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The Wild Story of How the Beatles Tried to Get Mick Jagger Into ‘A Clockwork Orange’

All four Beatles signed a letter backing Mick Jagger for the role of Alex, while Jagger reportedly wanted the Stones as his droogs.

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Before Stanley Kubrick cast Malcolm McDowell as Alex in A Clockwork Orange, a few of the more prominent rock stars of the day weighed in on who they thought should get the part.

A 1967 letter addressed to the film’s original screenwriter, Terry Southern, reads as follows: “We, the undersigned, do hereby protest with extreme vehemence as well as shattered illusions (in you) the preference of David Hemmings above Mick Jagger in the role of Alex in [A] Clockwork Orange.” For context, Hemmings, an English actor who later appeared in movies like Gladiator and Gangs of New........

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