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John Malkovich is downplaying the Oscar buzz that he’s already getting for “Wild Horse Nine,” a darkly comedic drama that premieres at the Venice Film Festival. In the Martin McDonagh-directed movie, Malkovich plays
a crackling CIA agent who’s taking stock of his life.
Across his memorable, decades-long career in movies such as “Dangerous Liaisons,” “Being John Malkovich,” “In the Line of Fire” and “Empire of the Sun,” Malkovich has been nominated for two Academy Awards but never won. At Thursday afternoon’s press conference for “Wild Horse Nine,” Malkovich was asked by a journalist whether he’s already started writing the acceptance speech.
“That is an incredibly kind,” Malkovich. “I’ve had a long career, and I’ve had spectacular collaborations with writers, directors and actors. I never feel in competition with any of them. For me, it’s a very nice thing. But the nicest thing is the film getting attention. And the film has several terrific performers, and it’s beautifully written and directed. That’s what matters to me.”
“Wild Horse Nine” was written and directed by McDonagh and co-stars Sam Rockwell and Steve Buscemi. Set in the 1970s, the dark comedy follows two CIA officers (Malkovich and Rockwell) who are dispatched to Easter Island shortly before the before the Chilean military coup that overthrew socialist president Salvador Allende. Mariana di Girolamo, Ailín Salas, Tom Waits and Parker Posey, who round out the cast, were also in attendance at the press conference.
McDonagh says he likes to use movies as a way to “question authority and what we’re being told.”
“I’ve been interested in the truth of what the CIA is doing in the past 50 years, and the awful things they’ve been doing around the world,” said McDonagh, referring to events in Guatemala, the Congo and Bay of Pigs. “That’s something that’s not talked about enough. We know what the KGB are like, but we don’t question the CIA’s activity as much as we ought to.”
Malkovich described his and Rockwell’s characters as “two jackasses” and acknowledged that accepting the role was an “easy decision.”
“I had been sent a couple of things that Martin had written before, which I was unable to consider because of other commitments,” Malkovich said. “When this came around, I decided absolutely I’d do it. Thankfully, I didn’t have anything standing in the way.”
“Wild Horse Nine” bows on Thursday night and will compete for the Golden Lion. It marks McDonagh’s return to Lido, having premiered his two prior films, 2022’s “The Banshees of Inisherin” and 2017’s “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri,” at prior editions of the festival. Those films became major Oscar contenders after scoring raves in Venice. “Three Billboards” won two Academy Awards, for Rockwell and Frances McDormand. With McDonagh’s history, “Wild Horse Nine,” too, could find itself in the thick of awards season.
Whether Malkovich walks away in many months — the Oscars aren’t until March 2027! — with a statue in hand, the 72-year-old actor shared he has no desire to stop acting.
“I’ve been doing what I love my whole life. I plan to keep doing that,” he said. I don’t plan to retire because I think they’ll retire me when it’s time. That seems to be the natural course of things.”
