When “va-va-voom” Michelle Pfeiffer walked onto the set of “Grease 2,” Maxwell Caulfield knew he wouldn’t be tempted by the sultry starlet.
The actor, who starred as motorcycle-riding Michael Carrington, is gearing up to honor his wife, Juliet Mills, at this year’s Cinecon in Hollywood during Labor Day weekend. Looking back at his career, the 65-year-old told Fox News Digital it was easy to play Pfeiffer’s love interest in the 1982 film.
“We did not have the kind of relationship that John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John did [in the original film],” he explained. “They were so symbiotic, they absolutely loved each other. Michelle and I only had to play being in love. And we both just got married. So, there was no question about any [lines] being crossed in that regard.”
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“Michelle is a bit of a sphinx,” he chuckled. “She’s always retained a certain mystery.”
While their relationship on set was strictly platonic, Caulfield said they did bond over the possibility of skyrocketing to international fame – just as Travolta and Newton-John did in 1978.
“I think we were both apprehensive about imminent stardom,” he said. “We would sometimes talk about how one would handle it, because it’s a very real thing to suddenly become world famous. It suddenly means, like everything in life, there’s a price to pay.”
And Caulfield had good reason to think about the possibility of becoming a household name. While teen idols Rick Springfield and Leif Garrett were considered, it was Caulfield who scored the role. And according to reports, even Tom Cruise auditioned at one point.
But fate had different plans for Caulfield.
When “Grease 2” premiered in theaters, it attempted to go toe-to-toe against heavyweights like “E.T.,” “Rocky III” and “Poltergeist.” And tunes like “Back to School Again” didn’t resonate with audiences in June. After it was dismissed by critics, “Grease 2” was knocked out cold at the box office.
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Meanwhile, Pfeiffer went on to star in another film, “Scarface,” opposite Al Pacino.
“When the film… didn’t take off, I went down with the ship,” said Caulfield. “But she rose like a fabulous phoenix.”
Caulfield admitted it wasn’t easy to watch Pfeiffer soar to fame as he struggled to find his way in Hollywood.
“I did hope to be embraced by a movie-going audience,” he said. “I did aspire to represent a certain mantle of cool that movie stardom bestows upon you… There’s just something about achieving that kind of tremendous success… I always say to young actors, ‘Be very careful about the first role you do, because that’s the role you’re going to be asked to play very often, a variation of that for many years of your career.’”
Still, there are no hard feelings toward Pfeiffer, Caulfield insisted.
“I hope one day to work with her again,” he beamed. “She’s a wonderfully generous actress… And look, Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise, these guys are practically contemporaries of mine, and they still look like a million bucks, but they are genuine movie stars… They’ve also held on to their hair. To lose it is the cardinal sin in Hollywood.”
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While Caulfield immersed himself in the theater, he went on to star in “The Colbys,” a “Dynasty” spinoff. The series ran from 1986 to 1987. But it wouldn’t be until decades later that Caulfield scored an iconic role.
“’Empire Records?’ Never heard of it,” he joked. “’Empire Records’ is an extraordinary thing. It’s up there with ‘Grease 2’ in terms of a movie that literally nobody went to see on the opening weekend, but thanks to you, kids, you revived it from the graveyard of cinematic bombs and elevated it to genuine cult status. And I did get to play a strutting peacock in that.”
In the 1995 film about an independent record store, Caulfield plays Rex Manning, a washed-up ’80s heartthrob. The film earned just more than $300,000 at the box office after a limited release. However, it has become a cult hit over the years. And every April 8, a key date in the movie, fans celebrate “Rex Manning Day” on social media.
“The joke’s on Rex Manning, a lot, but it was a fun experience making ‘Empire Records,’” said Caulfield.
“And I’ve got to tell you that the scene that doesn’t get nearly enough airplay [is]… Rex Manning’s crazy, deranged male fantasy video on the sand with all those girls in black lingerie, a four-poster bed, a wind machine and Cuban heels. It’s not easy to walk up a sand dune in Cuban heels. But I enjoyed doing that very much and recording the song.”
These days, Caulfield is busy performing in the play “The Lost Gospel of Pontius Pilate.” The stage is one of his greatest loves. The other is his wife, the daughter of actor Sir John Mills and Disney icon Hayley Mills. They’ve been married since 1980.
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“She took a real chance of marrying me when she did,” said Caulfield. “She was the one who had a career and a lofty reputation. I was the upstart New York actor full of ambition, but madly in love with her. And obviously, there was an age difference. Juliet was far more worldly than me, and she was, especially in those early years, very patient with me… She took the plunge. She’s always had a bit of a rebel spirit. And it seemed to have paid off.”
“We’ve never gone to bed upset with each other,” he shared. “I’m absolutely blessed… There’s a certain level of adoration that precludes, frankly, any tendency that one might face to stray. That famous Paul Newman quote about his wife Joanne Woodward – why would I go out for a hamburger when I got filet mignon at home? It’s legit. The chemistry has lasted all these years… And it’s been quite an adventure.”
