Academy Award Winner John Malkovich Has No Plans to Slow Down: ‘They Will Retire Me When It’s Time’

John Malkovich isn’t ready to walk away from Hollywood anytime soon.

The 72-year-old actor made it clear retirement isn’t part of his plans while promoting his new movie, Wild Horse Nine, at the Venice Film Festival on Thursday, September 3.

“As far as what I want to do — carry on,” Malkovich said, according to a report from People published the same day. “I mean, I’m pretty much doing, and I’ve been doing what I love my whole life, and I plan to carry on doing that.”

“I don’t plan to retire because I think they will retire me when it’s time,” he added. “That seems to be the natural course of things.”

Malkovich has spent nearly five decades working in Hollywood, and he’s earned two Academy Award nominations so far — one for 1984’s Places in the Heart and one for 1993’s In the Line of Fire.

Plus, he could have another shot at an Oscar soon.

The Being John Malkovich star is already generating awards buzz for his performance in Wild Horse Nine, the latest movie from The Banshees of Inisherin writer and director Martin McDonagh.

But Malkovich isn’t getting ahead of himself. When a journalist asked whether he’d already written his acceptance speech, the actor brushed off the early Oscar talk.

“That is incredibly kind,” Malkovich said, according to Variety. “I’ve had a long career, and I’ve had spectacular collaborations with writers, directors and actors. I never feel in competition with any of them.”

“For me, it’s a very nice thing. But the nicest thing is the film getting attention,” he continued. “That’s what matters to me.”

The dark comedy stars Malkovich and Sam Rockwell as CIA agents on Easter Island in the lead-up to the 1973 coup in Chile. Steve Buscemi, Parker Posey and Mariana Di Girolamo also star in the film.

Wild Horse Nine premiered at the Venice Film Festival on September 3 and is scheduled to hit theaters November 6.