'Sir Maurice Joseph Micklewhite, Jr.'
CBE (born
March 14,
1933), known professionally as 'Michael Caine', is a two-time
Academy Award-winning
English film
actor.
Biography
Early life
Caine was born in
Rotherhithe, South East
London, to Maurice Joseph Micklewhite, Sr., a fish market porter, and Ellen Frances Marie (
née Burchell), a cook and
charlady.
[1] Caine's father was
Catholic, though Caine was raised in his
Protestant mother's religion.
[2] He grew up in
Camberwell, attending
Wilson's School (at that time Wilson's Grammar School) and during
World War II was evacuated to
North Runcton in
Norfolk. In 1944 he passed his
eleven-plus exam. He left school at sixteen after gaining four
O-Levels and did his
National Service from April 1952 to 1954 in the
Royal Fusiliers, serving in
Germany and in combat in the
Korean War.
Acting career
When Caine first became an actor, he adopted the
stage name "Michael Scott". His agent soon informed him, however, that another actor was already using the same name, and that he had to come up with a new name immediately. Speaking to his agent from a telephone box in
Leicester Square in
London, Caine looked around for inspiration, noted that ''
The Caine Mutiny'' was being shown at the Odeon Cinema, and decided to change his name to "Michael Caine". He once joked to an interviewer that had he looked the other way, he would have ended up as "Michael
One Hundred and One Dalmatians".
Caine's acting career began in
Horsham,
West Sussex. He responded to an advertisement for an assistant stage manager for the Horsham-based Westminster Repertory Company. This led to walk-on roles at the Carfax Theatre.
[3] After several minor roles, Caine came into the public eye as an upper-class British army officer in the 1964 film ''
Zulu''. This proved paradoxical, as Caine was to become notable for using a
regional accent, rather than the
received pronunciation hitherto considered proper for film actors. At the time, Caine's
working-class cockney, just as with
The Beatles'
Liverpudlian accents, stood out to American and British audiences alike. ''Zulu'' was closely followed by two of his best-known roles: the spy
Harry Palmer in ''
The Ipcress File'' (1965), and the woman-chasing title character in ''
Alfie'' (1966). He went on to play Palmer in a further two films, ''
Funeral in Berlin'' (1966) and ''
Billion-Dollar Brain'' {1967). Caine made his first movie in the
United States in 1966, after an invitation from Shirley MacLaine to play opposite her in ''
Gambit.'' During the first two weeks, whilst staying at the
Beverly Hills Hotel, he met long term friends
John Wayne and agent
"Swifty" Lazar.
[4]
After ending the 1960s with the equally iconic ''
The Italian Job'', with
Noel Coward, and a solid role as an RAF fighter pilot, Squadron Leader Canfield, in the all-star cast of ''
Battle of Britain'' (1969), Caine entered the 1970s with ''
Get Carter'', a British gangster film. Caine was busy throughout the 1970s, with successes including ''
Sleuth'' (1972), opposite
Sir Laurence Olivier and ''
The Man Who Would Be King'' (1975), costarring Sir
Sean Connery. By the end of the decade, he had moved to the U.S., but his choice of roles was beginning to be criticised. Caine was averaging two films a year, but these included such failures as ''
The Swarm'' (1978), ''
Beyond the Poseidon Adventure'' (1979), ''
The Island'' (1980) and ''
The Hand'' (1981). Although Caine also took better roles, including a
BAFTA-winning turn in ''
Educating Rita'' (1983) and an
Oscar-winning one in ''
Hannah and Her Sisters'' (1986), he continued to appear in notorious duds like '' (1987) and ''
Bullseye!'' (1990). Of the former, Caine famously said "I have never seen the film, but by all accounts it was terrible. However I have seen the house that it built, and it is terrific."
[5]
The 1990s were a lean time for Caine as he found good parts harder to come by. His early '90s output included a villain in the
Steven Seagal flop ''
On Deadly Ground'' (1994), two
straight to video Harry Palmer sequels and a few
television movies. However, Caine's reputation as a
pop icon was still intact, thanks to his roles in films such as ''The Italian Job'' and ''Get Carter''. His performance in 1998's ''
Little Voice'' was seen as something of a return to form, and won him a
Golden Globe Award. Better parts followed, including ''
The Cider House Rules'' (1999), for which he won his second Oscar, ''
Last Orders'' (2001), ''
The Quiet American'' (2002) and others which helped rehabilitate his reputation. Several of Caine's classic films have been
remade to appeal to new, younger audiences, including ''The Italian Job'', ''Get Carter'', and ''Alfie''. In 2005, he was cast as
Bruce Wayne's butler
Alfred in the
Batman film series. In 2006, he appeared in the films ''
Children of Men'' and ''
The Prestige''.
Caine has been Oscar-nominated six times, winning his first
Academy Award for the 1986 film ''Hannah and Her Sisters'', and his second in 1999 for ''The Cider House Rules'', in both cases as a supporting actor. He was appointed
Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1993 for services to drama, and in 2000 he was
knighted, becoming ''Sir Maurice Micklewhite''. Unlike many actors who adopt their
stage name for everyday use, Caine still uses his real name when he is not working.
Caine is a popular subject for
impressionists and
mimics, having a voice and manner of speaking that are distinctive, yet fairly easy to imitate. Most Caine impressions include the catchphrase "Not a lot of people know that."
Peter Sellers initiated this when he appeared on
BBC1's ''
Parkinson'' show on
28 October 1972 and said:
"Not many people know that. This is my Michael Caine impression. You see, Mike's always quoting from the
Guinness Book of Records. At the drop of a hat he'll trot one out. 'Did you know that it takes a man in a tweed suit five and a half seconds to fall from the top of Big Ben to the ground? Now there's not many people know that!'"
Later, there was an
answering machine message recorded by Peter Sellers as Caine, saying, "My name is Michael Caine. Peter Sellers is not in at the moment. Not a lot of people know that." It was also parodied in ''
Harry Enfield's Television Programme'' by
Paul Whitehouse, who introduced himself with the line "My name is Michael Paine, and I am a nosey neighbour." In 1983, the remark really caught on, when Caine was given the line to say as an in-joke in the film ''
Educating Rita''. In 1984, he also put the name ''
Not A Lot Of People Know That!'' to a book of trivial facts for charity.
Caine is one of only two actors to be nominated for an Academy Award for acting (either lead or supporting) in every decade since the 1960s. The other is
Jack Nicholson.
Notable character quotes
★ "Not many people know that." (''
Educating Rita'')
★ "You were only supposed to blow the bloody doors off!" (''
The Italian Job'')
★ "Hang on a minute, lads, I've got a great idea. Errr..." (''
The Italian Job'')
★ "You're a big man, but you're in bad shape. With me it's a full time job. Now behave yourself!" (''
Get Carter'')
★ "My understanding of women only goes as far as the pleasure. When it comes to the pain, I'm like any other bloke - I don't want to know." (''
Alfie'')
★ "Pull my finger!" (''
Children of Men'')
★ "Goodnight you princes of Maine, you kings of New England!" (''
The Cider House Rules'')
★ "What ever is the point of all those push-ups if you can't even lift a bloody log?" (''
Batman Begins'')
★ "Nevah!" (''
Batman Begins'')
★ "I hope you're not a member of the fire brigade" (After knocking out an arsonist) (''
Batman Begins'')
★ "It's not the size, mate; it's how you use it." (''
Austin Powers in Goldmember'')
★ "Don't play the laughing boy." (''
Austin Powers in Goldmember'')
★ "Obsession is a young man's game." (''
The Prestige'')
★ "I'm with him." (''
Miss Congeniality'')
Personal life
Caine lives near
Leatherhead in
Surrey, having recently moved from
North Stoke in
Oxfordshire, and
Chelsea Harbour in
London.
He was married to actress
Patricia Haines from 1955 to 1958; they had one daughter, Dominique.
Caine's has been married to actress and model
Shakira Baksh since
January 2,
1973; they have a daughter, Natasha.
Some time after his mother died, Caine and his younger brother learned they had an elder half-brother, named David. He suffered from severe
epilepsy and had been kept in hospital his entire life. Although their mother regularly visited her first son in hospital, even her husband did not know the child existed. David died in 1992.
Caine is a fan of
Chelsea FC.
[6]
Trivia books written by Caine include ''Not a Lot of People Know That'', ''Not a Lot of People Know This Either'', ''Michael Caine's Moving Picture Show'' and ''Not A Lot of People Know This is 1988''. Proceeds from the books went to the
National Playing Fields Association (now Fields In Trust) of which Caine was a prominent supporter.
Caine is a massive fan of
chillout music and to that end has compiled a mix CD called ''
Cained'' which is due to be released in September 2007.
[7]. Also in music, Caine provided vocal samples for british band
Madness for their 1984 hit
Michael Caine as his daughter was a fan.
Friendship with Terence Stamp
In the 1960s, actor
Terence Stamp shared a flat with Caine before and during their rise to fame (Stamp became famous first after his Oscar-nominated role in ''
Billy Budd''). In his autobiography, "Double Feature", Stamp describes various incidents with Caine, including the moment when Caine was offered his breakthrough role in ''
Zulu''. This was a couple of hours before Caine's thirtieth birthday, which was a deadline Caine had set himself to "make it" or quit acting. Also, Caine tried to force Stamp to reverse his decision to turn down the role of ''
Alfie''; a star role that Caine later accepted. In his later autobiography, ''What's it All About'', Caine states that he still wakes up sweating in the night as he sees Terence agreeing to "accept my advice". The friendship eventually dwindled at the tail-end of the '60s, and this is described in contrast by Stamp and Caine in their respective autobiographies.
Filmography
Awards and nominations
Academy Awards
★ 1966 - Nominated -
Best Actor in a Leading Role - ''
Alfie''
★ 1972 - Nominated - Best Actor in a Leading Role - ''
Sleuth''
★ 1983 - Nominated - Best Actor in a Leading Role - ''
Educating Rita''
★ '1986 - Won -
Best Actor in a Supporting Role - ''
Hannah and Her Sisters'''
★ '1999 - Won - Best Actor in a Supporting Role - ''
The Cider House Rules'''
★ 2002 - Nominated - Best Actor in a Leading Role - ''
The Quiet American''
Other notable awards
★
New York Film Critics' Best Actor Award for ''
Alfie''
★
BAFTA for Best Actor for ''
Educating Rita''
★
Golden Globe for Best Actor for ''
Educating Rita''
★ Golden Globe for Best Actor for ''
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels''
★ Golden Globe for Best Actor for ''
Jack the Ripper''
[8]
★ Golden Globe for Best Actor for ''
Little Voice''
References
1. http://www.filmreference.com/film/90/Michael-Caine.html
2. http://www.aboutfilm.com/features/statement/caine.htm
3. http://www.hiddenhorsham.co.uk/30/electrictheatre.htm
4. http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/film/article2006928.ece
5. Michael Caine Biography
6. Celebrity Fans Your Chelsea
7. Michael Caine to release chill-out album Times Online, accessed 2007-07-31
8. Jack the Ripper (1988) (TV)
External links
★
The Official Michael Caine Website
★
★
Michael Caine's Norfolk childhood
★
PLAY DIRTY/Caine Special on Location in Spain
★
Carfax Theatre Horsham Scene of Sir Michael's first professional acting role
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