Maxwell Caulfield Bio
Maxwell P.J. Newby (known professionally as Maxwell Caulfield) is a British-American actor whose career has spanned film, television and theatre since childhood. Born on 23 November 1959 in Belper, Derbyshire, England, he achieved international recognition in the early 1980s with the film Grease 2 and later became a familiar face on television and the stage.
Caulfield has worked across multiple mediums, appearing in feature films such as Gettysburg and Empire Records, recurring on prime-time series including Dynasty and its spinoff The Colbys, and performing extensively on Broadway and the West End. He has been married to actress Juliet Mills since 1980 and became a naturalized United States citizen in 1991.
Early Life and Background
Maxwell P.J. Newby was born in Belper, Derbyshire, the elder son of Peter Newby and Oriole Rosalind Findlater. His family background included a younger brother, Marcus, who also pursued acting. By the mid-1960s his parents had divorced and his mother resumed her maiden name.
Caulfield first appeared as a child actor at age seven, billed as Maxwell Findlater in the 1967 film Accident. In his teens he worked in London venues that included dance and stage performances; early experience at the Windmill Theatre and similar venues led to an Equity card that enabled professional acting work.
After obtaining a U.S. green card, Caulfield relocated to the United States at age 18 and began building a career on the New York stage. Those formative years in repertory and Off-Broadway productions established his presence as a stage actor and opened doors to screen roles.
Path to Celebrity
Caulfield’s stage work with companies such as the Mirror Repertory Company and early Off-Broadway roles provided a steady platform for his transition to wider public prominence. He won a Theatre World Award for his leading turn in Class Enemy, and his Off-Broadway performance in Joe Orton’s Entertaining Mr. Sloane drew critical notice.
The combination of critical acclaim and visibility on stage led to film opportunities, culminating in his casting in Grease 2 (1982), which brought him international recognition. Following that breakthrough, Caulfield continued to balance film work with recurring television roles and ongoing stage appearances.
Across the 1980s and 1990s he expanded his screen résumé with a range of genre films and television guest roles, while maintaining connections to theatre through repertory, Broadway and regional productions.
Maxwell Caulfield Career
Early Career (1967–1981)
Caulfield’s first screen credit dates to 1967, when he appeared as a child in the film Accident under the name Maxwell Findlater. As a young performer in London he worked in dance and variety shows that helped him secure professional membership with Equity, a practical milestone that facilitated later acting opportunities.
After moving to the United States at 18, he made his New York debut in the 1978 gay farce Hot Rock Hotel and followed with a lead in Class Enemy in 1979, a performance that earned him a Theatre World Award. He made his Los Angeles debut in Hitting Town in 1980 and appeared in a Los Angeles production of The Elephant Man the same year, where he met Juliet Mills.
Film Breakthrough (1982–1995)
Caulfield’s film breakthrough arrived with Grease 2 (1982), which introduced him to international audiences and remains one of his most recognized screen credits. He followed that role with a string of feature films across diverse genres, including Electric Dreams (1984) and The Boys Next Door (1985), demonstrating a capacity for both drama and lighter fare.
In the early 1990s he appeared in Waxwork II: Lost in Time (1992) and took on a supporting role in the historical drama Gettysburg (1993). His work in Empire Records (1995) further reinforced his place as a reliable character actor in ensemble-driven films of the decade.
Through this period Caulfield balanced lead and supporting parts, selecting roles that kept him active across independent and studio projects while preserving regular stage engagements.
Television and Stage Work (1985–Present)
On television Caulfield is best known for his portrayal of Miles Colby on the 1980s prime-time soap Dynasty and its spinoff The Colbys, a role that brought him recurring visibility on American television. He has also guest-starred on series such as Murder, She Wrote and NCIS and appeared in programs including Beverly Hills, 90210 and Modern Family.
Stage work has remained central throughout Caulfield’s career. He has been an active member of repertory companies and has performed opposite notable actors in productions such as An Inspector Calls on Broadway and Sleuth in Los Angeles. He took on demanding roles that included fully nude appearances in Salonika and other dramatic commitments that drew critical attention.
Caulfield made his West End debut in 2007 as Billy Flynn in Chicago and resumed the role on Broadway later that year. He continued to appear Off-Broadway in plays such as Tryst and Cactus Flower and toured in the comedy Legends! with his wife Juliet Mills and Hayley Mills in 2015. In 2024 he performed in the 10th Anniversary Concert of Cool Rider at the London Palladium and starred in the Netflix film The Merry Gentlemen.
Notable Events and Milestones
Key milestones in Caulfield’s career include his early Theatre World Award-winning performance, a high-profile film breakthrough with Grease 2, his recurring television presence as Miles Colby, and lasting commitments to repertory and commercial theatre on both sides of the Atlantic. He became a naturalized U.S. citizen on 5 September 1991 and has sustained a multi-decade career that moves between screen and stage.
Maxwell Caulfield Family
Family Background and Acting Lineage
Caulfield was born to Peter Newby and Oriole Rosalind Findlater and grew up with a younger brother, Marcus Newby, who also pursued acting. His marriage to Juliet Mills connects him by marriage to an established acting family: Mills is the daughter of actor Sir John Mills and writer Mary Hayley Bell, and her sister is actress Hayley Mills.
Personal Life
Maxwell Caulfield married Juliet Mills in 1980. Through that marriage he is stepfather to Melissa (Mills’ daughter from a prior marriage) and Sean Caulfield (Mills’ son from a previous marriage). The couple has worked together professionally on stage tours and public appearances.