'Mentalist' exec: 'McDowell stint a coup'

The executive producer of The Mentalist has claimed that he was lucky to secure Malcolm McDowell for the show.

The Clockwork Orange actor will play the leader of a twisted cult in an episode scheduled to air April 29.

"He seems to have his sinister tentacles in every pie, which is really mixing horrible metaphors, but he's that kind of guy," Bruno Heller told TV Guide.

"We're very lucky to get someone as great as Malcolm McDowell to play that."

The Mentalist continues Thursdays at 10pm on CBS.