatory in search of his infamous ancestor. But Purgatory is inhabited by reclusive vampires (M. Emmet Walsh) et al., who prefer to take it easy and lounge around in sunglasses and sun cream - a protection against the sun's deadly rays. David Harrison (Jim Metzler) is an expert in the production of synthetic blood, and has been summoned by Jozek Mardulak David Carradine, as Purgatory's blood-making facility is not working. Harrison is unaware that Purgatory is populated by vampires, thinking his work as part of an official experiment, and ends up in a vampire civil war: the evil Shane (Caulfield) - another vampire elder - prefers the traditional ways of obtaining blood.^[16]

• Waxwork II: Lost in Time (1992): Waxwork II: Lost in Time reunited Caulfield with Campbell, Carradine, and Metzler. Waxwork 2 also featured Caulfield's real-life wife, Juliet Mills. Waxwork 2 is a series of short tales stitched together by a wraparound story and the original film. Caulfield stars in the Science fiction segment, in which a crew of astronauts find their space ship the target of aliens.^[17]

• Gettysburg (1993): Caulfield starred alongside Tom Berenger, Jeff Daniels, Sam Elliott, and Martin Sheen in Ronald F. Maxwell's 254 minute epic film, which co-starred Kevin Conway, C. Thomas Howell, Richard Jordan, James Lancaster, and Stephen Lang. The film recounted the Battle of Gettysburg that took place July 1–3, 1863,^[18] as based on the book The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara. Caulfield played Colonel Strong Vincent, a lawyer who gained notoriety as an officer during the battle of Little Round Top. He successfully defended Little Round Top with his Union brigade, and was mortally wounded during the battle.^{[citation needed]}

• Empire Records (1995): Caulfield starred alongside Rory Cochrane, Ethan Embry, Anthony LaPaglia, Debi Mazar, Brendan Sexton III, Robin Tunney, Liv Tyler, Johnny Whitworth and Renée Zellweger as Rex Manning, a sleazy has-been pop star, in Allan Moyle's film, Empire Records (1995). ^[19] Plot: Empire Records is a small, independent record shop managed by Joe (LaPaglia). His employees are all high-school students and young adults. The store is set somewhere in Delaware.^[20] Rex Manning is invited to the shop by Joe for an autograph signing session. A washed-up pop singer, Manning, who still believes he should be treated as a star, makes a move on the young Gina (Zellweger). This only adds to Joe's mounting problems, as the shop is in danger of being turned into a Music Town chain store and the staff have gambled and lost his savings at a Atlantic City casino, albeit in an unselfish final bid to save Empire Records. Caulfield provided vocals for the song "Say No More (Mon Amore)", which plays relentlessly in the shop prior to his arrival on Rex Manning Day.^[21] Initially, the movie fared moderately on a critical level and poorly on a commercial level, but has since garnered a cult status (the youngsters in the film being typically Generation X material).^[22]

• Prey of the Jaguar (1996): In 1996, Caulfield played the costumed avenger "The Jaguar". After his family is killed by drug dealers, Derek Leigh (Caulfield), an American cop and ex-military Special Operations agent, adopts the persona of vigilante superhero "Jaguar". He is inspired by a cartoon character invented and sketched by his late son. Leigh eventually exacts his revenge on the drug lord.

• Oblivion 2: Backlash (1996): In the City of Oblivion, a suave, yet lethal Bounty hunter named Sweeney (Caulfield) arrives to arrest the seductive outlaw Lash on multiple charges, including murder. Lash, who has just inherited a mine of Derconium, a valuable mineral, from Crowley in a card game, meets up with the brother of Jaggar, Redeye. Jaggar wants the mine for himself, so he can rule the galaxy. Thus ensues a fight over who will capture Lash: the Sheriff of Oblivion vs Jaggar vs Sweeney.^[23] Oblivion 2: Backlash is part Science fiction, part Western (genre), part Fantasy (genre). It is part of the B-movie horror production company, Full Moon Features aka Full Moon Entertainment. Oblivion 2: Backlash also features Andrew Divoff, Isaac Hayes, and Meg Foster.^[24]

• The Real Blonde (1997): Caulfield had a starring role in Tom DiCillo's The Real Blonde (1997) opposite Matthew Modine and Catherine Keener. Plot: Joe and Mary have been living together in Manhattan for six years. Joe is an waiter-actor, who has no agent or acting credits, but is extremely nevertheless ambitious. Mary works as a make-up stylist for hot fashion photographer Blair, and she pays most of the couple's bills. Joe finally lowers his standards and accepts a degrading bit-part in a Madonna (entertainer) video, while his friend and co-waiter Bob gets a high-paying job on a soap opera opposite siren Kelly.^[25] Caulfield played Bob, a pretentious British actor who sleeps with models and subsequently drops them for not being real blondes. He eventually finds "The Real Blonde" when he meets actress, Kelly (Hannah), his co-star on the soap opera. She, however, turns out to be equally pretentious, while Bob's girlfriend proper, Savannah (Wilson), is truly in love with him.^[26]

• The Man Who Knew Too Little (1997): Caulfield made a cameo appearance in the Bill Murray espionage spoof, The Man Who Knew Too Little (1997). He appears near the end of the film as a secret agent.^[27]

• Dazzle (1999) was a UK fantasy film, in which Caulfield played a widowed children's writer with writer's block; a fairy takes on human form and enters his life and that of his daughter.^[28]

2000s

Films

• Overnight Sensation (2000): Caulfield had a role in this comedy about a young filmmaker's journey to seek success at the Sundance Film Festival.^[29] The film is set in Park City, Utah, where the Sundance Film Festival is held annually, and it explores the Park City experience.

Television

• Caulfield's first TV role was playing a punk^{[clarification needed]} in the soap opera Ryan's Hope, centered predominantly on the Ryans, a working-class Irish-American family. They own a bar where the show's characters interact. The family's dreams and ambitions sparked the stories. Caulfield starred in four episodes of Ryan's Hope in 1980.^[30]

• Till We Meet Again (1989): Caulfield joined Barry Bostwick, Bruce Boxleitner, Courteney Cox, Hugh Grant, Mia Sara and Michael York in the televised version of Till We Meet Again (1989), based on Krantz's novel. The two-part TV miniseries also starred his wife, Juliet Mills. Till We Meet Again revolves around the lives of three young women as they deal with various incidents around them and, during which, they find romance and become swept up in family intrigue. The film covers events from 1913-56: the music halls of Paris, Hollywood during the 1930s, World War II-torn England, and the vineyards in Champagne, France. Caulfield played Alain Marais.^[31]

• Casualty (2003-4): Played Jim Brodie (58 episodes).^[32]Caulfield's character, Jim Brodie, was a member of the A&E team. He had returned from America and the methods he had used during his time in the American ER system often clashed with the ideals of Harry Harper (Simon MacCorkindale). Brodie sacrificed his life to save another character. His final appearance in Casualty was episode #19.17; his last appearance as Brodie was in Holby City episode #7.11^[33]

• Emmerdale (2009-2010): Played Mark Wylde aka Daniel Lamb. Bigamist Owner of Home farm, father to Nathan Wylde, Maisie Wylde, Will wylde and Ryan lamb. Tracked down by his first wife Faye Lamb. Shot dead by second wife Natasha wylde.

Audio Work (narrator)

• Spider-Man: The Animated Series (1995-98): Caulfield provided the voice of Alistair Smythe aka Spider-Slayer in Stan Lee's Spider-Man: The Animated Series - Marvel Comics - from 1994–98 (18 episodes). He worked with Mark Hamill among others. Smythe is a comic book supervillain and part of the Marvel Universe. He is a key adversary of Spider-Man, who turned himself into a Spider-Slayer in order to defeat the webslinger.^[34]

James Bond 007: Nightfire (2002)

In 2002 Caulfield provided the voice of Ian Fleming's fictional British Secret Intelligence Service agent, James Bond, for the video game 007: Nightfire.

Audiobooks (narrator)

• Anonymous Rex by Eric Garcia (2000).
• The Lion of Cormarre and Other Stories: The Collected Stories of Arthur C. Clarke (1937-1049) (2001).
• Mimus by Lilli Thal (2007).
• Spud by John van de Ruit (2008).
• Sebastian Darke: Prince of Fools by Philip Caveney (2008).
• Spud: The Madness Continues by John van de Ruit (2009).

Music (as vocalist)

• 1995: "Say No More (Mon Amore)" in Tom DiCillo's Empire Records (as Rex Manning)
• 1982: "Charades" on the Grease 2 soundtrack (as Michael Carrington)
• 1982: "(Love Will) Turn Back the Hands of Time" with Michelle Pfeiffer on the Grease 2 soundtrack
• 1982: "Score Tonight" with Cast on the Grease 2 soundtrack
• 1982: "Who's That Guy?" with Cast on the Grease 2 soundtrack
• 1982: "Rock-A-Hula-Luau (Summer is Coming)" with Cast on the Grease 2 soundtrack
• 1982: "We'll Be Together" with Cast on the Grease 2 soundtrack

Stage

• Class Enemy (1978) at the Player's Theater, West Village, New York
• The Elephant Man (1981), Florida
• Entertaining Mr. Sloane (1981), Cherry Lane Theater, New York
• Hitting Town (1982), Los Angeles
• Journey's End (1982), Los Angeles
• 1984 (1983), Los Angeles
• Paradise Lost (1983), Mirror Repertory Company
• Inheritors (1983), Mirror Repertory Company
• Salonika (1984) at The Public Theater, New York
• Sleuth (1988), Curran Theater, California
• An Inspector Calls (1992), Broadway (New York) & Royal National Theatre (UK)
• Tryst, Promenade Theater^[where?]
• Our Leading Lady at the City Centre, New York (Manhattan Theatre Club)
• Chicago played Billy Flynn at the Cambridge Theatre, London
• Bedroom Farce (2010) played Nick in a UK-wide touring production.
• The Rocky Horror Show, played the Narrator at Royal Centre Nottingham, the Darlington Civic Theatre and the Southsea Kings Theatre
• Cactus Flower (2011), played Dr. Julian Winston at the Westside Theater Upstairs, New York

Awards

• Theater World Award (1979) for his performance in Class Enemy (Players Theatre, West Village, New York City). ^[5]

References

1. ^ Caulfield's IMDb profile
2. ^ Place of birth as per ITV's Loose Women, 23 February 2009
3. ^ "I was in a movie called ACCIDENT. I wasn't a child actor at all but my mother was the secretary to Harold Pinter ... Joe Losey was the director. It was a very wonderful adult drama with Dirk Bogard, Stanley Baker and Vivien Merchant. I played the son of Dirk Bogard; a very brief role, but I was on a movie set when I was six. As I think back on it, that's what cemented it."
4. ^ Caulfield early years info
5. ^ ^{a b c d e} Panarello, Joseph F., "Maxwell Caulfield Bares His Soul", Broadwayworld.com, 18 April 2006
6. ^ Carter Jim, Clark Tom, Maxwell Caulfield biography at Film Reference, Theatre, Film, and Televisions Biographies; accessed 10 April 2011
7. ^ ^{a b c} Celebrity Profiles, Maxwell Caulfield in SuperiorPics, [accessed] April 12, 2011.
8. ^ Chicago, Broadway.com [website], "Maxwell Caulfield, Jeff McCarthy on Deck to Play Billy Flynn in Chicago", 1 November 2007.
9. ^ Gans, Andrew, Cactus Flower, With Maxwell Caulfield and Lois Robbins, to End-Off Broadway Run, 5 April 2011
10. ^ Grease 2, IMDb synopsis
11. ^ The Parade, IMDb profile
12. ^ Electric Dreams, IMDb synopsis
13. ^ The Boys Next Door, IMDb synopsis
14. ^ The Supernaturals, Embassy Video, 1986
15. ^ Dynasty: The Reunion, IMDb synopsis
16. ^ Sundown: The Vampire in Retreat, IMDb synopsis
17. ^ Waxwork 2: Lost in Time, IMDb synopsis
18. ^ Gettysburg, IMDb synopsis
19. ^ Empire Records, IMDb synopsis
20. ^ Empire Records, 1995, plot synopsis at Wikipedia
21. ^ Maxwell Caulfield, Children of the 90s, 5 August 2010
22. ^ Roger Ebert review in the Chicago Times of Empire Records, 25 September 1995
23. ^ Oblivion 2: Backlash, IMDb profile
24. ^ Oblivion 2: Backlash, Full Moon Entertainment, Video, 1996
25. ^ The Real Blonde, IMDb synopsis
26. ^ Tom DiCillo, The Real Blonde, Lakeshore Entertainment, 1995
27. ^ The Man Who Knew Too Little, IMDb synopsis
28. ^ Dazzle, IMDb synopsis
29. ^ Overnight Sensation, IMDb synopsis
30. ^ Ryan's Hope, IMDb synopsis
31. ^ Till We Meet Again, IMDb synopsis
32. ^ Casualty, IMDb synopsis
33. ^ Brodie, Jim, Casualty, BBC website, September 2006
34. ^ Maxwell Caulfield's IMDb filmography

External links

• Maxwell Caulfield at the Internet Movie Database
• Maxwell Caulfield at the Internet Broadway Database
• Maxwell Caulfield at the Internet Off-Broadway Database

Persondata
Name	Caulfield, Maxwell
Alternative names
Short description	Actor
Date of birth	23 November 1959
Place of birth	Duffield, Derbyshire, England
Date of death
Place of death