Penguins of Madagascar star John Malkovich reckons people like him better when he’s terrible

“PEOPLE like me better when I am terrible,” says a stage and film veteran, who has twice been nominated for an Oscar. His new role is perfect.

JOHN Malkovich thinks he could see himself in the role of evil mastermind Octavius Brine, Penguins Of Madagascar’s purple, multi-tentacled scene-stealer, from the get-go.

“People like me better when I am terrible,” says the stage and film veteran, twice nominated for an Oscar (In the Line of Fire, Places in the Heart), whose sense of humour is drier than an AA meeting.

“I have done characters that probably were likable, or were meant to be likable, but somehow they are never as well liked.”

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Perfect match ... Malkovich and Dave the evil octopus. Picture: DreamWorks.

The 61-year-old star of Dangerous Liaisons, The Portrait Of a Lady and of course Being John Malkovich is not the least bit offended by moviegoers’ failure to appreciate his good guy credentials.

“I don’t mind not being likable. I wouldn’t call that a preference. It’s just that I don’t really care at all.”

He says he has two main criteria in choosing a role. The first is whether he finds the character interesting. The second is whether he is “well placed” to play them.

Dave the octopus, who disguises himself under the human alias of Octavius Brine, ticked both boxes.

Wonderfully wicked ... Malkovich with Pfeiffer in the 1988 film Dangerous Liaisons. Picture: Supplied.

“The fact that he is kind of slippery and quixotic and very terrible but kind of happily so — he is not someone who spends a great deal of time looking into those dark corners of his character — given the qualities of my voice and even my performance style. I thought it was a good match for me.”

Penguins Of Madagascar is technically Malkovich’s animated debut, since Beowulf was motion capture.

One of the founding members of Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre Company, the actor is best known for his art house fare, but he has delivered memorable performances in a string of popcorn movies, such as Con Air, Johnny English and Transformers: Dark Of the Moon.

“I quite like pop culture, but as an actor you essentially choose from among that which you are chosen for,’’ he says.

Popular choice ... with Nicholas Cage in Con Air (1997). Picture: Supplied.

“And most of the things I am chosen for, which then I can choose to do or not do, are unreservedly highbrow. I am very happy to do things like (Penguins) or RED. I mean, I haven’t done millions of them but every time I have, I have enjoyed it.”

That might be so. But when asked to name some of his guilty pleasures, Malkovich’s response is telling.

“When my children were small, obviously I saw a lot of animated films. I especially loved Tim Burton’s Nightmare Before Christmas and there was a very beautiful French one called The King and the Bird.”

Penguins’ Dr Octavius Brine. Picture: Supplied.

A certain physical resemblance. Picture: News Limited.

Malkovich, who owns a house in southern France, speaks the language fluently. In 2012 he directed a critically-acclaimed French stage version of Dangerous Liaisons, for which writer Christopher Hampton allowed him to readapt the last 10 minutes of his stage play.

“I saw The Lion King a million times, which maybe I liked a little less, but it was still perfectly enjoyable.”

Malkovich admits that he isn’t a big moviegoer — especially since his two children, Amandine and Loewy, left for college.

“I don’t have that influence any more in the pop culture realm, but when something very funny comes out — from The Hangover to There’s Something About Mary — I will probably see it.”

For the most part, he says, he prefers to make movies rather than watching them.

Cute as a button ... one of Malkovich’s co-stars. Picture: DreamWorks.

As well as acting in more than 70 motion pictures, Malkovich’s production company Mr Mudd has generated a string of quality projects since it was formed in 1998, including Ghost World, The Perks Of Being a Wallflower and Juno.

“My partners Russell Smith and Lianne Halfon and I all have kids more of less the same age. That gave us an interest in teenage lives,” he says of their youth-oriented project choices.

One of Mr Mudd’s most recent productions is Demolition, directed by Jean-Marc Vallee (Dallas Buyers Club) and starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Naomi Watts.

Cult favourite ... Scarlett Johansson and Thora Birch in Ghost World. Picture: Supplied.

What little downtime Malkovich has, he spends gardening or reading.

His selective interaction with contemporary pop culture might best be summed up by his brief foray into Twitter.

“Not really my bag at all. Personally I feel like I have shared more than enough with the rest of the world and I would imagine the rest of the world feels the same about me. When you get some private time, which is such a rarity in this world, best to use it, I would say.”

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Franchise spin-off ... Penguins of Madagascar get their own film. Picture: Supplied.