BY DANIEL BAIG | James Bond has M. Austin Powers has Basil Exposition. Back in theaters now for the third time as that suave and debonair spymaster is Michael York, veteran star of, as they say, stage and screen.

Michael has had a rich and varied career, one which many an actor would be jealous of. Hes played both John the Baptist and the Devil, and both Merlin and King Arthur. Just starting out in the film business at the end of the 60s, he appeared in two now almost legendary Franco Zeffirelli Shakespearean adaptations, the Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton-starring The Taming of the Shrew, and the international sensation that was Romeo and Juliet. In 1969 he took the lead role, a George Harrison-like figure on a musical and spiritual sojourn in India, in The Guru, an early work by the team of director James Ivory, producer Ismail Merchant, and screenwriter Ruth Prawer Jhabvala later to become synonymous with classy filmmaking and known as simply Merchant Ivory. In the 70s as a handsome young leading man he was the star of a series of outstanding movies including The Three Musketeers, its sequel The Four Musketeers, Murder On The Orient Express, Cabaret, and, of course, the science-fiction classic Logans Run. Austin Powers in Goldmember isnt the first time Michael has returned to a popular character for a second sequel: in the 80s he toplined a reunion of the All for one and one for all! gang in The Return of the Musketeers. Just last year he reprised another popular role, that of Stone Alexander, a.k.a. Lucifer, a.k.a. Beelzebub, a.k.a. the Antichrist, a.k.a. the Beast. He first assayed this devilish character in the 1999 Christian thriller The Omega Code. And though Michaels Alexander was vanquished by the forces of God at the end of that surprise box office success, he proved so popular that he ended up starring in the apocalyptic sequel, last Septembers Megiddo: The Omega Code 2. Although generally critics were not kind to either film, reviews for both movies did single Michael out for enthusiastic praise. This January saw publication of a book Michael wrote about his experiences working on the productions, Dispatches From Armageddon: Making The Movie Megiddo . . . a Devilish Diary! [sic]

Goldmember is Michaels second movie to be released this year. In the spring he was seen in  or, more accurately, largely not seen, since the film had a very limited and short release here in the States  Borstal Boy, an Irish film (though starring young American actor Shawn Hatosy), from the people behind My Left Foot and In The Name of the Father, based on the memoir by writer Brendan Behan about his time in a youth prison (thats what borstal means) in England in the 40s. Michael played the warden of the borstal who tries to set his charges on the straight and narrow, in a warm and gentle part and performance about as removed from the Satanic Stone Alexander as could be imagined.

I was fortunate to be given the opportunity to talk with Michael earlier this year, at his house in the Hollywood Hills.

On my way up the path to his door, I met his wife Pat coming in the opposite direction. I stopped and briefly introduced myself. I recognized her from the photographs of her and Michael in the copy of Dispatches From Armageddon I had been reading. Pat is something of a celebrity in her own right. Shes an internationally exhibited photographer. Later on Michael showed me examples of her recent work decorating the walls of her airy, skylit home office. Of late she has been taking eerie pictures of human autopsy remains. These are simultaneously disgusting and oddly beautiful. She also has a series depicting people from different lines of work going about their jobs  without any clothes on. These I found a little easier to look at! And her third area of specialty is photographing celebrities. One such assignment in 1967, to take a picture of a young up-and-coming actor named Michael York, led to this now 34-year marriage.

Many readers of this site will no doubt recognize the name of her son (Michaels stepson): Rick McCallum. Yep. The one and the same  the producer of Star Wars Episodes I through III.

At the door I was met by a maid. For Mr. Michael? she asked me. After getting confirmation of this, she took me inside, and called out, Mr. Michael, theres a guy here for you.

Michael, casually but smartly dressed in jeans and a sweater, came out to greet me. After he led me to a couch in a den-sort of a room, he went to get me a drink. Did I want ice in my sparkling water? Uh, yes please. How typically American, was his judgement. Michael is English (though he and Pat have made Los Angeles their home since 1975). He didnt take ice in his sparkling water.

The room where we now sat, side by side on a couch, was dominated by a large screen TV. Everywhere  in stacks on the coffee table in front of it, in shopping bags on the floor around us  were DVDs and videos, all for your consideration screeners sent by studios. You see, it was Oscar time. And like all members of the Academy, at this time of year Michael is inundated with films hoping to find favor. Additionally, he informed me, he had been randomly selected by computer this year to be a member of the Screen Actors Guild Awards nominating group. We discussed the relative benefits of seeing movies at home versus on the big screen. Michael admitted that theres nothing like seeing a movie projected the way it was meant to be seen, but at the same time there are just so many movies too see and its so much more convenient to watch them without having to drive anywhere. On the other hand, for Lord of the Rings, which he hadnt seen yet, he was planning on going to a screening of it, even though he had a screener.

Among the DVDs waiting to be viewed were some which I thought had been sent rather quixotically  the hopeful suggestions on the covers of the Along Came A Spider and Lara Croft: Tomb Raider screeners for nominations in the categories of Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Actor, Best Actress, etc. seemed to me to be pretty much guaranteed to go unheeded. The Tomb Raider DVD (which Michael said he hadnt had a chance to watch yet) did, however, briefly lead to the topic of Angelina Jolie, with whom Michael has worked: he played her father in the 1997 TV movie True Women (tagline  In the Old West, men made the rules . . . and women broke them.) Michaels playing Angelinas father was kind of funny, I said, because of course her real-life father is Jon Voight, and . . .

Michael knew what I was getting at. Yes, its happened before. Ive been mistaken for him.

On working with Angelina: I loved her. Shes a beautiful girl. And she was very good. You could see that all the potential was there.

We spoke about his new book, which is mainly a day by day accounting of the process of making a film, from the very beginning stages, to shooting on location, through post-production, and right up to its release. One reason for this complete coverage of all these steps was that on Megiddo, Michael was not only the star but also an assistant producer.

Michaels writing style in Dispatches from Armageddon is light and breezy; he jumps backwards and forwards in time, as incidents and places frequently remind him of past experiences and amusing anecdotes from his long career. Much of Megiddo was shot on location in Europe, where hed made many, many films previously, and so in many cases he was revisiting old haunts. He and Pat are real globe trotters. Between his frequent film jobs and her exhibitions, they seemingly spend half their lives in hotels, planes, and airports.

Dispatches from Armageddon is actually Michaels third book. Two years ago, A Shakespearean Actor Prepares, a book of advice for actors on how to interpret and play the Bard which he co-authored with friend Adrian Brine, was met with considerable acclaim. And 1991 saw the publication of his glowingly-received autobiography, Accidentally On Purpose.

Speaking of the Omega Code movies, I told Michael that some months previously I had actually been sitting just a few seats away from him at a special screening at the Academy of a restored print of Federico Fellinis classic 8 1/2. I hadnt seen him yet, when my friend whispered to me, Hey, that guy who does the Christian movies is sitting right there!

Mention of Fellini led Michael to recall that the famed director had actually wanted him to star in his film Fellini Satyricon. Unfortunately, he was already committed to another project, Justine, directed by another legendary director, George Cukor. Michael told me, In fact, it was extraordinary, because [Fellini] said to me, Now I know that you cant play it, I know that no one can play it. It was such a seductive thing to say. It would have been lovely to have done [it], to have your cake and eat it, to have done both.

Michael, like so many British actors, started out on the stage. In 1965 he joined a new theater company that had recently been started by Laurence Olivier, the National Theatre Company (today the Royal National Theater Company). It had just been founded. It was in its second or third year. . . . [It was] based in the Old Vic Theatre. It was a very kind of, these were  well, they now look back on these as the sort of golden years.. . . I joined a company that was working on a production [directed] by [Franco] Zeffirelli of Much Ado About Nothing that included Maggie Smith, . . . Albert Finney, Derek Jacobi, Lynn Redgrave, Ian McKellen  in fact, Ian and I joined on the same day.

Lynn Redgrave and Michael ended up starring in a movie together just two years later. That film, Smashing Time, is a real portrait of Swinging Sixties London and the whole Mod scene. And it turns out it just may be influencing what youre seeing on movie screens right now:

[Its] a film that I actually gave to Mike Myers. I said, You should know about this, because its almost like a documentary of the era, Michael told me.

It was between the first and the second Austin Powers that Michael gave Smashing Time to Myers. So do you see any influence from it in the movies? I asked.

Well, Michael answered, It may be coincidental, but he [Austin Powers] shows up as a swinging photographer [in the second one]. (Michaels character in Smashing Time was a swinging photographer.)

Going back to the beginning of your involvement with the Austin Powers movies, I wondered, what did you think when you were first approached to play Basil?

I always go by instinct. Theres no other way of judging anything. Its whether, you know, you respond to it. And there was something about this screenplay that [laughs] I just thought was  interesting. Worth taking a meeting on, anyway. And, you know, I had admired Mike Myers work from Saturday Night Live, and Id even seen his ax murder film, too. [Laughs.] But I dont think anyone knew that this would be as phenomenal as it turned out to be.

I mentioned the really great bit in The Spy Who Shagged Me where Michael as Basil turns directly to the camera and advises the audience not to worry about the paradoxes of the time travel plot.

That was an improvisation, Michael revealed. Really? Yes. Thats the great thing about Mike. He allows a certain sort of comfort level of freedom. So I just suggested doing that, and everyone loved it. And then Mike did it  he did one for the camera, too.

We compared the relative success of the first sequel with the original. The second one, I said, was an absolute phenomenon.

I think thats not too excessive a choice of words, no.

I asked about its title. Here in America, I said, it sounds almost cute. But in England 

In England its completely vulgar! [Laughs.]

Did you hear any negative reaction about it over there?

Well, there were these little kids going around talking about shagging! and so on, yes, there was some [negative reaction]. But I think it was so popular that its almost taken the edge out of the word, you know. . . . I think the great thing about him, hes naughty, yes, but hes fundamentally very nice. Very hard to get upset about it. And you just have a good time.

I asked about the shooting of the third installment. [At the time of this interview, the movie was still in production.] Have you finished with your part?

No, no. Ive just got a day here and a day there, you know. Theres enormous  its very interesting now, because everybody wants to be in this, so a lot of walk-ons and cameos are played by extremely well known people. But Im not allowed  we were sworn to secrecy, unfortunately, which is the worst kind of interview situation. We had to sign some confidentiality agreement.

Wow!

Oh yes, theyre very serious about this!

Like a Star Wars movie!

Yes, completely. That same  the script gets delivered by a Brinks truck and that kind of thing.

I brought up The Guru in the context of the recent death of George Harrison, whose travels to India and study of Indian music seemed to be the inspiration for the storyline of that movie.

In fact, it was extraordinary. When we were filming it, you know, the Beatles were out there, Mia Farrow was  everyone was going to the Maharishi. And I actually sat down in a Bombay studio and played the sitar with George Harrison, because I had to learn to play the sitar for the film. I have a picture of it. . . . That was the only time I met him. But I really admire what he did as a film producer, too. Great, extraordinary career.

The year after The Guru, Michael made a film with Angela Lansbury called Something For Everyone, in which he played an amoral seducer of everyone around him. Two years after that he starred in Cabaret, opposite Liza Minnelli. I noted that in both movies, Michaels character was bisexual  and in the latter, more gay than not. Today, I said, it might be different, but at the time  thirty years ago 

Yes! People often said this at the time, What a risk youre taking! It didnt occur to me. It just seemed that they were such interesting roles. . . . And the thing about [my character in] Something For Everyone was  not even the dogs were safe!

My thanks to Michael York for being so generous with his time.