John Malkovich at the BFI London Film Festival on Oct. 9, 2026 Courtesy of Getty John Malkovich is well aware of his current awards momentum, even if the “onslaught” of attention doesn’t quite suit his “native personality.”
The U.S. star has hit the festival circuit with Martin McDonagh’s tragicomedy Wild Horse Nine, his performance in which is being hailed as potentially the best of his career and almost certainly an Oscar nomination lock. It isn’t the first Academy Award nod he’ll have earned — he’s been recognized before in 1985 and 1994 for Places in the Heart and In the Line of Fire, respectively — but at a BFI London Film Festival talk on Sunday afternoon, the actor conceded the awards campaign is an entirely different beast in 2026.
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“[I feel] probably different [about awards consideration] than I did [when In the Line of Fire came out] because the movie business existed [and] it maintained, undeservedly in my opinion, a very high position in the culture. And when I say undeserved, [I] mean there weren’t that many Chinatowns or Godfathers or Godfather IIs,” he began. “Now, [the awards trail] is the only way to get people to go to the theaters, the whole thing, and that’s months and months and months.”
He recalled being nominated for Places in the Heart and going to his first and only Oscars in 1985. He was in the car and asked his “a little bit bossy” manager, Phyllis, if he could go in through a side door. “‘Honey, it’s the Oscars,'” she clicked in his face. “There is no side door!” The entire room of attendees burst into laughter at Malkovich’s story. “So that’s my native personality in the face of that onslaught,” he said about embarking on another campaign for Wild Horse Nine. “But also, I’m a grown-up. It’s a part of the business now.”
He remembered that his early films made their money even before the big Oscar night. “Now, [winning an Oscar] seems to be the only way you get people to actually go to a theater.” When asked if it broke his heart after Malkovich admitted he’s unsure his daughter would consider going to the theater these days, Malkovich simply said: “No, because I’m 72 years old. Things change. I don’t really like thinking, ‘Things aren’t what they used to be.’ They just change, and you either change with them or die. And I prefer to change with them.”
Wild Horse Nine stars Malkovich and Sam Rockwell as Chris and Lee, longtime CIA partners stationed in Santiago, Chile who are dispatched to Easter Island by their bureau chief (Steve Buscemi). Against the surreal backdrop of the island’s monumental Moai statues, the pair begin reckoning with their murky shared past. At the same time, Chris forms an unexpected bond with two rebellious Chilean students, played by Mariana di Girolamo and Ailín Salas — an encounter that threatens to unravel the agents’ friendship and the conspiracy in which they have become entangled.
The BFI London Film Festival premiere of the film took place on Friday night, where Malkovich, Rockwell and McDonagh made an appearance at the glitzy red carpet event.
Naturally, Malkovich was asked about a running theme in many of his movies — the Kennedy assassination — particularly because his character in Wild Horse Nine is implied to have played a major part in the death of the former U.S. President. When asked about his personal opinion on the matter, the actor replied: “I know what didn’t happen is what they said happened.”
Malkovich described McDonagh as a “great writer” and a “direct, kind” filmmaker. “He can give great notes,” he continued. “He told me about one of the scenes with big heads… He just came over and said, ‘More David Attenborough,’ which I just thought was one of the greatest notes, and which I didn’t do very well.”
He likened his co-star Rockwell to “a trainer at SeaWorld feeding fish to a shark.” Confused chuckles from the audience had Malkovich explaining: “If you watch him 20 times, you get a good idea of how good he is at that… He’s such a great colleague, such a wonderful actor, and so fantastic in this, everything he does is perfect, and he can go any which way at any second.”
Malkovich confessed he is “not a political person,” but said Wild Horse Nine is wildly existential and evocative when it comes to themes of grief and mortality.
He covered the milestones of a vast and vibrant career across Sunday’s session, from Dangerous Liaisons and working with Clint Eastwood to the West End and how he came to star in 1999’s Being John Malkovich, a set on which Malkovich admitted to “having a moment” and “being an asshole” when filming on a particularly hot day. He even discussed a little of his ancestry — Malkovich recently discovered he is 43 percent Romanian — and the rarity of reading a genuinely brilliant script.
“It’s so rare to read a great screenplay and make a really excellent film. And you can work as hard as you like. You can give a really interesting performance, and if the film isn’t very good, it’s absolutely meaningless,” said Malkovich. “It doesn’t mean anything. It’s totally waste of your time in the public.”
To end, Malkovich was probed on his film set to be released next century, 100 Years, from director Robert Rodriguez. To his knowledge, the movie currently sits behind bulletproof glass in a vault and will open in the year 2115. “I have tickets,” the actor joked. “I don’t think I’ll be at the opening night. You know, my grandchildren won’t even be here as well.”
The 70th BFI London Film Festival runs Oct. 7-18.
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