'12
Did you know that Rooney Mara has had a boyfriend this whole time? I’m sure someone knew that, but I didn’t. Her boyfriend, Charlie McDowell, hasn’t been on her arm at any of her big press events. She hasn’t discussed him in interviews. These are the first photos of them together in months, and even then, they’re candids, out and about in NYC and arriving at LAX yesterday. Even more stunning? Charlie McDowell has famous parents – he’s the son of Mary Steenburgen and Malcolm McDowell. WTF?!?! Mary and Malcolm were together? They had a KID together? How do I have no knowledge of this? E! News put together a “getting to know… Roony Mara’s boyfriend” piece that I found interesting:
Lizbeth Salander doesn’t loath all men. Rooney Mara, whose performance as the troubled yet super-fierce hacker in The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo is winning rave reviews, has recently been spotted out and about—and smooching—a guy by the name of Charlie McDowell.
And, because Mara is a rising movie star, Vogue cover girl, fashion plate, Golden Globe nominee, etc., we wanted to know way more about the fellow on her arm. You know, make sure he’s up to snuff.
Here are five things we learned:
1. He’s Got a Big, Fancy Family: If not exactly royalty, he’s at least acting gentry, or something like that. Dad is multifaceted British thesp Malcolm McDowell (Charlie’s full name is Charles Malcolm McDowell), mom is Mary Steenburgen and sis is Sons of Anarchy actress Lily McDowell. Subsequently, his stepdad is Ted Danson. Malcolm had three more kids with current wife Kelley, so Charlie’s got three half-siblings. Hey, Rooney gets it. Her sis is American Horror Story star Kate Mara and her parents are both scions of storied NFL-team power players.
2. When in Rome…: McDowell was born in L.A. and headed right into showbiz after studying film at Chapman University. The 28-year-old has written, directed and produced short films, toured with Ben Harper making a concert film, manned a camera at sporting events, served as a production assistant (and had a small role) on Curb Your Enthusiasm and was a consultant on the Ken Burns documentary series Baseball. Now McDowell, who became a directing fellow at the American Film Institute in 2005, has his own company, Cloudbreak Productions. He directed Danson and Lolita Davidovich in his 2007 short, Bye Bye Benjamin.
3. He’s Adaptable: Mara is a born-and-raised New Yorker, and the majority of her and McDowell’s photo ops have come on the streets of Manahattan, and one in Stockholm. Aw, what a good boyfriend, traveling around with her like that! Award season is heating up, though, and we’ll be keeping an eye out for McDowell when Best Actress nominee Mara hits the red carpet at the Golden Globes on Sunday.
4. He’s No Playboy (That We Know Of): McDowell’s most recent high-profile flame was Tony winner Kristin Chenoweth and, before that, he was linked to Haylie Duff. That’s about all the news he’s made on the romance front.
5. It’s a Miracle He Doesn’t Have Nightmares: In an interview focused on his famous father he gave when he was about 21, McDowell said that his dad dressed him up as Alex from A Clockwork Orange when he was about 6 years old—though he never dressed as the brainwashed nutter for Halloween. “I think I would scare the crap out of people,” McDowell said. “I’ve put on a bowler hat a few times and I almost scared myself! [My dad and I] look a lot alike.”
[From E! News]
That’s it in a nutshell. Ted Danson’s step-son is dating an heiress/actress who badmouths everyone and everything that came before David Fincher. I wonder how Charlie feels about that? Considering his conquests include Haylie Duff, he’s probably happy that he’s scored a soon-to-be A-lister, I guess. Now, does this change the idea I have of Rooney and David Fincher and their somewhat creepy relationship? Not really. I still think Rooney and Fincher were (or are) boning.
Photos courtesy of Fame & Pacific Coast News.
Written by Kaiser
Posted in Charlie McDowell, Rooney Mara
- Community is coming back March 15 at 8pm. Yes! [Pajiba]
- Jennifer Lopez is always at the Oscars [Lainey Gossip]
- Big Ang as Marilyn Monroe, LMAO [D-Listed]
- This is so true about Stella McCartney [Go Fug Yourself]
- This posthumous baptism crap needs to stop [Fark]
- Jennifer Garner is still pregnant, adorable [Popsugar]
- Does HBO’s new show Girls look good? [Evil Beet]
- Kristin Cavallari without makeup [Celebslam]
- Stephen Colbert is back, bitches! [Gawker]
- Awesome Office Space clip. Love it! [The Daily Wh.at]
41 Responses to “Rooney Mara had a boyfriend this whole time, and he’s Ted Danson’s stepson”
Leave a Reply
By commenting you agree to our comment policy
Use the "Report this comment as spam or abuse" link to ask the moderators to delete a comment if it's offensive. If your comment disappears, it may have been eaten by the spam filter. Please e-mail cbcomments at gmail.com to get it retrieved.
Get an icon next to your name by signing up for a free Gravatar
Wow…I can see a resemblance to Malcolm but would have never guessed.
Report this comment as spam or abuse
He looks like his dad but he’s tall maybe that’s from MOM (OH and I always thought that MM was gay). Actually I am of the OP that Mara and Daniel Craig were boning…as per that Blind Item from last week.
Report this comment as spam or abuse
“…I always thought that MM was gay…”
This is probably a stupid question, but who is MM?
Report this comment as spam or abuse
MM=Malcolm McDowell, the man mentioned in the article posted above.
Report this comment as spam or abuse
Malcolm McDowell, it was just an assumption I made based obviously on my failed gaydar.
Report this comment as spam or abuse
She must have taken my advice and decided to wear a hat to cover up that awful hairstyle.
Report this comment as spam or abuse
That’s the first thing I thought when I saw the pictures. lol
Report this comment as spam or abuse
I took two things away from this:
He is 28. And was with Kristin Chenowith, 43. Um Demi 2.0?
And Mary Steenburgen. With Malcolm McDowell. How?..why??..
Report this comment as spam or abuse
WTF?!?! Mary and Malcolm were together? They had a KID together? How do I have no knowledge of this?
My thoughts exactly. WTF?
Report this comment as spam or abuse
Two kids together!
Report this comment as spam or abuse
Yeah, the IMDB says of Mary Steenburgen…
“Spouse
Malcolm McDowell (29 September 1980 – 1 October 1990) (divorced) 2 children”
NO IDEA.
Report this comment as spam or abuse
McDowell and Steenburgen hooked up when they did the time travel romance TIME AFTER TIME back in 1979.
Report this comment as spam or abuse
Yup, it was actually a really cute movie, if you can think of Malcolm McDowell that way after Clockwork Orange….he was H.G. Wells and chased Jack the Ripper into the future in a time machine. Disco era: how perfect for Jack the Ripper is that? McDowell saves her from the Ripper. They did another one too, where she played a writer, I think Marjorie Rawlings (the Yearling?) was her name and he played her editor.
Report this comment as spam or abuse
Haylie Duff and Kristin Chenoweth?? That’s kind of random. I don’t care for either one. Poor Haylie, what an unfortunate face, and Kristin is super-scary looking. Boobs! Teeth! Hair! Smile! Christian! She’s not obnoxious about it, but it just seems super-intense like the rest of her.
This dude seems kind of boring, but maybe Rooney is boring too, so that’s ok.
Malcolm McDowell, of course, is NOT boring; he’s one of my favorite actors of all time, and has created some absolutely terrifying, indelible images.
Report this comment as spam or abuse
I think he also has a humor blog – Dear Girls Above Me – it’s pretty funny. A friend interviewed him and said he didn’t do any name dropping and couldn’t be nicer. Rooney Mara, on the other hand, well, that’s another story.
Report this comment as spam or abuse
I like that site, very funny.
That’s why I didn’t believe the Rooney Mara stories at first. He seems like a reasonably normal guy and those stories and BI’s make her seem so incredibly needy.
Report this comment as spam or abuse
You do know blind items are “blind” for a reason, right? Cuz they’re, you know, completely unfounded.
Report this comment as spam or abuse
He doesn’t seem to have a type (Haylie Duff, Kristen Chenoweth and Rooney Mara?).
Report this comment as spam or abuse
Malcom McDowell and Mary Steenburgen were married for quite awhile,like 10 years. I think they hooked up on “Time After Time.” I’m a huge Malcolm McDowell fan.
Rooney Mara actually looks cute and shows signs of life in these photos.
Report this comment as spam or abuse
Mary Steenburgen & Malcom McDowell were married for 10 years
Report this comment as spam or abuse
Malcolm McDowell and Mary Steenburgen got together when they were filming “Time After Time.” In the DVD commentary he talks all about how they fell in love while making the movie. It’s very sweet.
Also, Charlie McDowell has a blog, “Dear Girls Above Me” (http://www.deargirlsaboveme.com/post/1509).
Report this comment as spam or abuse
Thanks for the blog link it is entertaining
Report this comment as spam or abuse
Wow! Thanks for link! He is hysterical. I’m a new fan now.
Report this comment as spam or abuse
OK, I checked the blog, and he is really funny. And the banner pic is adorable. He’s cute, with the beard and the big eyes. I love a beard.
I guess he couldn’t be a TOTAL nimrod if his dad is Malcolm McDowell.
Report this comment as spam or abuse
My G-D…I had/have SUCH A THING FOR THAT BOY’S DADDY!!!
Have watched ALL of his movies…AD NAUSEUM!!!
That scene in “Cat People” when Malcolm is going up the stairs…dressed in a tight black t-shirt and ass hugging tight black pants…and they shoot it from back…ass all in the camera…
PURE PORN!!!
Where was I?!?! Oh…Mary’s stock went up CONSIDERABLY in my book when she hooked up with him!!!
Report this comment as spam or abuse
Cat People, yeah! I still think of that scene when he wakes up naked after spending the night with a young lady. He saunters into the bathroom to wash up, and notices… something sticking to his leg. He picks it off, looks at it, and pops it into his mouth.
Report this comment as spam or abuse
Ewwww, damn you Kelly, I was eating while reading your comment. Now I lost my appetite and that scene is playing over and over in my head.
P.s. I used to be so obsessed with that movie when I was a teen.
Report this comment as spam or abuse
Haha! And the look on his face when he eats it is priceless. So smug.
Report this comment as spam or abuse
The only thing interesting I look from this article is that he was linked to Kristen Chenoweth. She scares me!
Report this comment as spam or abuse
She suits a toque.
Report this comment as spam or abuse
Even before I clicked this link, I knew this was the Dear Girls Above me guy! I check in on his Twitter feed every once in awhile, it’s hilarious!
Basically him posting the ridiculous things the two incredibly ditzy girls say who live above him in his apartment building and his running commentary on it.
Report this comment as spam or abuse
Wait… she’s getting rave reviews for GWTDT? I thought everyone agreed she was good but not as good as Noomi Raplace.
Report this comment as spam or abuse
You should read the reviews. They’re 95% raves for her. Some predict her for an Oscar nomination.
Some prefer her to Rapace, some say she “made it her own” but prefer Rapace.
Report this comment as spam or abuse
That may have been hyperbole. I haven’t read all the reviews to know whether or not it’s 95%, 90%, 60%, etc. who rave her. She is getting raves tho.
Report this comment as spam or abuse
His uncle is Siddig from Star Trek Deep space 9, Siddig’s Uncle was the Sudanese Primeminister so Charlie is kinda sort like royalty.
Report this comment as spam or abuse
I think that Malcolom McDowell is Siddig’s uncle, which makes Charlie McDowell his (Siddig’s) cousin.
Report this comment as spam or abuse
Mary Steenburgen sent a tweet when TGWTDT came out asking people to go see “my son’s girlfriend’s movie”. Yes she had a boyfriend this whole time but he was in America while Rooney was in Sweden with David Fincher. You do the math.
Report this comment as spam or abuse
What math? He lives in the U.S. and his girlfriend had to go to Sweden for work.
Report this comment as spam or abuse
I know people find her insufferable, but I kinda like her. This just proves she has good taste in men. He seems smart, funny and well he’s hot.
Report this comment as spam or abuse
He was also in Swenden with Mara. Swedish paps got some photos of them but it was during a time when nobody cared for Mara.
Report this comment as spam or abuse
I don’t normally follow BI’s but I totally think that she & Daniel Craig had a thing when filming GWDT. Maybe it just because I don’t like her though. I much prefer the Swedish Lisbeth
Report this comment as spam or abuse