Maxwell Caulfield was born
on November 23, 1959 in Duffield, Derbyshire, England. Although not a child actor per se, at around seven he reportedly
played "Ted" (using the pseudonym Maxwell Findlater) in the 1967
film, “Accident”. The film starred starring Stanley Baker, Dirk Bogarde and
Michael York.
The actor's American
stepfather, Peter Maclaine, a former marine, reportedly kicked Caulfield out of
the house at the age of 15. Peter and Maxwell's mother, Oriole, had a son,
Marcus Maclaine, who is Maxwell's half-brother. 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.
He became a familiar face
to many TV viewers in the soap operas ‘Dynasty’ (1981) and ‘The Colbys’ (1982).
He was then chosen from among thousands of applicants to appear as
Michael Carrington in the sequel to the most successful musical film “Grease”
of all time. Both he and his co-star, a fresh-faced young newcomer named
Michelle Pfeiffer, were hailed as "The Next Overnight Sensations" and
“Grease 2” (1982) was going to make him a star. However, the film was a
critical and commercial disaster, and his career was seriously affected.
He went on toappear in “The Parade” (1984), “The Boys Next Door
(1985).
Since then he has appeared
in a number of uninspired B-movies and direct-to-video films. However, it was
his stage work that allowed him to demonstrate his range as an actor. He won
rave reviews for his roles on Broadway in such productions as
"Entertaining Mr. Sloane" (1981) and "An Inspector Calls"
(1992). He also headlined the off-Broadway smash "My Night With Reg"
(1997). Those performances, along with his widely cherished turn as sleazy pop
star Rex Manning in the film “Empire Records” (1995), led to his winning the
prize role of Bob in Tom DiCillo's “The Real Blonde” (1997) opposite such
luminaries as Matthew Modine, Kathleen Turner, Steve Buscemi, Daryl Hannah and
Elizabeth Berkley. He has been married to Juliet Mills since 1980, whom he met
while starring in "The Elephant Man" on Broadway.
Maxwell appeared in only
one Euro-western as Sweeney in 1994’s “Oblivion 2” directed by Sam Irwin.
Today we celebrate Maxwell
Caulfield’s 55th birthday.
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