He worked with Anderson again for "O Lucky Man!" (1973), which was inspired by McDowell's experience working as a coffee salesman, and "Britannia Hospital" (1982). McDowell regularly appeared on British television productions in the 1970s in adaptations of theatre classics, one example being with Laurence Olivier in "The Collection" (1976), as part of the series "Laurence Olivier Presents". He starred in "Aces High" (1975) and co-starred in "Voyage of the Damned" (1976), and as Dornford Yates' gentleman hero Richard Chandos in "She Fell Among Thieves" (1978) and the title character in "Caligula" (1979). He made his Hollywood debut as H. G. Wells in "Time After Time" (1979). He has often portrayed antagonists, later remarking on his career playing film villains: "I suppose I'm primarily known for that but in fact, that would only be half of my career if I was to top it all up". In his biography "", author Roger Lewis commented on McDowell's later career: "his pretty-boy looks faded and he was condemned to playing villains in straight-to-video films that turn up on Channel 5".