Mirror
News Shopper -
January 6th, 2004
Interview
with Maxwell Caulfield: I think my best is yet to come
It was the early
1980s and a 21-year-old actor called Maxwell Caulfield had it all -
matinee-idol looks and the lead role in a film that was predicted to
catapult him to A-list stardom.
He
had also just married Juliet Mills, 18 years his senior and the
daughter of Sir John Mills. Yet 20 years later the only thing that
survives from that time is the marriage.
Grease
II bombed at the box office and the high point of Maxwell's career
turned out to be as ruthless and manipulative Miles Colby in Dynasty
spin-off, The Colbys. The show was watched in the UK by 15million
people and 50million worldwide, but finished 16 years ago.
"My
career hasn't turned out to be anything like I expected it
would," says Maxwell.
Now
43, he has just reappeared on British screens with a role as sexy US
pediatrician Jim Brodie in the latest series of Casualty.
"Before
Grease II came out I was being hailed as the next Richard Gere or
John Travolta. But when Grease II flopped nobody would touch me.
"It
felt like a bucket of cold water had been thrown in my face. It took
me 10 years to get over Grease II."
Maxwell
believes he wouldn't have survived if it hadn't been for the support
of Juliet, now 61. They met in a stage production in New York and
were married within a year, when Maxwell's fame was at its height.
"Juliet
saved me from being a corpse," Maxwell reveals. "She was
my insurance policy in life. Put simply, she kept me sane. I was
depressed because the roles weren't coming in and when I went for
interviews I didn't get called back.
"I
wasn't doing drugs and it wasn't alcohol, but I was reckless and
that doesn't necessarily mean shooting up. I didn't care if I drove
my motorbike or car too fast.
"But
Juliet never gave me the impression that she had married a
loser."
They
were married in1980 and Juliet's young daughter Melissa from her
second marriage to a Czech architect was bridesmaid.
In
a bizarre family twist Juliet's younger sister Hayley and Maxwell's
younger brother Marcus were lovers for 15 years before parting.
He
insists that the 18-year difference in their ages was never an issue
for Juliet and himself.
"I
could sail the seven seas and not find a woman with as much
integrity and heart and passion."
While
Juliet had two children from her previous marriages, she and Maxwell
never had a family together. But Maxwell says that he never craved
children of his own and treats Melissa as his daughter.
Aspiring
actress Melissa, now 24, has taken Maxwell's surname and calls him
Dad.
"In
raising Melissa my paternal instincts were completely taken care
of," he says. "I am very proud of her."
British-born
Maxwell went to St Paul's School in London but left at 16 to emulate
his acting heroes such as James Dean.
Initially
he worked as a male stripper at the famous Windmill Club in Soho for
three months before moving to the US.
Now
he thinks success came too quickly, and too easily. He gained a
reputation for being difficult.
"I
understand when I read about 21- year-old pop stars acting like
idiots because I have been there myself," he says.
For
the last 15 years Maxwell has worked quietly on television projects,
but says his Casualty role has fired his ambition again.
"I
have no regrets about the way my career has turned out because I
think my best is yet to come," he smiles.
By
Clare Goldwin |
