Sir Michael Caine | Academy of Achievement

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an alcoholic teacher in Educating Rita; men at war in The Battle of Britain and A Bridge Too Far; a soldier of fortune in The Man Who Would Be King; and the loyal butler Alfred in The Dark Knight trilogy. Born in London to working-class parents, he served in the Korean War and struggled for a decade to build his career as an actor before first winning notice in the historical drama Zulu and the spy thriller The Ipcress File. In 1966, his performance as the cockney playboy Alfie rocketed him to international stardom. Michael Caine has been nominated for an Oscar in five consecutive decades, winning for his roles as a guilt-ridden philandering husband in Hannah and Her Sisters (1986) and as a kindly doctor in The Cider House Rules (1999). His films have made over $7.8 billion worldwide, placing him among the top-grossing film stars of all time. In 2000, he was knighted by HM Queen Elizabeth II for his contributions to world cinema."/> <link rel="canonical" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/sir-michael-caine/"/> <meta property="og:locale" content="en_US"/> <meta property="og:type" content="article"/> <meta property="og:title" content="Sir Michael Caine | Academy of Achievement"/> <meta property="og:description" content="<div class="page" title="Page 23"> <div class="layoutArea"> <div class="column"> In more than 150 feature films, Michael Caine has brought intelligence and humanity to roles as varied as the hunted gangster in <em>Get Carter</em>; an alcoholic teacher in <em>Educating Rita</em>; men at war in <em>The Battle of Britain</em> and <em>A Bridge Too Far</em>; a soldier of fortune in <em>The Man Who Would Be King</em>; and the loyal butler Alfred in <em>The Dark Knight</em> trilogy. Born in London to working-class parents, he served in the Korean War and struggled for a decade to build his career as an actor before first winning notice in the historical drama <em>Zulu</em> and the spy thriller <em>The Ipcress File</em>. In 1966, his performance as the cockney playboy <em>Alfie</em> rocketed him to international stardom. Michael Caine has been nominated for an Oscar in five consecutive decades, winning for his roles as a guilt-ridden philandering husband in <em>Hannah and Her Sisters</em> (1986) and as a kindly doctor in <em>The Cider House Rules</em> (1999). His films have made over $7.8 billion worldwide, placing him among the top-grossing film stars of all time. In 2000, he was knighted by HM Queen Elizabeth II for his contributions to world cinema. </div> </div> </div>"/> <meta property="og:url" content="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/sir-michael-caine/"/> <meta property="og:site_name" content="Academy of Achievement"/> <meta property="article:modified_time" content="2021-02-11T19:18:11+00:00"/> <meta property="og:image" content="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051826im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/caine-Feature-Image-3-Recovered.jpg"/> <meta property="og:image:width" content="2800"/> <meta property="og:image:height" content="1120"/> <meta name="twitter:card" content="summary"/> <meta name="twitter:site" content="@achievers1961"/> <script type="application/ld+json" class="yoast-schema-graph">{"@context":"https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051826/https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/#organization","name":"Academy of Achievement","url":"https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/","sameAs":["https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051826/https://www.linkedin.com/company/american-academy-of-achievement","https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051826/https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChe_87uh1H-NIMf3ndTjPFw","https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051826/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academy_of_Achievement","https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051826/https://twitter.com/achievers1961"],"logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/#logo","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/12.png","contentUrl":"/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/12.png","width":1200,"height":630,"caption":"Academy of Achievement"},"image":{"@id":"https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/#logo"}},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/#website","url":"https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/","name":"Academy of Achievement","description":"A museum of living history","publisher":{"@id":"https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":"https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/search/{search_term_string}","query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/sir-michael-caine/#primaryimage","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/caine-Feature-Image-3-Recovered.jpg","contentUrl":"/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/caine-Feature-Image-3-Recovered.jpg","width":2800,"height":1120},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/sir-michael-caine/#webpage","url":"https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/sir-michael-caine/","name":"Sir Michael Caine | Academy of Achievement","isPartOf":{"@id":"https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/sir-michael-caine/#primaryimage"},"datePublished":"2019-04-15T13:12:55+00:00","dateModified":"2021-02-11T19:18:11+00:00","description":"In more than 150 feature films, Michael Caine has brought intelligence and humanity to roles as varied as the hunted gangster in Get Carter; an alcoholic teacher in Educating Rita; men at war in The Battle of Britain and A Bridge Too Far; a soldier of fortune in The Man Who Would Be King; and the loyal butler Alfred in The Dark Knight trilogy. 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[(max-width:992px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2019/04/caine-Feature-Image-3-Recovered.jpg"></div> <div class="display--table"> <div class="display--table-cell"> <figcaption class="feature-area__text ratio-container__text container"> <div class="feature-area__text-inner text-white"> <h2 class="serif-8 feature-area__text-subhead back"><a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever">All achievers</a></h2> <h1 class="serif-1 entry-title feature-area__text-headline">Sir Michael Caine</h1> <h5 class="sans-6 feature-area__blurb">British Film Icon</h5> </div> </figcaption> </div> </div> </figure> </header> </div>  <nav class="in-page-nav row fixedsticky"> <ul class="nav text-xs-center clearfix" role="tablist"> <li class="nav-item col-xs-3"> <a class="nav-link active" data-toggle="tab" href="#biography" role="tab" data-gtm-category="tab" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever Biography">Biography</a> </li> <li class="nav-item col-xs-3"> <a class="nav-link" data-toggle="tab" 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href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051826/https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/what-it-takes/id1025864075?mt=2" target="_blank"> <figure class="ratio-container ratio-container--square bg-black"> <img class="lazyload banner__image" data-src="/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/WhatItTakes_caine-256-190x190.jpg" alt=""/> </figure> </a> </div> <div class="banner__text__container"> <h3 class="serif-3 banner__headline"> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051826/https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/what-it-takes/id1025864075?mt=2" target="_blank"> Listen to this achiever on <i>What It Takes</i> </a> </h3> <p class="sans-6 banner__text m-b-0"><i>What It Takes</i> is an audio podcast produced by the American Academy of Achievement featuring intimate, revealing conversations with influential leaders in the diverse fields of endeavor: public service, science and exploration, sports, technology, business, arts and humanities, and justice.</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="row"> <header class="editorial-article__header col-md-8 col-md-offset-2 text-xs-center"> <i class="icon-icon_bio text-brand-primary"></i> <h3 class="serif-3 quote-marks">I went into repertory for nine years and learned how to be an actor in order to become the best possible actor I could become. Not the best possible actor, because there’ll always be, whatever you do, people who are better or worse at what you do.</h3> </header> </div> <div class="row"> <aside class="col-md-4 sidebar clearfix"> <h2 class="serif-3 p-b-1">A Legend of Cinema</h2> <div class="col-xs-12 sidebar--chunk p-b-2"> <dt class="serif-7">Date of Birth</dt> <dd class="sans-2"> March 14, 1933 </dd> </div> </aside> <article class="editorial-article col-md-8"> <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd"> <html><body data-rsssl="1"><p>The actor the world knows as Michael Caine was born Maurice Micklewhite, Jr. in London, England.  His father worked as a porter in the fish market; his mother was a cook and cleaning woman.  Young Maurice lived with his parents and a younger brother in the London Borough of Southwark, on the south side of the River Thames.  The Micklewhites were a close and loving family but material comforts were few; the cramped old buildings where working-class families like the Micklewhites lived in the 1930s lacked indoor plumbing, and opportunities for advancement in pre-war Britain were remote.  Early in Maurice’s life, the discomforts of poverty were joined by the terrors of war.  Young Maurice was six years old when Britain entered World War II. The elder Micklewhite was immediately called up for military service and Maurice would not see his father again for six years.</p> <figure id="attachment_61368" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-61368" style="width: 2280px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><noscript><img class="size-full wp-image-61368 " src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051826im_/https://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/1964-GettyImages-944098360.jpg"></noscript><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-61368 lazyload" alt="" width="2280" height="2246" data-sizes="(max-width: 2280px) 100vw, 2280px" data-srcset="/web/20210905051826im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/1964-GettyImages-944098360.jpg 2280w, /web/20210905051826im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/1964-GettyImages-944098360-380x374.jpg 380w, /web/20210905051826im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/1964-GettyImages-944098360-760x749.jpg 760w" data-src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051826/https://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/1964-GettyImages-944098360.jpg"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-61368" class="wp-caption-text">February 2, 1964: Actor Michael Caine at home with his mother, Ellen. (Photo by Sunday Mirror/Mirrorpix via Getty)</figcaption></figure> <p>Without their father, Maurice and his three-year-old brother were forced to assume responsibility for supporting their mother emotionally through trying times.  When the Germans began the nightly bombing of London, Maurice was sent to live with another family away from the city.  Maurice and another boy were grossly neglected by the host family, who left town for days at a time, leaving the boys locked in a cupboard until they returned.  When Mrs. Micklewhite discovered the condition her son was being kept in, she relocated him to another shelter, but the experience left Maurice profoundly claustrophobic.</p> <figure id="attachment_61370" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-61370" style="width: 2400px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><noscript><img class="size-full wp-image-61370 " src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051826im_/https://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/1964-GettyImages-139633798.jpg"></noscript><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-61370 lazyload" alt="" width="2400" height="3000" data-sizes="(max-width: 2400px) 100vw, 2400px" data-srcset="/web/20210905051826im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/1964-GettyImages-139633798.jpg 2400w, /web/20210905051826im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/1964-GettyImages-139633798-304x380.jpg 304w, /web/20210905051826im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/1964-GettyImages-139633798-608x760.jpg 608w" data-src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051826/https://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/1964-GettyImages-139633798.jpg"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-61370" class="wp-caption-text">1964: Michael Caine wearing a British Army uniform in a publicity portrait issued for the film <em>Zulu</em> in South Africa. The historical drama depicting the Battle of Rorke’s Drift, during the Anglo-Zulu War, was directed by Cy Endfield and starred Caine as “Lieutenant Gonville Bromhead.” (Photo credits: Silver Screen Collection and Getty Images)</figcaption></figure> <p>With the end of the war, the Micklewhites were reunited.  Because their old home had been severely damaged in the bombing, the family moved into new prefabricated housing in the South London neighborhood known as Elephant and Castle.  The new housing was regarded as substandard by middle-class Britons, but to the Micklewhites, it was a step up, with indoor plumbing and a small garden.  Their home remained a haven, but the streets outside were dangerous, with young men forming rival gangs for protection.</p> <p>Maurice found safety at the neighborhood youth club. He originally joined to play basketball but was soon drawn to the club’s drama classes and the girls who gathered there.  Once inside, he fell in love with acting and the theater.</p> <figure id="attachment_61373" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-61373" style="width: 3198px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><noscript><img class="size-full wp-image-61373 " src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051826im_/https://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/1964-ipcress-file-GettyImages-874948252.jpg"></noscript><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-61373 lazyload" alt="" width="3198" height="4824" data-sizes="(max-width: 3198px) 100vw, 3198px" data-srcset="/web/20210905051826im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/1964-ipcress-file-GettyImages-874948252.jpg 3198w, /web/20210905051826im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/1964-ipcress-file-GettyImages-874948252-252x380.jpg 252w, /web/20210905051826im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/1964-ipcress-file-GettyImages-874948252-504x760.jpg 504w" data-src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051826/https://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/1964-ipcress-file-GettyImages-874948252.jpg"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-61373" class="wp-caption-text">September 21, 1964: Michael Caine and Sue Lloyd on the set of <em>The Ipcress File</em>. (Ron Burton/Mirrorpix and Getty)</figcaption></figure> <p>He acted in plays at the youth club and began to dream of a career in the theater.  Film actors like Cary Grant and Humphrey Bogart further stimulated his imagination, and, upon leaving grammar school at age 16, Maurice went to work as a file clerk and messenger for film companies around London. He did not imagine that a working-class boy from “the Elephant” could ever become a film star himself, but he hoped to find some way to pursue an acting career and make a life in the theater.</p> <p>Real life intervened violently when he was called up for national service at age 19 and sent to Korea, where the United Kingdom had joined the United States and other allied forces in a seemingly interminable conflict.  The young infantryman resigned himself to certain death when his unit encountered massively superior Chinese Communist forces.  Surviving this experience, Maurice resolved to make the most of his life in the years ahead.</p> <figure id="attachment_61375" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-61375" style="width: 2280px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><noscript><img class="size-full wp-image-61375 " src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051826im_/https://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/1965-alfie-GettyImages-874950338.jpg"></noscript><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-61375 lazyload" alt="" width="2280" height="1511" data-sizes="(max-width: 2280px) 100vw, 2280px" data-srcset="/web/20210905051826im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/1965-alfie-GettyImages-874950338.jpg 2280w, /web/20210905051826im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/1965-alfie-GettyImages-874950338-380x252.jpg 380w, /web/20210905051826im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/1965-alfie-GettyImages-874950338-760x504.jpg 760w" data-src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051826/https://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/1965-alfie-GettyImages-874950338.jpg"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-61375" class="wp-caption-text">July 4, 1965: The stars of the British romantic comedy-drama film <em>Alfie </em>(from left to right)<em>:</em> Vivien Merchant, Jane Asher, Julia Foster and Shelley Winters with Michael Caine lying across them. (Photo by Tanner/Mirrorpix/Getty)</figcaption></figure> <p>Returning to England and civilian life, he set out to pursue his dreams of the theater.  Jaundiced and emaciated from malaria contracted in Korea, with no theater training and an unmistakable cockney accent, he knew he faced formidable obstacles, but Maurice decided he would set aside any ambition other than becoming the best actor he could possibly be. He answered an ad for an assistant stage manager at the Westminster Repertory Company in Horsham, Sussex, and was soon playing small walk-on roles.</p> <p>Then, as now, provincial repertory theaters were the great training ground of British actors, and Maurice Micklewhite, now acting under the name Michael White, learned his craft gradually. From Horsham, he moved to the Lowestoft Repertory Company in Suffolk, where he met his first wife, Patricia Haines. They married in 1955 and would have one daughter, Dominique.</p> <figure id="attachment_61408" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-61408" style="width: 2280px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><noscript><img class="size-full wp-image-61408 " src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051826im_/https://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/1966-wp-2280-gambit-GettyImages-541084879.jpg"></noscript><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-61408 lazyload" alt="" width="2280" height="1697" data-sizes="(max-width: 2280px) 100vw, 2280px" data-srcset="/web/20210905051826im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/1966-wp-2280-gambit-GettyImages-541084879.jpg 2280w, /web/20210905051826im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/1966-wp-2280-gambit-GettyImages-541084879-380x283.jpg 380w, /web/20210905051826im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/1966-wp-2280-gambit-GettyImages-541084879-760x566.jpg 760w" data-src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051826/https://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/1966-wp-2280-gambit-GettyImages-541084879.jpg"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-61408" class="wp-caption-text">1966: Shirley MacLaine and Michael Caine in the comedy crime thriller <em>Gambit</em>. (Photo: Porges/ullstein bild/Getty)</figcaption></figure> <p>In repertory, the journeyman actor played a variety of roles and learned to assume the accents of all regions and classes in the United Kingdom. The British actors’ union, Equity, already had a Michael White on its rolls, so when his agent asked him to provide a new name in a hurry, he grabbed the name Caine from a nearby marquee on a movie theater showing the film <em>The Caine Mutiny</em>.  Maurice Micklewhite was now Michael Caine.</p> <p>For nearly ten years, Caine labored in provincial repertory and in small roles — sometimes uncredited — on film and television.  His marriage to Patricia Haines ended, and at age 30, Michael Caine was still struggling, while contemporaries like Sean Connery, Albert Finney, and Peter O’Toole were starring on the West End and in Hollywood films.</p> <figure id="attachment_61377" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-61377" style="width: 2280px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><noscript><img class="size-full wp-image-61377 " src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051826im_/https://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/1970-get-carter-GettyImages-73668349.jpg"></noscript><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-61377 lazyload" alt="" width="2280" height="3371" data-sizes="(max-width: 2280px) 100vw, 2280px" data-srcset="/web/20210905051826im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/1970-get-carter-GettyImages-73668349.jpg 2280w, /web/20210905051826im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/1970-get-carter-GettyImages-73668349-257x380.jpg 257w, /web/20210905051826im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/1970-get-carter-GettyImages-73668349-514x760.jpg 514w" data-src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051826/https://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/1970-get-carter-GettyImages-73668349.jpg"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-61377" class="wp-caption-text">1970: Michael Caine and Geraldine Moffat star in the film <em>Get Carter</em>. (Photo by Terry O’Neill/Iconic Images/Getty)</figcaption></figure> <p>Caine had played the role of a soldier in the 1956 film <em>A Hill in Korea</em>, and one of the stars of that film, Stanley Baker, introduced him to Cy Endfield, the American director of Baker’s new film, <em>Zulu</em>.  After seeing the actor in a play on the West End, Endfield cast Caine against type as an upper-class officer in the taut drama of a besieged British Army unit in 19th-century South Africa.  <em>Zulu</em> was one of the international hits of 1964, and Michael Caine’s performance did not go unnoticed.  Harry Saltzman, producer of the popular James Bond films, signed Caine to play an unconventional hero in the espionage film <em>The Ipcress File</em>. Unlike the tuxedo-clad superman of the Bond films, Caine’s Harry Palmer character was a spy-as-everyman, with a cockney accent, a beige raincoat and a pair of eyeglasses with thick dark frames.  Studio executives in Hollywood were skeptical that the public would accept such a mundane hero, but British filmgoers responded easily to Caine’s unpretentious charm, and working-class Londoners, in particular, were thrilled to hear their own voice coming from the screen in the role of a hero, rather than that of a servant or comedian.</p> <figure id="attachment_61381" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-61381" style="width: 2280px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><noscript><img class="size-full wp-image-61381 " src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051826im_/https://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/1973-2280-GettyImages-568933917.jpg"></noscript><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-61381 lazyload" alt="" width="2280" height="3134" data-sizes="(max-width: 2280px) 100vw, 2280px" data-srcset="/web/20210905051826im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/1973-2280-GettyImages-568933917.jpg 2280w, /web/20210905051826im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/1973-2280-GettyImages-568933917-276x380.jpg 276w, /web/20210905051826im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/1973-2280-GettyImages-568933917-553x760.jpg 553w" data-src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051826/https://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/1973-2280-GettyImages-568933917.jpg"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-61381" class="wp-caption-text">September 26, 1973: Michael Caine with his wife Shakira and baby daughter Natasha in London. (Keystone/Getty)</figcaption></figure> <p>Michael Caine was now a star in Britain, but even greater fame was soon to come. The postwar flowering of British popular culture had captured the imagination of a public far beyond the British Isles.  British playwrights like John Osborne and Harold Pinter, musicians like the Beatles, and actors like Connery, O’Toole, and Finney had helped create a worldwide interest in British drama, music, film, and fashion. Michael Caine was set to ride the crest of this wave.</p> <p>Caine’s former flatmate, actor Terence Stamp, had enjoyed good reviews in the play <em>Alfie</em> on Broadway but declined an offer to appear in the film version, and the producer gave the role to Caine.  The role of Alfie, an amoral cockney womanizer, was a good fit for Caine, who made it entirely his own.  Addressing the camera directly in a series of disarmingly blunt observations on male-female relations, Caine the actor managed to charm the audience even as they were appalled by the behavior of Alfie the character.  The film was a massive international success. Caine, now a star on both sides of the Atlantic, was nominated for an Oscar as Best Actor.</p> <figure id="attachment_61379" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-61379" style="width: 2280px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><noscript><img class="size-full wp-image-61379 " src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051826im_/https://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/1986-Hannah-and-Her-Sisters-1st-academy-award-GettyImages-163063104.jpg"></noscript><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-61379 lazyload" alt="" width="2280" height="1548" data-sizes="(max-width: 2280px) 100vw, 2280px" data-srcset="/web/20210905051826im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/1986-Hannah-and-Her-Sisters-1st-academy-award-GettyImages-163063104.jpg 2280w, /web/20210905051826im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/1986-Hannah-and-Her-Sisters-1st-academy-award-GettyImages-163063104-380x258.jpg 380w, /web/20210905051826im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/1986-Hannah-and-Her-Sisters-1st-academy-award-GettyImages-163063104-760x516.jpg 760w" data-src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051826/https://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/1986-Hannah-and-Her-Sisters-1st-academy-award-GettyImages-163063104.jpg"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-61379" class="wp-caption-text">1986: Michael Caine with Barbara Hershey in a scene from the Woody Allen film <em>Hannah and Her Sisters</em>. Caine won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of “Elliot” in 1987. (Photo by Orion/Getty Images)</figcaption></figure> <p>The American film star Shirley MacLaine invited him to Hollywood to appear with her in the unconventional thriller <em>Gambit</em>, and Michael Caine received his first taste of life in Hollywood, meeting screen heroes like John Wayne and Cary Grant.  Back in Britain, Caine reprised his role as Harry Palmer in the films <em>A Funeral in Berlin</em> and <em>Billion Dollar Brain</em>. Caine’s career was riding high, with memorable leading roles in the crime caper movie <em>The Italian Job</em> and the Newcastle-set gangster film <em>Get Carter</em>. Caine worked with an old idol, stage and screen legend Laurence Olivier in the intimate thriller <em>Sleuth</em> (1972), with Caine displaying his versatility through a series of startling plot twists.</p> <figure id="attachment_61385" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-61385" style="width: 2280px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><noscript><img class="wp-image-61385 size-full " src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051826im_/https://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/1995-2280-GettyImages-75433608.jpg"></noscript><img loading="lazy" class="wp-image-61385 size-full lazyload" alt="" width="2280" height="2291" data-sizes="(max-width: 2280px) 100vw, 2280px" data-srcset="/web/20210905051826im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/1995-2280-GettyImages-75433608.jpg 2280w, /web/20210905051826im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/1995-2280-GettyImages-75433608-190x190.jpg 190w, /web/20210905051826im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/1995-2280-GettyImages-75433608-378x380.jpg 378w, /web/20210905051826im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/1995-2280-GettyImages-75433608-756x760.jpg 756w" data-src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051826/https://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/1995-2280-GettyImages-75433608.jpg"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-61385" class="wp-caption-text">1995: Michael Caine with his wife Shakira, a Guyana-born model and actress and a runner-up in the Miss Universe contest. They were married in Las Vegas, Nevada, on January 8, 1973. (Photo by Terry O’Neill/Iconic Images/Getty)</figcaption></figure> <p>Caine enjoyed a notably lively bachelor life in the discotheques of London until he met actress and model Shakira Baksh.  He claims he fell in love with her when he saw her in a coffee commercial on television. Baksh, born in Guyana to a family with roots in Kashmir, was not initially interested in meeting Caine, and he claims he called her for ten days in a row before she agreed to go on a date with him.  Once they met in person, a romance developed quickly and they were married in 1973. Caine was reunited with an old acquaintance from London theater days, Sean Connery, in the 1975 adventure spectacle <em>The Man Who Would Be King</em>, directed by Hollywood legend John Huston. Shakira Caine played the part of a Himalayan princess in the film.</p> <p>Over the years, Caine appeared as military men in a number of big-budget World War II films, including <em>The Battle of Britain</em>, <em>The Eagle Has Landed</em> and <em>A Bridge Too Far</em>.  In the late 1970s, new British tax laws called for an 82-percent marginal tax rate on higher incomes.  Michael and Shakira Caine moved to California, making their home for the next ten years in Beverly Hills, where they raised their daughter, Natasha.</p> <figure id="attachment_61389" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-61389" style="width: 1365px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><noscript><img class="size-full wp-image-61389 " src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051826im_/https://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/2000-wp-oscars-cider-house-rules-GettyImages-51544976.jpg"></noscript><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-61389 lazyload" alt="" width="1365" height="2048" data-sizes="(max-width: 1365px) 100vw, 1365px" data-srcset="/web/20210905051826im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/2000-wp-oscars-cider-house-rules-GettyImages-51544976.jpg 1365w, /web/20210905051826im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/2000-wp-oscars-cider-house-rules-GettyImages-51544976-253x380.jpg 253w, /web/20210905051826im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/2000-wp-oscars-cider-house-rules-GettyImages-51544976-507x760.jpg 507w" data-src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051826/https://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/2000-wp-oscars-cider-house-rules-GettyImages-51544976.jpg"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-61389" class="wp-caption-text">March 26, 2000: <em>The Cider House Rules</em> Best Supporting Actor Michael Caine and <em>Girl, Interrupted</em> Best Supporting Actress Angelina Jolie pose with their Oscars at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. (Hector Mata/Getty Images)</figcaption></figure> <p>Caine’s second Hollywood effort, <em>The Swarm</em>, was a failure, despite an all-star American cast, but Caine took the advice of fellow Briton James Mason, who enjoyed a lucrative film career long after his leading-man days were over.  Mason advised him to keep working and not to stay off the screen too long, waiting for the right role, but to take the best role on offer.  Caine appeared in a number of undistinguished American films in this period, including <em>Beyond the Poseidon Adventure</em>, but he enjoyed some success in the Neil Simon comedy <em>California Suite</em> and the thrillers <em>Dressed to Kill</em> and <em>Deathtrap</em>.</p> <figure id="attachment_61391" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-61391" style="width: 2280px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><noscript><img class="size-full wp-image-61391 " src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051826im_/https://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/2005-wp-dark-knight-GettyImages-53030024.jpg"></noscript><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-61391 lazyload" alt="" width="2280" height="1534" data-sizes="(max-width: 2280px) 100vw, 2280px" data-srcset="/web/20210905051826im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/2005-wp-dark-knight-GettyImages-53030024.jpg 2280w, /web/20210905051826im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/2005-wp-dark-knight-GettyImages-53030024-380x256.jpg 380w, /web/20210905051826im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/2005-wp-dark-knight-GettyImages-53030024-760x511.jpg 760w" data-src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051826/https://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/2005-wp-dark-knight-GettyImages-53030024.jpg"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-61391" class="wp-caption-text">June 6, 2005: Actors Gary Oldman, Michael Caine, Christian Bale, Katie Holmes, Morgan Freeman and Liam Neeson at the premiere of <em>Batman Begins</em> at Grauman’s Chinese Theater in Hollywood. (© Kevin Winter and Getty Images)</figcaption></figure> <p>A change of government — and tax laws — brought Caine back to Britain in the ‘80s, and he inaugurated a career resurgence with the comedy <em>Educating Rita</em> and the underworld story <em>Mona Lisa</em>. An uncharacteristic role as a guilt-ridden philandering husband in Woody Allen’s <em>Hannah and Her Sisters</em> (1986) won Caine renewed critical acclaim and an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor.  He did not attend the Oscar ceremony in Los Angeles, as he was filming <em>Jaws: the Revenge</em> in the Bahamas.  Caine achieved unexpected success and won a new generation of fans with his appearance as Scrooge in <em>The Muppet Christmas Carol</em> in 1992. He had considered retiring from the screen when his friend Jack Nicholson lured him back for the 1996 film <em>Blood and Wine</em>.</p> <figure id="attachment_40767" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-40767" style="width: 2280px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><noscript><img class="size-full wp-image-40767 " src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051826im_/https://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/wp-LondonSummit_0642.jpg"></noscript><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-40767 lazyload" alt="" width="2280" height="1520" data-sizes="(max-width: 2280px) 100vw, 2280px" data-srcset="/web/20210905051826im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/wp-LondonSummit_0642.jpg 2280w, /web/20210905051826im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/wp-LondonSummit_0642-380x253.jpg 380w, /web/20210905051826im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/wp-LondonSummit_0642-760x507.jpg 760w" data-src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051826/https://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/wp-LondonSummit_0642.jpg"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-40767" class="wp-caption-text">2017: Academy Awards Council member Bill Clinton, 42nd President of the United States, with honoree Sir Michael Caine and guests at the honoree reception during the International Achievement Summit at Claridge’s in London.</figcaption></figure> <p>Caine took on one of the best roles of his career, the kindly doctor in Depression-era New England, in the 1999 film of John Irving’s novel <em>The Cider House Rules</em>.  He received glowing reviews for the role and was awarded his second Oscar as Best Supporting Actor. In the year 2000, he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for his services to British film. In memory of his father, he accepted the honor as Sir Maurice Micklewhite, although the public continued to recognize him as Sir Michael Caine.</p> <figure id="attachment_61359" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-61359" style="width: 2280px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><noscript><img class="size-full wp-image-61359 " src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051826im_/https://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/wp-2017-LondonSummit_0668.jpg"></noscript><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-61359 lazyload" alt="" width="2280" height="1520" data-sizes="(max-width: 2280px) 100vw, 2280px" data-srcset="/web/20210905051826im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/wp-2017-LondonSummit_0668.jpg 2280w, /web/20210905051826im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/wp-2017-LondonSummit_0668-380x253.jpg 380w, /web/20210905051826im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/wp-2017-LondonSummit_0668-760x507.jpg 760w" data-src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051826/https://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/wp-2017-LondonSummit_0668.jpg"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-61359" class="wp-caption-text">2017: Awards Council member and <em>Lord of the Rings</em> director Sir Peter Jackson presents Sir Michael Caine with the Golden Plate Award at the Academy of Achievement’s 52nd annual International Achievement Summit in London.</figcaption></figure> <p>Although he was nominated again for his performance in the 2002 film version of Graham Greene’s <em>The Quiet American</em>, Sir Michael planned to retire from the screen for a second time. An unexpected third act in his career began when director Christopher Nolan offered him the role of the butler Alfred in <em>Batman Begins</em>. Nolan’s conception of the familiar characters of the Batman franchise greatly enlarged the role of Alfred. In Nolan’s vision, Alfred is a family retainer who has virtually raised the orphaned Bruce Wayne from childhood, preparing him to become Batman. The 2005 film was a worldwide blockbuster, and Caine’s performance was recognized as an essential part of the film’s success. Caine reprised the role of Alfred in <em>The Dark Knight </em>and<em> The Dark Knight Rises</em>. He worked with director Nolan again in the films <em>Inception</em> and <em>Interstellar</em>. In 2009, Caine gave one of the most intense performances of his career in <em>Harry Brown</em>, playing a retired Royal Marine who takes the law into his own hands to bring justice to his deteriorating inner-city neighborhood.</p> <figure id="attachment_61346" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-61346" style="width: 2031px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><noscript><img class="wp-image-61346 size-full " src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051826im_/https://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/2018-BOOK-BLOWING-THE-BLOODY-DOORS-OFF.jpg"></noscript><img loading="lazy" class="wp-image-61346 size-full lazyload" alt="" width="2031" height="3118" data-sizes="(max-width: 2031px) 100vw, 2031px" data-srcset="/web/20210905051826im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/2018-BOOK-BLOWING-THE-BLOODY-DOORS-OFF.jpg 2031w, /web/20210905051826im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/2018-BOOK-BLOWING-THE-BLOODY-DOORS-OFF-248x380.jpg 248w, /web/20210905051826im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/2018-BOOK-BLOWING-THE-BLOODY-DOORS-OFF-495x760.jpg 495w" data-src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051826/https://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/2018-BOOK-BLOWING-THE-BLOODY-DOORS-OFF.jpg"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-61346" class="wp-caption-text">2018: <em>Blowing the Bloody Doors Off: And Other Lessons in Life </em>by Michael Caine. Now in his 85th year, Caine recounts his fascinating personal and professional journey from his childhood in a London slum to major roles in hit films.</figcaption></figure> <p>Michael Caine has published a book-length essay on <em>Acting in Film</em>; two books of trivia, <em>Not</em> <em>Many People Know That</em> and <em>Not Many People Know This Either</em>; and three volumes of memoirs, <em>What’s It All About?</em>, <em>The Elephant to Hollywood</em>, and <em>Blowing the Bloody Doors Off</em>.  He and his wife, Shakira, remain together, after more than 45 years of marriage, and have homes in London and in Leatherhead, Surrey.</p> </body></html> <div class="clearfix"> </div> </article> </div> </section> </div> <div class="tab-pane" id="profile" role="tabpanel"> <section class="clearfix"> <header class="editorial-article__header"> <figure class="text-xs-center"> <img class="inductee-badge" src="/web/20210905051826im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/themes/aoa/assets/images/inducted-badge@2x.png" alt="Inducted Badge" width="120" height="120"/> <figcaption class="serif-3 text-brand-primary"> Inducted in 2017 </figcaption> </figure> </header> <div class="row"> <aside class="col-md-4 sidebar"> <dl class="clearfix m-b-0"> <div class="col-xs-12 sidebar--chunk p-b-2"> <dt class="serif-7">Career</dt> <dd class="sans-2"> <div><a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/#filter=.actor">Actor</a></div> </dd> </div> <div class="col-xs-12 sidebar--chunk p-b-2"> <dt class="serif-7">Date of Birth</dt> <dd class="sans-2"> March 14, 1933 </dd> </div> </dl> </aside> <article class="col-md-8 editorial-article clearfix"> <div class="page" title="Page 23"> <div class="layoutArea"> <div class="column"> <p>In more than 150 feature films, Michael Caine has brought intelligence and humanity to roles as varied as the hunted gangster in <em>Get Carter</em>; an alcoholic teacher in <em>Educating Rita</em>; men at war in <em>The Battle of Britain</em> and <em>A Bridge Too Far</em>; a soldier of fortune in <em>The Man Who Would Be King</em>; and the loyal butler Alfred in <em>The Dark Knight</em> trilogy.</p> <p>Born in London to working-class parents, he served in the Korean War and struggled for a decade to build his career as an actor before first winning notice in the historical drama <em>Zulu</em> and the spy thriller <em>The Ipcress File</em>. In 1966, his performance as the cockney playboy <em>Alfie</em> rocketed him to international stardom.</p> <p>Michael Caine has been nominated for an Oscar in five consecutive decades, winning for his roles as a guilt-ridden philandering husband in <em>Hannah and Her Sisters</em> (1986) and as a kindly doctor in <em>The Cider House Rules</em> (1999). His films have made over $7.8 billion worldwide, placing him among the top-grossing film stars of all time. In 2000, he was knighted by HM Queen Elizabeth II for his contributions to world cinema.</p> </div> </div> </div> </article> </div> </section> </div> <div class="tab-pane" id="interview" role="tabpanel"> <section class="clearfix"> <div class="col-md-12 interview-feature-video"> <figure> <div class="embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9"> <iframe class="embed-responsive-item embed-responsive--has-thumbnail" width="200" height="150" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051826if_/https://www.youtube.com/embed/jNmyEyDyQg4?feature=oembed&hd=1&modestbranding=1&rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> <div class="embed-responsive__thumbnail ratio-container__image lazyload" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Caine_Michael_2018_MasterEdit.00_17_44_07.Still010-380x214.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Caine_Michael_2018_MasterEdit.00_17_44_07.Still010-760x428.jpg"></div> <div class="video-tag sans-4"> <i class="embed-responsive__play icon-icon_play-full text-brand-primary"></i> <div class="video-tag__text">Watch full interview</div> </div> </div> </figure> </div> <header class="col-md-12 text-xs-center m-b-2"> <i class="icon-icon_bio text-brand-primary"></i> </header> <aside class="col-md-4 sidebar"> <h2 class="serif-3 achiever--biography-subtitle">A Legend of Cinema</h2> <div class="sans-2">London, England</div> <div class="sans-2">November 29, 2018</div> </aside> <article class="editorial-article col-md-8">   <div class="achiever__interview-copy"> <p><strong>You’ve said that you began your career without any expectations of becoming a star. Why was that?</strong></p> </div>     <div class="achiever__video-block"> <figure class="achiever__interview-video"> <div class="embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9"> <iframe class="embed-responsive-item embed-responsive--has-thumbnail" width="200" height="150" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051826if_/https://www.youtube.com/embed/C4w3OUydAtU?feature=oembed&hd=1&modestbranding=1&rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> <div class="embed-responsive__thumbnail ratio-container__image lazyload" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Caine_Michael_2018_MasterEdit.00_04_51_22.Still005-380x214.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Caine_Michael_2018_MasterEdit.00_04_51_22.Still005-760x428.jpg"></div> <i class="embed-responsive__play icon-icon_play-full text-brand-primary"></i> </div> <figcaption class="achiever__interview-video-terms"> <span>Keys to success —</span> <a class="comma-item" href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/keys-to-success/preparation/">Preparation</a> </figcaption> </figure>  <div class="achiever__interview-video__copy"> <p>Michael Caine: I was in Korea, in the war in Korea, and there’s an incubation period for malaria, and I came home, and then I collapsed with malaria. And so there I was, I’m very, very thin — I lost a lot of weight — a slightly yellow complexion and the thick cockney accent, and I knew I would never be rich or famous. You absolutely knew that.</p> <p>So I went into repertory for nine years and learned how to be an actor in order to become the best possible actor <em>I</em> could become. Not the best possible actor, because there’ll always be, whatever you do, people who are better or worse at what you do. I just started to be the best possible actor <em>I</em> could be, and that was the end of that.</p> <p>I think it just came from knowing that I was never going to be like Laurence Olivier or people like that, or John Gielgud — great theater actors — or big movie stars like Cary Grant and Robert Taylor, and John Mills in England, and people like that. But I just decided to make myself the best that I could possibly make myself without any reference to anyone else.</p> </div> </div>      <div class="achiever__interview-copy"> <p><strong>Apart from the damage to your health, what impact do you think your service in the Korean War had on you?</strong></p> <p>Michael Caine: To me, I was always disgusted by war. It’s always started by men who are too old to go; that’s the start. And then they send the young men, who are too stupid to know what they’re getting into, like me. And then you wind up in Korea with the American Marines, which is not a very good idea. And no, I mean it’s the most terrifying ordeal that you can think of, and you have to do things that you would never think of doing. But there was one great advantage to me from the war, which was that…</p> </div>     <div class="achiever__video-block"> <figure class="achiever__interview-video"> <div class="embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9"> <iframe class="embed-responsive-item embed-responsive--has-thumbnail" width="200" height="150" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051826if_/https://www.youtube.com/embed/lhShERY0VMY?feature=oembed&hd=1&modestbranding=1&rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> <div class="embed-responsive__thumbnail ratio-container__image lazyload" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Caine_Michael_2018_MasterEdit.00_06_52_14.Still007-380x214.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Caine_Michael_2018_MasterEdit.00_06_52_14.Still007-760x428.jpg"></div> <i class="embed-responsive__play icon-icon_play-full text-brand-primary"></i> </div> <figcaption class="achiever__interview-video-terms"> <span>Keys to success —</span> <a class="comma-item" href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/keys-to-success/courage/">Courage</a> </figcaption> </figure>  <div class="achiever__interview-video__copy"> <p>Michael Caine: We got into a situation, on a patrol, where we were surrounded by Chinese, and we knew we were going to die, but what you worry about when you get into that situation — are you going to be a coward, are you going to be yellow and run, you know, and there were only four of us, a little tiny patrol. And we all said, “Well, we’re going to make this as expensive as we possibly can, our deaths.” And we were going to do that. And the officer said, “Let’s go towards their lines and go right round.” So we went back. They were waiting for us to go back to our lines, and then we went back to the Chinese line and went right the way around them and back, and so we survived it; we didn’t have to do that. But I came out of it knowing that I wasn’t a coward, and I’ve known that for the rest of my life. So for all the things I hated about Korea and the things I hate about war, which I do hate, I came out of it with one advantage, which fostered one of my pet phrases, which is “Use the difficulty,” and that’s how I used that difficulty.</p> </div> </div>      <div class="achiever__interview-copy"> <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd"> <html><body data-rsssl="1"><figure id="attachment_61398" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-61398" style="width: 2280px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><noscript><img class="wp-image-61398 size-full " src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051826im_/https://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/1960-wp-2280-GettyImages-154509677.jpg"></noscript><img loading="lazy" class="wp-image-61398 size-full lazyload" alt="" width="2280" height="2838" data-sizes="(max-width: 2280px) 100vw, 2280px" data-srcset="/web/20210905051826im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/1960-wp-2280-GettyImages-154509677.jpg 2280w, /web/20210905051826im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/1960-wp-2280-GettyImages-154509677-305x380.jpg 305w, /web/20210905051826im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/1960-wp-2280-GettyImages-154509677-611x760.jpg 611w" data-src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051826/https://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/1960-wp-2280-GettyImages-154509677.jpg"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-61398" class="wp-caption-text">1960s: Michael Caine’s acting career began in the 1950s when he was cast in many small, often uncredited roles in British films. His luck began to turn around with the 1964 film <em>Zulu</em>. After this breakout role, Caine portrayed a spy in <em>The Ipcress File</em>, based on the book by Len Deighton, a role for which he was nominated for a BAFTA. (© Getty)</figcaption></figure> </body></html> </div>     <div class="achiever__interview-copy"> <p><strong>You’ve described acting as “not acting,” or as “listening and reacting.” What do you mean?</strong></p> </div>     <div class="achiever__video-block"> <figure class="achiever__interview-video"> <div class="embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9"> <iframe class="embed-responsive-item embed-responsive--has-thumbnail" width="200" height="150" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051826if_/https://www.youtube.com/embed/PqQ8tHvxgUE?feature=oembed&hd=1&modestbranding=1&rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> <div class="embed-responsive__thumbnail ratio-container__image lazyload" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Caine_Michael_2018_MasterEdit.00_59_01_14.Still016-380x214.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Caine_Michael_2018_MasterEdit.00_59_01_14.Still016-760x428.jpg"></div> <i class="embed-responsive__play icon-icon_play-full text-brand-primary"></i> </div> <figcaption class="achiever__interview-video-terms"> <span>Keys to success —</span> <a class="comma-item" href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/keys-to-success/preparation/">Preparation</a> </figcaption> </figure>  <div class="achiever__interview-video__copy"> <p>When I was a young actor in repertory, I came — very young — and I came on rehearsals, and I was playing a drunk — a drunken man. And I came on, and then the producer said, “Just a minute, Michael, what are you doing?” I said, “I’m drunk in this scene.” He said, “I know you’re drunk in this scene. What are you doing?” I said, “I’m playing a drunk.” He said, “No, you’re not. You’re playing an actor.”</p> <p>I said, “What are you talking about?” He said, “A drunk is a man who is trying to speak properly and walk straight. You’re an actor who is trying to speak in a mumbled voice and walk crooked.” And there, he described movie acting to me in one sentence — and the same thing he did when I had a crying scene. He said, “What are you doing?” I said, “I’m crying. Blah, blah, blah.” And he said, “No. When a man cries, it’s the last thing he wants to do.”</p> <p>He said, “He will do anything but cry. He will stop himself crying no matter how tragic it is. And he would do everything, and only when he’s completely defeated emotionally will he start to cry properly.” He said, “He will do anything but cry — a real man.” He said, “You are an actor who is trying to cry.” And he described, again, movie acting. That’s a complete description of movie acting.</p> <p>The hardest thing that I’ve had to do on camera was in <em>Harry Brown</em>, crying. And I had to do that, and I did that. If you saw a movie I did called <em>Harry Brown</em>, you’d see me cry, and you’d see the man doing that, doing everything but cry and then having to break down because he was so unhappy.</p> </div> </div>      <div class="achiever__interview-copy"> <p><strong>You’ve had some extraordinary luck in your career. You were in a very interesting place in a very interesting time, the British theater and film scene in the late ‘50s and the ‘60s. So many of the people you knew and worked with in the early days went on to great careers, too.</strong></p> </div>     <div class="achiever__video-block"> <figure class="achiever__interview-video"> <div class="embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9"> <iframe class="embed-responsive-item embed-responsive--has-thumbnail" width="200" height="150" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051826if_/https://www.youtube.com/embed/aQlGc9LPN6c?feature=oembed&hd=1&modestbranding=1&rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> <div class="embed-responsive__thumbnail ratio-container__image lazyload" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/MasterEdit.00_30_46_05.Still002-380x214.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2019/04/MasterEdit.00_30_46_05.Still002-760x428.jpg"></div> <i class="embed-responsive__play icon-icon_play-full text-brand-primary"></i> </div> </figure>  <div class="achiever__interview-video__copy"> <p>Michael Caine: What it was, in those days, everybody I knew was not famous, and nobody I knew didn’t become famous. It’s like — I had this friend called David Baron, who was an actor. And he said to me, he said, “I’m going to write a play, and you’re going to be in it.” I said, “All right, David,” you know.</p> <p>He said, “I’m fed up with this. I’m going to be a playwright,” he said. But he said, “David Baron’s not my real name. I’m going to write under my real name.” I said, “What’s your real name, David?” He said, “Harold Pinter.” I was in his first play, at the Royal Court, called <em>The Room. </em>And you meet people like that.</p> <p>And the other one, the other actor I was with was John Osborne. He said, “I’m going to write a play,” and he said, “I’ve nearly finished it.” I said, “What’s it called?” He said, “<em>Look Back in Anger.</em>” I went, “Oh, great. Lovely.” You know. It was time after time that you met people, that they just — everyone I knew. Peter O’Toole, he was in the play; he became a movie star. I was his understudy. He became a massive star, you know. Albert Finney, Tom Courtenay, they all became stars, and these were guys I knew. Terence Stamp, he became a star. I shared a flat with him. So it was one of those eras like that, where everybody became someone.</p> </div> </div>      <div class="achiever__interview-copy"> <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd"> <html><body data-rsssl="1"><figure id="attachment_61394" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-61394" style="width: 278px" class="wp-caption alignright"><noscript><img class="size-full wp-image-61394 " src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051826im_/https://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/CAINE-PARENTS-MAURICE-MICKLEWHITE-1.png"></noscript><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-61394 lazyload" alt="" width="278" height="244" data-src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051826/https://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/CAINE-PARENTS-MAURICE-MICKLEWHITE-1.png"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-61394" class="wp-caption-text">The 1950s: Maurice Joseph Micklewhite, Jr. (later known as Michael Caine) with parents Ellen and Maurice Micklewhite.</figcaption></figure> <p>I came along at a time when social life in England was changing, and people were starting to write about working-class people. Movies were starting to be made about them. My first job, when I came to London, I was an understudy for Peter O’Toole, who was in a play, and he became a star in the play — a fabulous actor. And he became the star in this play called <em>The Long and the Short and the Tall</em>, which is the first British play ever written about private soldiers in the British Army. Like, Bill Naughton wrote <em>Alfie</em> about an ordinary Englishman.  John Osborne wrote <em>Look Back in Anger</em>. And they were the first playwrights to write about working-class people in Britain, I promise you.</p> <p>Society changed when people wrote films about working-class people and working-class people went to see them.  Because when I was a young man, when I went to see a war film, I went to see American films because American films — <em>From Here to Eternity </em>and those, <em>The</em> <em>Naked and the Dead — </em>were all about private soldiers.  English war films were all about officers, you know.  I’d been a soldier; I didn’t want to see a picture about officers.</p> <p><strong>We know your original name was Maurice Micklewhite.  How did you become Michael Caine?</strong></p> </body></html> </div>     <div class="achiever__video-block"> <figure class="achiever__interview-video"> <div class="embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9"> <iframe class="embed-responsive-item embed-responsive--has-thumbnail" width="200" height="150" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051826if_/https://www.youtube.com/embed/ZWz7Tpjk_IM?feature=oembed&hd=1&modestbranding=1&rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> <div class="embed-responsive__thumbnail ratio-container__image lazyload" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Caine_Michael_2018_MasterEdit.00_58_54_12.Still015-380x214.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Caine_Michael_2018_MasterEdit.00_58_54_12.Still015-760x428.jpg"></div> <i class="embed-responsive__play icon-icon_play-full text-brand-primary"></i> </div> </figure>  <div class="achiever__interview-video__copy"> <p>Michael Caine: I came out of a repertory theater in the country, and I came to London, and I didn’t have a telephone, and there was a club called the Artsiana Club — where all the out-of-work actors used to be in the coffee bar in the basement — and it was at Leicester Square, which is like Broadway in New York, all the big cinemas and theaters.</p> <p>And every night, I used to go and phone my agent — to see if there was a job — at six o’clock, in a phone booth on Leicester Square. And because my name was Micklewhite, I called myself — I didn’t want to use that name — in repertory, I was called Michael White. And then, one night, I got a job, and the woman said — my agent, Josephine, said to me, she said, “You’ve got to change your name because you’ve got to join Equity, the trade union.”</p> <p>I said, “Yes.” She said, “There is another Michael White in the trade union.” So she said, “You can call yourself ‘Michael,’ but you can’t call yourself ‘White’.” She said, “And I need a name now because I’ve got to call the producer, and I’ve got to say your name and tell him who’s going to play the part.” So she said, “Give me a surname.” So I look around the cinemas, and one of my favorite actors is Humphrey Bogart. And on the Odeon in Leicester Square, at that time, was <em>The Caine Mutiny</em> with Humphrey Bogart. And I said, “Michael Caine.” She said, “Okay, how do you spell it?” I said C-A-I-N-E, that’s it. If I had gone to the Leicester Square Theater, I’d have been “Michael 101 Dalmatians.”</p> </div> </div>      <div class="achiever__interview-copy"> <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd"> <html><body data-rsssl="1"><figure id="attachment_61400" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-61400" style="width: 1140px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><noscript><img class="wp-image-61400 size-full " src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051826im_/https://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/2000-wp-knighthood-GettyImages-98671956.jpg"></noscript><img loading="lazy" class="wp-image-61400 size-full lazyload" alt="" width="1140" height="1677" data-sizes="(max-width: 1140px) 100vw, 1140px" data-srcset="/web/20210905051826im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/2000-wp-knighthood-GettyImages-98671956.jpg 1140w, /web/20210905051826im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/2000-wp-knighthood-GettyImages-98671956-258x380.jpg 258w, /web/20210905051826im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/2000-wp-knighthood-GettyImages-98671956-517x760.jpg 517w" data-src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051826/https://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/2000-wp-knighthood-GettyImages-98671956.jpg"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-61400" class="wp-caption-text">2000: Michael Caine and his wife Shakira after he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace as Sir Maurice Micklewhite. The 67-year-old actor used his real name during the ceremony with the Queen but will be known professionally as Sir Michael Caine. He said, “I was named after my father and I was knighted in his name because I love my father. I always kept my real name – I’m a very private and family-orientated person.” (© Getty)</figcaption></figure> </body></html> </div>     <div class="achiever__interview-copy"> <p><strong>What do you think it was that got you out of the world you were in and brought you to Hollywood and made you one of the most famous people in the world?</strong></p> </div>     <div class="achiever__video-block"> <figure class="achiever__interview-video"> <div class="embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9"> <iframe class="embed-responsive-item embed-responsive--has-thumbnail" width="200" height="150" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051826if_/https://www.youtube.com/embed/PoNMhO-cbTk?feature=oembed&hd=1&modestbranding=1&rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> <div class="embed-responsive__thumbnail ratio-container__image lazyload" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Caine_Michael_2018_MasterEdit.00_55_27_28.Still014-380x214.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Caine_Michael_2018_MasterEdit.00_55_27_28.Still014-760x428.jpg"></div> <i class="embed-responsive__play icon-icon_play-full text-brand-primary"></i> </div> </figure>  <div class="achiever__interview-video__copy"> <p>Michael Caine: It was just keeping going at what I did. I tried to make myself better every day and eventually, someone noticed it. Namely, Cy Endfield, who was the director of <em>Zulu.</em> He saw me in a play, my first play in the West End, called <em>Next Time I’ll Sing To You.</em> And I played a cockney in that, and he wanted to cast me as a cockney. It was about the military, and I was going to be a cockney corporal.</p> <p>I went for the audition, and I didn’t have a phone, and he said, “I’m sorry, Michael. We’ve cast the corporal, you know, but I couldn’t call you. You don’t have a phone.” I said, “No, I don’t have a phone.” I said it was okay because I’d been turned down for a lot of parts. I was in a very long bar at the Prince of Wales Theatre in West End in London — a very long bar — and I always regard that long bar as the secret of my success because if it had been shorter, I wouldn’t be here.</p> </div> </div>      <div class="achiever__interview-copy"> <p>If the bar had been shorter, my film career might not have happened because I had got to the door, I was just opening it, and Cy Endfield said, “Come back here,” he said. I was cast as a cockney corporal, and he looked at me, and I was tall, skinny, blonde. He said, “You look more like an officer to me.” He said, “You don’t look like a corporal.” A corporal would be sort of tougher looking. He says, “Can you do a posh accent?” And I said, “Yeah.” I said, “I’ve been in repertory for nine years. I’ve played hundreds of posh people.” And he cast me as the officer in <em>Zulu</em>, which started my career. And the thing about that was — thinking in terms of the British class system — if he had been an Englishman, that director, even if he’d been a left-wing communist, he would not have cast me as an officer, I promise you.</p> <p><strong>For younger people who are listening and admire all that you’ve done, you’ve often said, “Watch for opportunities.” But sometimes, it’s hard to know what’s an opportunity. </strong></p> <p>Michael Caine: Sometimes you don’t know when something good is happening. For instance, I played a very posh officer in <em>Zulu. </em>Now, I didn’t want to spend the rest of my life playing posh officers, you know. I don’t have a naturally posh accent, and I’m not a naturally posh officer. It was a performance. But it brought me all the career that I ever had. And I’ve never played a person like that again since, someone as posh as that. I played a lot of posh people, but it was no indication of what I was going to do as an actor, <em>Zulu. </em>But it brought me to attention.</p> </div>     <div class="achiever__video-block"> <figure class="achiever__interview-video"> <div class="embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9"> <iframe class="embed-responsive-item embed-responsive--has-thumbnail" width="200" height="150" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051826if_/https://www.youtube.com/embed/FYRynEGZeiQ?feature=oembed&hd=1&modestbranding=1&rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> <div class="embed-responsive__thumbnail ratio-container__image lazyload" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Caine_Michael_2018_MasterEdit.00_39_28_01.Still012-380x214.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Caine_Michael_2018_MasterEdit.00_39_28_01.Still012-760x428.jpg"></div> <i class="embed-responsive__play icon-icon_play-full text-brand-primary"></i> </div> </figure>  <div class="achiever__interview-video__copy"> <p>I was having dinner. I was sharing a flat with an actor there called Terence Stamp, and we were having dinner at a restaurant. And Harry Saltzman, one of the producers of the Bond films, is making the film <em>The Ipcress File, </em>and he’d bought the novel from Len Deighton. And he was in this restaurant, and he sent me a message, saying, “At the end of your meal, would you please have a coffee with me?”</p> <p>He was with his wife and kids, and I went over, and he gave me <em>Ipcress File. </em>He’d just seen <em>Zulu </em>that night. Now <em>Ipcress File </em>was a sort of cockney working-class spy. He had just seen <em>Zulu, </em>with a posh, very posh officer, absolutely nothing to do with the other treatment.</p> <p>I asked him about that. I said, “Well, you’ve just seen <em>Zulu; </em>now you want me to play the…” He said, “It’s about screen presence, Michael. Once you see the presence, once you’re on screen, you’ve either got screen presence or you haven’t. And there’s absolutely nothing you can do about it.” I didn’t know I had it. I didn’t know what it was, but it seemed that I had it.</p> </div> </div>      <div class="achiever__video-block"> <figure class="achiever__interview-video"> <div class="embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9"> <iframe class="embed-responsive-item embed-responsive--has-thumbnail" width="200" height="150" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051826if_/https://www.youtube.com/embed/Y3eQxcBqcfc?feature=oembed&hd=1&modestbranding=1&rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> <div class="embed-responsive__thumbnail ratio-container__image lazyload" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Caine_Michael_2018_MasterEdit.00_04_46_14.Still006-380x214.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Caine_Michael_2018_MasterEdit.00_04_46_14.Still006-760x428.jpg"></div> <i class="embed-responsive__play icon-icon_play-full text-brand-primary"></i> </div> </figure>  <div class="achiever__interview-video__copy"> <p><em>Ipcress File </em>made me famous in England. <em>Alfie </em>made me famous in America because I got nominated for an Academy Award the first time, and it was the first movie — they made a lot of British movies, but they never got a release in America. <em>Alfie </em>got released in America, a general release.</p> <p>And what the difference was between the stars of my generation — like Sean Connery, Richard Burton, Peter O’Toole, Albert Finney — is we all became stars in America. Before that, British movie stars were stars in Britain, not in America. Lots of British actors went to America and became stars. Cary Grant did it, you know. Olivia de Havilland and Joan Fontaine were both English.</p> </div> </div>      <div class="achiever__interview-copy"> <p><strong>You mentioned Sean Connery. You met him early on, didn’t you?</strong></p> </div>     <div class="achiever__video-block"> <figure class="achiever__interview-video"> <div class="embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9"> <iframe class="embed-responsive-item embed-responsive--has-thumbnail" width="200" height="150" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051826if_/https://www.youtube.com/embed/bqOJrrDB4P8?feature=oembed&hd=1&modestbranding=1&rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> <div class="embed-responsive__thumbnail ratio-container__image lazyload" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/MasterEdit.00_42_46_14.Still003-380x214.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2019/04/MasterEdit.00_42_46_14.Still003-760x428.jpg"></div> <i class="embed-responsive__play icon-icon_play-full text-brand-primary"></i> </div> </figure>  <div class="achiever__interview-video__copy"> <p>Michael Caine: Sean Connery — what happened with Sean, how Sean got into show business — he was a “Mr.” — I think he was “Mr. Edinburgh.” He was a big weightlifter. And they were doing <em>South Pacific, </em>and there’s a song in it called “There Is Nothing Like a Dame,” sung by all these sailors, you know, big robust sailors. And they only had small chorus boys, and it didn’t look right, them singing this song, “There Is Nothing Like a Dame.”</p> <p>So they went out and looked for great big, masculine men, and of course, they went to weightlifting places. And they found Sean, and Sean was in the chorus of <em>South Pacific. </em>And they opened on a Thursday, and the Saturday night, there was a party to which I took two girls. And he came after the show, late, about eleven o’clock. And he walked in, and he saw me with two girls. And he walked straight over to me and introduced himself and took one of the girls. So that’s how I met Sean Connery.</p> </div> </div>      <div class="achiever__interview-copy"> <p>The first big famous person I ever met was John Wayne, and he was exactly like I expected him to be. I was staying at the Beverly Hills Hotel, and I was there on my own because I was there to make a movie called <em>Gambit</em> with Shirley MacLaine, but she went over the schedule on what she was doing and didn’t turn up. And so nobody knew me in Hollywood and knew I was there except Shirley MacLaine and the producers and directors of the movie.</p> <p>They left me in the hotel, and I used to sit in the lobby to look for famous people, film stars. And John Wayne came in one day and signed into the hotel. And then he saw me sitting there, and he said, “What’s your name, kid?” I said, “Michael Caine.” He said, “You in that movie <em>Alfie</em>?” I said, “Yeah.” He said, “You’re going to be a big star, kid.” I said, “Well, thank you, Mr. Wayne.”</p> <p>He said, “But let me give you some advice.” I said, “What?” He said, “Talk slow. Talk slow and don’t say too much.” I said, “Thank you, sir, thank you very much.” He said — and I had on suede shoes — and he said to me, “And never wear suede shoes.” I said, “What?” He said, “Never wear suede shoes.” I said, “Why not?” He said, “Because remember, I just told you, you’re going to be famous.” He said, “And you’ll be in the toilet taking a pee, and the guy next to you is going to go ‘Michael Caine!’ — and he’s going to pee all over your shoes, so never wear suede shoes.”</p> <p><strong>Did you listen to his advice?</strong></p> <p>Michael Caine: Oh yeah, I threw the suede shoes away. Oh, well. He said, “Talk slow; don’t say too much.” I then made 20 pictures where I never stopped talking very quickly. Because he was a cowboy, you see, and cowboys don’t say too much, do they? Because they fall off, otherwise, if they keep talking.</p> <p>I’ll tell you another thing with cowboys. Richard Widmark told me — I was talking to him; he said, “What’d you say?” He said, “Talk in this ear.” He said, “I’m a bit deaf in that one.” I said, “Oh, I’m sorry. Why is that?” He said, “Well, playing all those cowboy parts.” He said, “Someone’s always shooting a bloody gun, and it goes, and it’s always been in my left ear.” And he said, “You go deaf.” He said, “All actors who play cowboys in America are deaf in one ear.” I said, “What?”</p> </div>    <aside class="collapse" id="full-interview">    <div class="achiever__interview-copy"> <p><strong>You’ve come a long way in the world, from the streets of London to hobnobbing with all these stars. Let’s talk about your childhood. Is it true that your father worked at a fish market and your mother was a cleaning lady?</strong></p> <p>Michael Caine: That’s right, yeah.</p> <p><strong>What was it like growing up?</strong></p> <p>Michael Caine: It was fabulous because we were a happy family, which is the most important thing. We had just about enough money to be happy and to feed ourselves. Well,<em> I</em> didn’t feed anybody. But I had a wonderful mother and a great father, but the thing was that from the age of six to twelve, I never saw my father because he was in the army, and he was away in the Second World War.</p> <p>So I grew up with my mother and a brother, Stanley. My mother was a wonderful woman. She made a man out of the two of us with one sentence. When my father went away, an army truck came and collected him. He got in the truck and waved goodbye, and it went around the corner — and I was six and my brother Stanley was three — and my mother looked at us, and she said, “Well, your dad’s gone. Now you two have to look after me.” She made little men out of us in one sentence, which still stays with me. I look after everybody. It’s amazing. It’s one sentence, and I was six.</p> <p><strong>During the Blitz, when the Germans were bombing London, a lot of children were removed from the city. We understand you stayed with a family who mistreated you. What happened?</strong></p> <p>Michael Caine: The family used to go away for the weekend, and there was me and another boy called Clarence. I’ll always remember “Clarence” was his name. And they used to lock us up on a Friday night in a room under the stairs and release us Monday morning when they came back from the weekend. They used to leave us tins of opened sardines and bottles of water, and that’s what we lived on. And Clarence and I all came out in sores, obviously, with this diet and everything.</p> <p>My mother couldn’t get down because the Germans were bombing the railway. They didn’t bomb them permanently — there were pauses that they couldn’t get through or something went wrong — and there was a time when she could. After about three weeks — we’d been evacuated — and she came down and found us and took us away. And she hit the woman so hard that she nearly went to prison herself when she met the woman. She really beat her up, and she nearly went to jail. But when the police saw me and Clarence, they forgave her.</p> <p><strong>What did you look like when your mom saw you?</strong></p> <p>Michael Caine: Oh, we were covered in sores and everything, everywhere. You realize what diet — I didn’t know, I was six, seven by that time, yeah. But I just looked in the mirror, and I knew that something was drastically wrong.</p> <p><strong>What was it like in the cupboard?</strong></p> <p>Michael Caine: I suffer from incredible claustrophobia now. You can’t shut a door on me anywhere. The cupboard was just under the staircase. It was under the stairs — if you think of a staircase and the cupboard under the stairs and put two little boys in it, that’s what it was.</p> <p><strong>Were you able to eat better during the rest of the war? </strong></p> <p>Michael Caine: For me, the Second World War was an incredible thing. You couldn’t get food with any chemicals in it. There were no chemicals; all food was organic, and you couldn’t get sugar. It came from a long way away, and you couldn’t get sugar drinks. There was no Coca-Cola or anything like that — none of these — and the sugar, which is the most terrible thing.</p> <p><strong>Were the chemicals for the war effort?</strong></p> <p>Michael Caine: The chemicals were for the war effort, and the sugar came from the Caribbean, and it couldn’t get there because the German submarines were sinking the ships. So what happened was, those of us who grew up in the war, we grew up on the most incredible diet; it was fabulous. I didn’t know about bloody sugar and everything. But you didn’t get a lot of fruit; you got a lot of apples and pears, which were grown in England. But the only tropical fruit which — every child in England, at Christmas, got an apple and an orange. You got one apple and one orange a year for six years. I grew up like that, and it was very fortunate — using the difficulty again without knowing it — to grow up on organic food. Everyone said — you couldn’t get any other food but organic. You couldn’t get it.</p> <p><strong>Were you able to go back to your house after the war?</strong></p> <p>Michael Caine: No. What happened was, in the war, we got bombed out in the war, and we were in the country, so it didn’t hurt us. It was amazing — bombed out — because if you go and see the building where I lived now — and it’s still there — and you’ll say, “I thought Michael Caine said he got bombed out. It’s this building. The building is a hundred years old.” What it was, in the next street to us, a rocket dropped. When the Germans had the rockets, they dropped, and they just obliterated a street. They were silent; they weren’t like the buzz bombs. And this — Horsman Street, it was called — and I was there the other day, and it’s just full of flats. There’s no street left; there’s just a sign. What happened was, when the bomb — when that rocket dropped on Horsman Street, it blew all our doors and windows out. It didn’t hurt the building. It just blew all the doors and windows out, so we couldn’t live in it.</p> <p>They put us in what they used to call prefabricated houses. They were made of asbestos, and they came from Canada; they were made in Canada. I was in this house, and you would say, “Oh, poor boy.” This was the most fabulous house for me. For a start, we had a little garden. We’d never had a garden. And for the first time in my life, I lived in a house with electric light, central heating, a bathroom, and an indoor toilet and hot water. I’d never lived in a house like that. So for me, this pre-fab, which to everybody was a load of crap, was the height of luxury.</p> <p><strong>There’s a painting of you in your gorgeous apartment here on the Thames. Your wife said that she asked the artist, “Why did you make Michael look angry?” And the artist said, “Because he’s a fighter.” Do you think you’re a fighter?</strong></p> <p>Michael Caine: I come from a very tough and rough background, the Elephant and Castle where I grew up. I was in a gang, but my gang, we weren’t in a gang in order to beat people up or do anything. We were in a gang to defend ourselves so that we never got beaten up.</p> <p>Because the Elephant and Castle — when I grew up, there were the gangsters who were called “spivs,” which is “VIPs” backwards. That’s a very cockney thing. They wore trilby hats — they all wore trilby hats — they had razor blades sewn in the brim so they’d just whack you if you — you know. It was a very rough area. Some of my uncles were spivs and that, but I wasn’t rough and that. I was rough in self-defense. I would never attack anybody. I was more sensitive than that. I became an actor; I didn’t become a thug. No, I’m tough. I’m fabulous until you get on the wrong side, and then there’s quite a surprise to come.</p> <p><strong>What would you see?</strong></p> <p>Michael Caine: You don’t want to go there.</p> <p><strong>Anger?</strong></p> <p>Michael Caine: Oh, yeah, I have a terrible temper. I never lose it. I can’t remember — years ago, I lost my temper, but I never lose it.</p> <p><strong>What’s the kind of thing that would trigger it? What do you get upset about?</strong></p> <p>Michael Caine: I think injustice, without being a great big word. Injustice. Injustice just to people, one person to another person, that’s what gets me. Things like racial prejudice and all that, those upset me as well.</p> <p><strong>The other gang members that you grew up with had very different lives.</strong></p> <p>Michael Caine: Oh, yeah. I did a movie called <em>Get Carter</em>, and that was based on a gangster that I knew at the Elephant and Castle. He’d never been charged with murder, but I knew he’d killed at least four people. But we all knew — not <em>I</em> knew, we <em>all</em> knew — he’d killed at least four people. And I made this movie about a gangster — and I based it on him — called <em>Get Carter</em>.</p> <p>I was in the discotheque, and he came in, and he saw me, and he said, “I just seen that movie of yours, that film <em>Get Carter</em>.” I said, “Yeah?” I said, “What did you think?” He said, “Biggest load of rubbish I’ve ever seen in my life.” I said, “Why?” He said, “Because of you,” he said. “Look at you,” he said. “You’re playing a gangster robbing everybody, and you have no responsibilities.” I said, “What are you talking about?” He said, “You weren’t a married man, Michael, with children. You were just doing it” — letting himself off because he had six kids. “Oh, all right” — whatever he said, I agreed with, obviously.</p> <p><strong>How did you know that you wanted to be an actor?</strong></p> <p>Michael Caine: Because I was an amateur actor in the youth club. I went in for all the wrong reasons. I was in the basketball team, and I used to go up on the roof of the club to play basketball, and I always would pass this door with some windows in it, and all the prettiest girls in the club were in there. And I said, “What’s that? Why are they all in there?” And they said, “It’s the drama class.” So I joined the drama class.</p> <p>There was a very beautiful girl I wanted to kiss. I thought, “Maybe I’ll be in a play with her, and I’ll have to kiss her.” I was very shy with girls and all that, and I didn’t know what to do, so I joined the drama class. And I became absolutely — obviously — enthralled by drama and acting and everything.</p> <p><strong>Did you like acting because you were good at it?</strong></p> <p>Michael Caine: Yeah. The first time I came on, I came on, and I got a laugh, and I thought that was funny. I hadn’t said anything yet, and I didn’t realize my flies were undone. I always remembered that laugh. I was so happy to get the laugh. It felt fabulous. And I remember my first little part in the youth club was in <em>R.U.R</em>, which was a famous play about robots called <em>Rossum’s Universal Robots</em>. And I played a robot, and it said, “Expressionless, emotionless person Michael Caine was perfect.” Not Michael Caine, Maurice Micklewhite! I was only 12.</p> <p><strong>What enthralled you about acting?</strong></p> <p>Michael Caine: Getting laughs and controlling people, making people cry, doing that, being able to do that. But I mean when I think of people saying, “I want to be rich and famous,” I became an actor knowing absolutely, positively that I would never be rich and famous.</p> <p><strong>Because?</strong></p> <p>Michael Caine: Because I had a thick cockney accent, which, in those days, no one wrote a part for anyone with a thick — you might be the policeman who comes in at the end.</p> <p><strong>What did your accent sound like?</strong></p> <p>Michael Caine: My accent was like that; you talk like that. You’re all a bit higher. You have to be like that. Because they talk through their nose and, of course, actors speak from the diaphragm because you have to reach the back of the theater.</p> <p><strong>Did Maurice speak like that?</strong></p> <p>Michael Caine: No. Maurice talked like that — very quietly, with a slight menace in the voice. Because I was always suspicious of everyone around me because you never knew who it was, what was going to happen. So you always kept a very straight face and talked like that, quietly, and the accent was a bit thicker than it is now, and you just worry about things.</p> <p><strong>You’ve done 150 movies. Do you remember the moment where you realized you could do this? A moment when you knew you were pretty good at this acting thing?</strong></p> <p>Michael Caine: Yeah, the first review I got for <em>The Ipcress File</em> — the first review I saw was very complimentary to me, and I thought, “Oh, my God, I’ve made it!” Because the first time I ever played the lead in a movie was a picture called <em>The Ipcress File</em>, which was a spy story. I’d already been in a successful movie called <em>Zulu,</em> but I played a very posh officer in that; I didn’t play anyone like me. In <em>The Ipcress File,</em> it was a sort of cockney spy, so it was more like the real me — not that I was ever a spy, but at least I was a cockney.</p> <p><strong>Remembering your motto of “Use the difficulty,” you wore glasses in real life. And instead of taking the glasses off for the movie…</strong></p> <p>Michael Caine: We wore them. I wore them in <em>The Ipcress File </em>as Harry Palmer — great big, dark frames. And a wonderful thing happened. There was a very famous silent film star who wore glasses called Harold Lloyd. He came to England, and he took me to dinner when he was very old. It’s very funny because the attitude then — you were talking about the attitude towards women and everything. And there was a bit of an attitude like that towards men of a certain kind, inasmuch as, in <em>Ipcress File, </em>I wore glasses, and I was trying to seduce this girl, and the way I was doing it, I was going to cook her dinner in my flat. So I went shopping in a supermarket, and they saw the rushes in America and said, “Leading man looks effeminate. He’s cooking, shopping, and wearing glasses!”</p> <p><strong>Did you do anything different after that?</strong></p> <p>Michael Caine: No, but the next film I made was <em>Alfie, </em>where he seduced ten women.</p> <p><strong>Is there any movie that you wish you hadn’t made?</strong></p> <p>Michael Caine: I think <em>The Swarm</em> would have been one.</p> <p><strong>What was </strong><em><strong>The Swarm</strong></em><strong>?</strong></p> <p>Michael Caine: <em>The Swarm</em> was about an attack of bees, and it was made in Hollywood, and the reason I made it is I was so impressed because I was with Henry Fonda, Fred MacMurray, Olivia de Havilland, and José Ferrer — all the big Hollywood stars — and this was my second movie in Hollywood. I’d just made <em>Gambit</em> with Shirley MacLaine. Shirley brought me to Hollywood.</p> <p>We were making this picture, and I thought it was going to be great because of all these stars — and I realized, eventually, the one scene — there was one scene where I realized that maybe the film wasn’t any good. Because it was Henry Fonda and me — we had a scene with no jackets on. We had white shirts, and there was this big scene where all the bees were above us in a big swarm in this sort of greenhouse. And halfway through the scene, I was looking at him, and he was looking at me, and there were all little black dots all over our shirts. The bees were all crapping on us, and unfortunately, that was the first review. We didn’t know it at the time, but that was the first review: “It was a load of crap.”</p> <p>But I tell it now — here’s a “use the difficulty” — I was in this, and I realized very quickly this was a load of rubbish. And what I did — I was with some, as I’ve just said, some of the most experienced and famous Hollywood stars. I never went into my dressing room when I wasn’t in the shot. I sat and watched them, all day, every day, to see what they did and how they did it. And that was an extreme example of me using the difficulty. And I was covered in bee crap, as well, all the time.</p> <p><strong>Why did that movie fail with all those great stars?</strong></p> <p>Michael Caine: Because the plot didn’t work. The plot’s got to work, you know! All these bees came up from Brazil and attacked the United States. I’d hardly read the script. When I heard the cast, I said, “I’ll do it!” I thought, “Bloody hell! Henry Fonda, Fred MacMurray, José Ferrer, Olivia de Havilland? You can’t do better than that.” Richard Widmark!</p> <p><strong>You’ve been married to a lot of famous Hollywood stars in your movies, from Jane Fonda to Elizabeth Taylor, Glenda Jackson, Maggie Smith, Helen Mirren. And you’ve been the father figure for even more, from Leonardo DiCaprio and Nicole Kidman, Anne Hathaway. If you look back, is there anything these actors have in common?</strong></p> <p>Michael Caine: Funnily enough, what they have is an incredible professionalism. You know, they know their lines, and they don’t muck about, and there’s no massive temperament with them, even someone like Elizabeth Taylor, who was a massive star. It always makes me laugh when people say, “Why are men paid so much more than women?” I say, “Have you ever made a picture with Elizabeth Taylor?” I said, “She was paid about 300 times more than I was, and I was on screen more than she was.”</p> <p><strong>These great actors, did any of them ever get nervous or have any other issues?</strong></p> <p>Michael Caine: I did a picture called <em>Sleuth</em> with Laurence Olivier, and we rehearsed it for two weeks because it was just the two of us — there are only two people in the movie. And he was mumbling, fumbling a bit, the first week of rehearsals. He wasn’t very impressive. The second week, he put a mustache on — stuck a mustache on his face — and he started acting, and he was brilliant.</p> <p>And we were all stunned! It was the real Laurence Olivier. And we all said, “Well, that’s fantastic.” And I said, “What? You wore a mustache!” And he said to me, “I cannot act with my own face.” He said, “I can’t do it.” And he said, “And I’ve tried. You saw me in the first week’s rehearsal, and it didn’t work, and I’ve done it.”</p> <p>But the other wonderful thing about Laurence Olivier, talking about a class system — I mean I’m cockney and all that. When I was going to do this picture with Laurence Olivier, before we started rehearsals, he sent me a letter — he was “Lord Olivier” — and he sent me a letter saying, “It has occurred to me that you may be wondering how you should address me because of my title.” He said, “Well, the moment we shake hands, I’ll be ‘Larry’ forever,” which I thought was a great thing.</p> <p><strong>You, Laurence Olivier and Jack Nicholson are the only actors ever to be nominated in five different decades for an Academy Award.</strong></p> <p>Michael Caine: We all worked together. We were friends, you know, especially Jack. Because Jack — it’s one of those things, you know, it’s amazing, but Jack was the one, when I retired and went to Miami — I wasn’t going to do another movie, and it was Jack who I met there. He was living there at that time. And then we became friends, and then one day, he said, “I’ve got a script called <em>Blood and Wine</em>. There’s a good part for you in it.” I said, “I’m retired, Jack. I’m over it.” And he said, “Read it. Read it.” And I read it, and it was great, and he was the one who brought me back to working because I hadn’t worked for two years, and I was very happy in Miami with my restaurants and everything. And I came back, and that’s what started this whole thing of going again.</p> <p><strong>What’s it like working with Jack Nicholson?</strong></p> <p>Michael Caine: Fabulous. For a start, we were great friends, and then, he’s one of the best actors in the world, best movie actors I’ve ever come across. And he’s funny. I mean he has a sort of attitude towards things. I remember, one day we were in Miami — we shot this movie in Miami, where we were living, and we had to shoot a sunset. And we were walking along, and the assistant director was shouting to everybody, “Hurry up, the sun is — Hurry up! Hurry up!” And I started to run, and he said, “Michael, don’t run.” He said, “Let’s just walk fast so no one notices.” He said, “Well, if you start running, they’ll know that we’re late.” That was the way he looked at life.</p> <p><strong>What was it like working with Sean Connery in </strong><em><strong>The Man Who Would Be King</strong></em><strong>?</strong></p> <p>Michael Caine: Oh, it was easy because we were great friends, and we just had the best time, and it was a wonderful movie. And John Huston! Christopher Plummer played Rudyard Kipling, couldn’t get any better than that.</p> <p><strong>How did you get along with John Huston?</strong></p> <p>Michael Caine: I remember, I was working with John Huston, who was one of my favorite directors, and I said to him, one day, I said, “John, you never give me any direction.” And John Huston said, “You get paid a great deal of money to do this, Michael. You don’t need me to tell you what to do.” So I said, “All right.” But then he said another thing. He did give me one direction. I was doing a speech, and I thought I was doing very well, and I hadn’t dried or fluffed or anything, and he said, “Cut!” And I said, “What?” And he said, “You can speak faster, Michael. He’s an honest man.” So whenever I meet someone who says, “Hello… Michael… How… are… you?” I go, “Wait a minute. What’s he up to?” You know?</p> <p>But I remember, Sean had to walk — Sean Connery, at the end of the movie — had to walk on a very dangerous bridge, a little tiny bridge over a big drop. And Sean got to the day of shooting, and he looked at it, and he said to John, he said, “I was here yesterday,” he said, “and that bridge was straight. Today it’s crooked.” And John said, “Yesterday, you didn’t have to walk on it, today you do. That’s why it’s crooked.”</p> <p><strong>Did you have to walk on the bridge?</strong></p> <p>Michael Caine: No, I tried to walk on the bridge the day before with Sean because he was testing it, but I couldn’t. I didn’t have the courage; it was too high — miles up — it was terrible. I got about two yards out and came back again.</p> <p><strong> You’ve won so many awards, including two Oscars. Have they made a difference in your life?</strong></p> <p>Michael Caine: Well, they’ve made me very happy. I was so proud when I won the Academy Award. But the first Academy Award, I wasn’t there. I was making — oh, I was making another dreadful movie, <em>Jaws: The Revenge! </em>They said, “Will you do two weeks on <em>Jaws: The Revenge</em><em>?</em>” I said yes. I’d made this picture with Woody Allen, and Woody was very anti-Oscars, you know. So you knew you’d never get nominated for <em>Hannah and Her Sisters. </em>So you knew you’d never get nominated for a Woody Allen picture. And so they did this movie at the time of the Oscars. I said, “Well, I’m not going to get nominated.” And I did it, and of course, I got nominated and I won.</p> <p><strong>Were you shocked?</strong></p> <p>Michael Caine: I was stunned. I was stunned that I got nominated, and then I was stunned that I won it. But I was in Nassau, making <em>Jaws: The Revenge, </em>which everyone tells me was a terrible picture. But as I always say, “I got paid a great deal of money,” so I say, “I never saw the movie, but I saw the house it bought my mother, and it was fabulous!”</p> <p><strong>Was she impressed? She was a woman who cleaned offices and homes and you became a big star all over the world. What did she think?</strong></p> <p>Michael Caine: She didn’t understand it, really. Because one day she said to me, “How much do you get for a film?” So I said, “A million pounds.” And she said, “How much is that?” She had no idea. I said, “It means that you never have to work again in your life. You get a free house. You get everything.” And she did.</p> <p>My mother — I’ll give you an example of my mother. I did a movie called <em>Zulu</em>, which was my first big part, lots of dialogue and everything. And I said to her, “Come to the premiere with me.” And she said, “No, you’ve got a girlfriend. Take a date.” She said, “No, I’m not coming to the premiere. It’s your evening.” And I’m going into the premiere with whoever the girl was, I have no idea, and I see my mother in the crowd, waving. I got so angry with her, but that’s so typical of my mother.</p> <p><strong>Why did she do that?</strong></p> <p>Michael Caine: Because she didn’t want to interfere with what I was doing, but she wanted to see what I was doing. Another time, I took her to Beverly Hills, and it was February in England, so it was cold and snowy and damp, and Beverly Hills was all sunny with all flowers growing and everything. And as we were driving along in the car through Beverly Hills, I said, “What do you think of Beverly Hills, Mum?” And she said, “It’s so lovely. All that hysteria growing up the walls.” It’s <em>wisteria</em>. And I said — she was a bit of a Mrs. Malaprop, and she said, “All that <em>hysteria</em> growing up the walls.” And I thought, “You’ve got Beverly Hills absolutely right.”</p> <p><strong>You’ve said you had great parents. What made them great?</strong></p> <p>Michael Caine: They put themselves second to you without letting you know it so that you didn’t become conceited. I remember another Beverly Hills story. I was great friends with David Hockney, and his mum came to Beverly Hills, and I said, “Bring her over to my house with my mum, and we’ll have tea on Sunday.” So they came over, and Mrs. Hockney was looking out the window around Beverly Hills, and I said, “What do you think of it?” She said, “Oh, it’s lovely.” In a North Country accent, she said, “There’s one thing I don’t understand.” I said, “What’s that?” She said, “Well, there’s all this lovely sunshine and nobody’s got any washing hanging out.” I said, “You hang out washing in Beverly Hills, you get shot.”</p> <p><strong>David Hockney, too? It sounds like you know everybody in Hollywood.</strong></p> <p>Michael Caine: Oh blimey, yeah. We lived in Hollywood for ten years. My wife is a fabulous woman and everybody loved her. It wasn’t me; it was her. She made our social life. My wife is an amazing woman. But we had a wonderful time in Beverly Hills, and my youngest daughter grew up in Beverly Hills. Now we’re trying to get a period where the children — my grandchildren — are off school and we can take them to Beverly Hills and she can show them where she grew up.</p> <p><strong>Tell us how you met your wife. How long have you been married?</strong></p> <p>Michael Caine: Forty-seven years.</p> <p><strong>How’d you meet her?</strong></p> <p>Michael Caine: Well, I was with my best male friend, and we were going out every night to discotheques, getting bombed out of our minds and chasing girls and all that. And then one night, I said, “Let’s do something we never do: watch television. We’ll stay in.” I’m a good cook, and he knew I was a good cook. I said, “I’ll cook dinner and we’ll just watch the television.” So we watched the television. It wasn’t very good, and then an advert came on for Maxwell House coffee. And a Brazilian girl — dark Brazilian girl — was in it, and I fell in love with this girl on the television. And I thought, “Well!” And I had some money. I was working. I was already a star in movies, so I had plenty of money. So I said to my mate, “We’ll go to Brazil in the morning.” I said, “We’ll find her. I’ve got to find this girl.”</p> <p>Then we got sort of restless, and there was a discotheque — we went to discotheques, you know. My best friend owned it, called Tramp. Johnny Gold owned it, and I said, “Let’s go down and have a drink with Johnny.” I got all excited. I didn’t want to go to bed. And we were sitting there, and another man came in, and he said, “Oh, hello! You three sitting here, no girls? What’s going on?”</p> <p>And I said, “No, I just came out for a drink. I’m going to Brazil tomorrow.” He said, “What for?” I said, “Well, I’ve seen this girl on television, she’s Brazilian.” And I said, “She’s beautiful, and I’m in love with her, and I’m going to find her.” He said, “I’ve been watching television all evening. I didn’t see any beautiful girls.” I said, “No, she wasn’t in a program.” I said, “She was in a commercial.” So he said, “What commercial?” I said, “Maxwell House coffee.” He said, “We make that!” I said, “You make that commercial?” He said, “Yeah.” He said, “That girl’s not Brazilian; she’s Indian.” He said, “She lives in the Fulham Road,” and I got her phone number off him.</p> <p>Then I phoned her, and she wouldn’t go out with me, and then, on the 11th night that I phoned her — and this is a very important thing that I’ve thought about — I’ve been married to this woman, very happily, with a fabulous life, for 47 years — and on that 11th night, I had said, “If she doesn’t go out with me, I’m not going to phone again.” And that night, she came out with me, not because she wanted to. She couldn’t get rid of me on the phone; she was going to get rid of me personally. But it didn’t work out that way because we met and fell in love instantly, at first sight.</p> <p><strong>A commercial is only thirty seconds.</strong> H<strong>ow did you fall in love with this woman?</strong></p> <p>Michael Caine: I don’t know. I don’t know why I did it. I just saw this girl, and I thought, “That’s the one for me,” and I was right.</p> <p><strong>And when you want to be charming on the phone, what do you say to someone you’ve never met that you want to marry?</strong></p> <p>Michael Caine: Oh, I didn’t tell her I wanted to marry her on the phone. What I did was I got her to come out with me, eventually, and she came out with me in order to get rid of me personally because she couldn’t get rid of me over the phone. I was a nuisance; I was phoning every evening.</p> <p><strong>What did you say on the phone? “Hello, I saw you on TV”?</strong></p> <p>Michael Caine: Yeah. “I just seen you in the commercial. Would you like to have some dinner this evening? Any restaurant in London you want,” and all that. And I picked her up in a Rolls Royce because I owned a Rolls Royce by that time.</p> <p><strong>You’ve now been married almost 50 years, which is almost unheard of in Hollywood. What’s the secret?</strong></p> <p>Michael Caine: I just think it’s just love, that’s all. Just true love. We just happen to love each other so much. We’re devoted to each other, and we never spend any time apart. I had an experience recently. My wife’s mother, who lives in New York, was not very well. My wife flew to New York for four days to see her, and that was the first time I’ve been separated from my wife in 46 years. I’ve never been on my own ever. But I was very lucky because I have an older daughter, and she spent the time with me.</p> <p><strong>Is there any movie that you’re especially glad you made, for some particular reason?</strong></p> <p>Michael Caine: It was the happiest movie I ever made. It was called <em>Dirty Rotten Scoundrels</em>, with Steve Martin — and it was wonderful — and Glenne Headly, who was great. Glenne, who was a woman, died of a heart attack at 51. You don’t connect heart attacks to women, let alone women of 51, and Glenne, I was so unhappy about that. But I had a wonderful time; we had a great time, the three of us. We were in my favorite place, the French Riviera. I had a villa they’d rented for me for the whole summer, between two of my closest friends, Roger Moore and the composer Leslie Bricusse, and I had my family with me, my children, everybody, all the summer, and it was the happiest film I ever made.</p> <p><strong>You ‘ve played Americans onscreen, as well as Britons, and very effectively. When you have to learn an American accent, how do you do it and how long does it take?</strong></p> <p>Michael Caine: Well, it’s quite weird because, you see, there’s no such thing as an American accent. There are about 50 of them, you know, and I did a movie, <em>The Cider House Rules</em>. My dialogue coach said, “Do an American accent.” So I did it, and he said, “That’s California.” He said, “It’s very good, but you’re playing New England.” So I learned New England, which has more English in it. You know what I mean? And I did it, and I got wonderful reviews for my accent in New England. I won an Academy Award for the part. And the British critics — because of the English that was in it — they said, “Michael Caine can’t do an American accent.”</p> <p>But I did another one. I did a Texas accent in a movie. I forget the title now. The kids love it. My grandchildren love this movie — I forget it. Anyway, I did a Texas accent, and on the first day, I said, talking to the coach — he said, “Well, let me explain a Texas accent to you.” He said, “All the words lean on each other.” And of course, I knew immediately what — everybody talks like that, and it just leans on each other. It’s quite amazing how clever they are at doing these things<span style="text-decoration: line-through;">.</span></p> <p><strong> You must have a good ear for these things.</strong></p> <p>Michael Caine: I probably do. If you remember, I was in rep for nine years. I played everybody. I’ve played Welshmen, Irishmen, cockneys, North Country.</p> <p><strong>A lot of people get to be 65 or 70 and think it’s time to retire. What do you say to people who are 65 and 70?</strong></p> <p>Michael Caine: Have one more go. See if it works. If something comes along, do it. Retirement, as I said, in the movies — the movies retire you; you don’t retire from the movies. But if you’re doing a job that you hate — because you can’t wait to retire and get your pension and sit and watch telly. It’s a completely different attitude if you’re someone who’s doing what they like doing. I used to do acting for nothing. People didn’t used to drill roads for nothing.</p> <p><strong>You turned 70 in March 2003. That was 15 years ago, and since then, you’ve done at least three-dozen movies and — you’ve said — seven of your best.</strong></p> <p>Michael Caine: Yeah, exactly.</p> <p><strong> So what’s your message to people who are in their later years?</strong></p> <p>Michael Caine: Be very careful about retiring because you don’t know what’s out there. What happened to me is I retired twice. I wrote two autobiographies, you know. What happened to me was I was about 65, and I got a script from a producer, and I sent it back. I said, “The part’s too small.” He said, “I didn’t want you to read the lover. I wanted you to read the father.”</p> <p>And I thought, “Oh, my God, it’s over” because if you don’t get the girl, you’re no longer a movie star, you know. But what I didn’t realize is that when you get older, you don’t get the girl, you get the part. So you don’t get to kiss the girl, you get an Academy Award. But I didn’t know all that. I mean I went to Miami; I started a whole new life for the winter, you know. I bought an apartment there and a restaurant and I was having a wonderful time when Chris Nolan turned up with <em>Batman</em>, you know.</p> <p><strong>How did Christopher Nolan come into your life?</strong></p> <p>Michael Caine: Christopher Nolan — it was one Sunday morning, my house in the country. The front door is glass, and there was a man standing there with a script in his hand. I answered it, and I said, “Come in,” and directly, he said his name. I knew who he was because he’d done three wonderful, very small movies — artistic, very award-winning movies.</p> <p>And I thought, “This is wonderful. I’ll get something here, might be Academy Award or something. It’ll be a great part.” So he said, “I’ve got a script here for you.” I said, “What’s it called?” He said, “<em>Batman Begins</em>.” I said, “Batman?” He said, “Yeah.” Because this is a great big thing, and this guy had only made three little, tiny movies. And I thought, “My God, how did he get to do that?” You know?</p> <p>And I thought to myself, “Well, I’m too old to play Batman. I think I’m going to be the butler.” So I said to Chris, I said, “But who am I going to be, the butler?” He said, “Yeah, you’re going to be the butler.” So I said, “Oh, well.” I said, “What do I say? ‘Dinner is served.’ ‘Would you like another glass of red wine?’ Is that my dialogue?” He said, “No.” He said, “Read it. Because the butler was Batman’s foster father because he died,” he said, “So he’s much more important than that.” And then I read it. And for me, that was an incredible thing because there I was, and I’d retired twice.</p> <p><strong>How old were you then when Christopher Nolan came knocking?</strong></p> <p>Michael Caine: About 72 or 73. And here I was, starting a whole new career and then made six of the best movies with Chris Nolan I’d ever made. I got an Academy Award for <em>Cider House Rules,</em> and this was after I’d retired, twice.</p> <p><strong>So your retirement has not turned out as planned?</strong></p> <p><em>Batman</em> made a difference because I’m recognized by young people — because young people all saw <em>Batman</em>. I was walking along Regent Street in London the other day, and there was this party of little Japanese teenagers, and they all started going, “Alfred! Alfred!” And my name was “Alfred,” and they’d all seen me in <em>Batman</em>, you know. So I’m standing there with a load of teenage Japanese girls, signing autographs.</p> <p><strong>Is there any character that you’ve played that’s come close to you, the real Michael Caine?</strong></p> <p>Michael Caine: I would say Harry Palmer in <em>The Ipcress File</em>, a kind of ambitious young cockney. That was me.</p> <p><strong>Are you still ambitious at 85?</strong></p> <p>Michael Caine: Well, you have to be. I want to be better than I was the last time. That’s all my ambition is. What happens is, in the movie business, you don’t retire. The movie business retires you. And if a producer has enough confidence in you, at your age, whatever it is, you remember there are people in movies are who 85. So what do you do? You get an actor who’s 85 to play it. And it’s a big compliment that they choose <em>you</em>. They choose <em>me</em>, in other words. And so I repay him with the hardest work that I can do and the best performance I can give.</p> <p><strong>Is there anything you do to get into character when you’re on set?</strong></p> <p>Michael Caine: It’s always last minute. It’s relaxation with me, to get rid of the nerves and everything. The last thing I do before I go on set is I bend right over so that the blood goes to my brain and I remember the lines, you know. But I disappear into the character, and I’m very — some actors, it’s all tension and everything. I work out of relaxation. I’m telling jokes and making people laugh right up until the last minute with the technicians, you know. And I work on a very relaxed set because I was made a knight. I was Sir Michael Caine, and I go on the set, and I immediately say to everybody, “Get rid of ‘What are you going to call him?’” I just say, “Everyone calls me Michael, okay?” and that’s it. So you start off like that, and I act out of relaxation, and then I go right down to an absolute relaxing, and I walk on, and I’m the guy, whoever he is.</p> <p><strong>What’s the hardest part about being an actor?</strong></p> <p>Michael Caine: Learning the lines. It’s the hardest part. It’s so difficult to learn massive, long speeches. Any actor will tell you it’s a nightmare — and getting up at half past six in the morning. That’s tough. I get up at nine deliberately now just to prove I’m not working.</p> <p><strong>When you are working, even in your 80s, you’re still learning and memorizing all these lines?</strong></p> <p>Michael Caine: Oh, yeah. I don’t forget the lines just because I’m old, but what it does — it takes me ten times longer to learn them. I used to learn a page of dialogue, and the director would say, “Oh, we’ve written a new page; learn that.” And I’d go, “Yeah, all right. Ready.” Now I’d say, “I’ll come back next week.”</p> <p><strong>Hollywood has retired a lot of people who didn’t want to retire; they just got too old. Why is Michael Caine the exception?</strong></p> <p>Michael Caine: I don’t know. I think it’s because I’m not a movie star, so I’m not relying on my looks, fortunately. And I’m also an actor. I was a stage actor, you know, and I do characters, and I’m cheap. That keeps you in the movie business. I’m cheap for movie stars, who get ten to twenty million dollars. I don’t get ten or twenty million dollars for a movie.</p> <p>And there are always older parts. I mean I did one with Morgan Freeman and Alan Arkin — <em>Going in Style</em> — about three old-age burglars. And what they did also in the movie industry — when they released <em>The Marigold Hotel</em><em>,</em> with Maggie Smith in India, that made a fortune.</p> <p>They didn’t know it, and then suddenly, and I remember they did an examination of <em>The</em> <em>Marigold Hotel</em> — the producers association — and what they had forgotten was that there was a load of old people at home watching television. They were making movies for young people, and these people had no movies to go out and see. They started to make them, and they’re still making movies for old people and making a lot of money on them.</p> <p><strong>And you’re still following your own advice of “use the difficulty.”</strong></p> <p>Michael Caine: <span style="text-decoration: line-through;"> </span>I’ll tell you one “using the difficulty.” I have a book out called <em>Blowing the Bloody Doors Off</em>. How I wrote that book was, I was very busy, and I was going to write the book anyway. Then I broke my ankle, and I was sitting watching TV all day for nine months, and instead of doing that, I turned the TV off and wrote the book. And that was using the difficulty. That’s my most recent example of doing that.</p> <p><strong>You’ve come so far in your life, from having so little to having so much. How has it affected you? </strong></p> <p>Michael Caine: One of the reasons I wrote the book is I worry about people like me — like I was — a nobody from nowhere who knew nothing about anything. You’re sitting there: “What do I do with my life?” And the first part of the book is telling you to find out what you want to do and become the best at it that you can possibly be. Don’t worry about becoming rich and famous because if you’re going to be, you will, and if you’re not, you’re not, but at least you’ll be happy.</p> <p>Another reason I wrote the book, too, was I was watching television one day. And I was watching — they were interviewing young people about what they wanted to do with their lives, and everybody explained what they wanted to do. But I noticed that many of them said they wanted to be rich and famous, which I thought was the wrong way of starting out life, trying to be rich and famous, because you’re probably guaranteeing that you will never be. The right way to start out is to find out what you really want to do, and be the best at it that you could possibly be. That’s the way to do it.</p> <p><strong>Other people might get upset if a movie flopped or they got a bad critique. But this doesn’t seem to bother you. Why is that?</strong></p> <p>Michael Caine: Use the difficulty of flopped movies. The thing is, when you make a flop movie, it means you made a bad choice. Then you make another one, it’s another bad choice, and then there’s another bad choice. Then there’s the other actor, who sits there and says, “Oh, I’m very good. I wouldn’t have done <em>that</em> movie. I wouldn’t have done <em>that</em> movie. I wouldn’t have done <em>that</em> movie.” And then I get the movie that’s a big success for me. And he gets a movie which could be a big success for him. But he hasn’t worked for two years, and I haven’t stopped working. I was making crap films, but I was working, and I go straight into the great film, absolutely ready to work. And he’s practically crapping himself because he hasn’t worked for two years.</p> <p>There’s a “use the difficulty” of making flop movies. They keep you working, keep you experiencing, keep you going. So to bring that back to sort of someone, to a young person, you say, “You must keep going. Just don’t sit there waiting for the big thing to come. Keep going.” You know, if it’s an actor, you do a small part just to keep going. Don’t make great spaces in your life where you don’t do what you do.</p> <p><strong>Is it more important to stay in motion than it is to worry that you’ve chosen the right opportunity?</strong></p> <p>Michael Caine: Yeah, you’ve got to stay in motion. I didn’t know that. I’ve learned that from my own experience because whenever the great script came along, I was absolutely ready because I had just finished one a month ago, not two years. You imagine — you haven’t worked for two years, and you get this great part.</p> <p><strong>“I learned to find the good in terrible situations.” You wrote that in your book. </strong></p> <p>Michael Caine: You always try to make something good of it. You know what I mean? It was like, as I told you, in <em>The Swarm</em><em>, w</em>hen I wasn’t acting, I didn’t sit in my dressing room watching television or anything. I sat and watched the other famous actors, experienced actors, like Fonda — big Hollywood actors — working. I had an attitude towards life where I never took any time off. I was always doing something, and I’m still doing it. You know, I’ve written three books, three autobiographies, sort of, including this one. I’m writing a fiction book now, you know. I just keep writing. I just keep doing something.</p> <p><strong>If you don’t mind a big question, are you religious?</strong></p> <p>Michael Caine: Yes, I am, but from a point of view of religions, my father was a Catholic; my mother was a Protestant; I was educated when I was evacuated — because of a blunder in school — by Jews; and I’m married to a Muslim. So I’m not — you know — but I do believe in God, and the only reason I believe in God is because I have to. The reason of that is that if you’ve had my life, you’d have to believe in God. There was a very famous American boxer called Rocky Marciano, who wrote a book called <em>Somebody Up There Likes Me</em>, and if he hadn’t used that title, I would have used it.</p> <p><strong>You called your new book </strong><em><strong>Blowing the Bloody Doors Off.</strong></em><strong> What does that mean?</strong></p> <p>Michael Caine: That comes from a movie called <em>The Italian Job, </em>where we were doing — we were crooks, and we were trying to steal some gold. I had this explosive expert, and he’d put explosives on the door of the van where the gold was, to blow the doors off so that we could get the gold inside. And in the movie, when the explosion goes, the entire van and everything is blown into smithereens. And I look at him, and I say, “You’re only supposed to blow the bloody doors off!” That’s where that title comes from.</p> <p><strong>Just because it’s a good line, or does it have something to do with life?</strong></p> <p>Michael Caine: It’s something to do with life. It’s the last line in the book, actually. It means you’re going to go out there and get on with it!</p> <p><strong>A lot of actors and comedians do imitations of you. Who’s the best?</strong></p> <p>Michael Caine: One of the best ones I saw was Tom Hanks. He did it on <em>Saturday Night Live</em><em>,</em> but he was very quiet, very, very quiet. We met a couple of times, but we’re not friends or anything, but he seemed to get it right. What they do is, when I played cockney parts, they always do my accent as a cockney but thicker than my accent that I’m speaking to you now. This is just a London accent that you can understand. They go “But not many people know that.” That’s how impersonations go. “My name is Michael Caine. Not many people know that.” That’s my impersonation of me.</p> <p><strong>Did you ever do imitations of other actors you liked?</strong></p> <p>Michael Caine: Who do I do? Oh, I know! I remember once, Richard Burton, I said to him — I saw him in <em>Hamlet</em> when I was a young a man. I lived near the Old Vic. The Elephant and Castle where I come from is near the Old Vic, and when I was a very young man, I went and saw him, when I was younger, about 21, 22. And I got to know him later because I did a picture with Elizabeth (Taylor), and she was married to Richard, and I was talking to him.</p> <p>I said, “I saw you years ago in <em>Hamlet</em> at the Old Vic. I said, “The thing that struck me about it,” I said, “was that it was the fastest <em>Hamlet</em> I’ve ever seen. You went, ‘To be or not to be, that is the question, whether it is nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune.’” And I said, “It was so bloody fast!” And he said, “Well, you have to remember, Michael,” he said, “the pub shut at half past ten then.” That’s it. I did that so you’d hear my impersonation.</p> <p><strong>That was great! Thank you.</strong></p> </div>  </aside>  <div class="read-more__toggle collapsed" data-toggle="collapse" data-target="#full-interview"><a href="#" class="sans-4 btn">Read full interview</a></div> </article> </section> </div> <div class="tab-pane" id="gallery" role="tabpanel"> <section class="isotope-wrapper">  <header class="toolbar toolbar--gallery bg-white clearfix"> <div class="col-md-6"> <div class="serif-4">Sir Michael Caine Gallery</div> </div> <div class="col-md-6 text-md-right isotope-toolbar"> <ul class="list-unstyled list-inline m-b-0 text-brand-primary sans-4"> <li class="list-inline-item" data-filter=".photo"><i class="icon-icon_camera"></i>18 photos</li> </ul> </div> </header> <div class="isotope-gallery isotope-box single-achiever__gallery clearfix"> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="0.74473684210526" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/1966-wp-2280-gambit-GettyImages-541084879.jpg" data-image-caption="1966: Shirley MacLaine and Michael Caine in the comedy crime thriller <i>Gambit</i>. (Photo: Porges/ullstein bild/Getty)" data-image-copyright="1966-wp-2280-gambit-GettyImages-541084879" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/1966-wp-2280-gambit-GettyImages-541084879-380x283.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2019/04/1966-wp-2280-gambit-GettyImages-541084879-760x566.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="1.2438625204583" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/1960-wp-2280-GettyImages-154509677.jpg" data-image-caption="1960s: Michael Caine’s acting career began in the 1950s when he was cast in many small, often uncredited roles in British films. His luck began to turn around with the 1964 film <i>Zulu</i>. After this breakout role, Caine portrayed a spy in <i>The Ipcress File</i>, based on the book by Len Deighton, a role for which he was nominated for a BAFTA. (© Getty)" data-image-copyright="Michael Caine" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/1960-wp-2280-GettyImages-154509677-305x380.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2019/04/1960-wp-2280-GettyImages-154509677-611x760.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="0.66315789473684" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/1965-alfie-GettyImages-874950338.jpg" data-image-caption="July 4, 1965: The stars of the British romantic comedy-drama film <i>Alfie</i> (from left to right): Vivien Merchant, Jane Asher, Julia Foster, and Shelley Winters, with Michael Caine laying across them. (Photo by Tanner/Mirrorpix/Getty)" data-image-copyright="Alfie Film Stars" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/1965-alfie-GettyImages-874950338-380x252.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2019/04/1965-alfie-GettyImages-874950338-760x504.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="0.66710526315789" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/wp-2017-LondonSummit_0668.jpg" data-image-caption="Awards Council member <i>Lord of the Rings</i> director Peter Jackson presents Michael Caine with the Golden Plate during the American Academy of Achievement’s 52nd annual International Achievement Summit. (© Academy of Achievement)" data-image-copyright="wp-2017-LondonSummit_0668" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/wp-2017-LondonSummit_0668-380x253.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2019/04/wp-2017-LondonSummit_0668-760x507.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="1.374321880651" title="(Photo by Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - (Photo by Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/1973-2280-GettyImages-568933917.jpg" data-image-caption="September 26, 1973: Michael Caine with his wife, Shakira, and baby daughter Natasha in London. (Keystone/Getty)" data-image-copyright="Michael Caine And Family" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/1973-2280-GettyImages-568933917-276x380.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2019/04/1973-2280-GettyImages-568933917-553x760.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="0.87769784172662" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/CAINE-PARENTS-MAURICE-MICKLEWHITE-1.png" data-image-caption="1950s: Maurice Joseph Micklewhite, Jr. (later known as Michael Caine) with parents Ellen and Maurice Micklewhite." data-image-copyright="CAINE PARENTS - MAURICE MICKLEWHITE" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/CAINE-PARENTS-MAURICE-MICKLEWHITE-1.png [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2019/04/CAINE-PARENTS-MAURICE-MICKLEWHITE-1.png"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="0.67236842105263" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/2005-wp-dark-knight-GettyImages-53030024.jpg" data-image-caption="June 6, 2005: Actors Gary Oldman, Michael Caine, Christian Bale, Katie Holmes, Morgan Freeman, and Liam Neeson at the premiere of <i>Batman Begins</i> at Grauman’s Chinese Theater in Hollywood. (© Kevin Winter and Getty Images)" data-image-copyright="2005-wp-dark-knight-GettyImages-53030024" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/2005-wp-dark-knight-GettyImages-53030024-380x256.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2019/04/2005-wp-dark-knight-GettyImages-53030024-760x511.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="0.98552631578947" title="(Photo by Sunday Mirror/Mirrorpix via Getty)" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - (Photo by Sunday Mirror/Mirrorpix via Getty)">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/1964-GettyImages-944098360.jpg" data-image-caption="February 2, 1964: Actor Michael Caine at home with his mother, Ellen. (Photo by Sunday Mirror/Mirrorpix via Getty)" data-image-copyright="MIchael Caine and mother Ellen Maria Burchell" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/1964-GettyImages-944098360-380x374.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2019/04/1964-GettyImages-944098360-760x749.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="1.4990138067061" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/2000-wp-oscars-cider-house-rules-GettyImages-51544976.jpg" data-image-caption="March 26, 2000: <i>The Cider House Rules</i> Best Supporting Actor Michael Caine and <i>Girl, Interrupted</i> Best Supporting Actress Angelina Jolie pose with their Oscars at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. (Hector Mata/Getty Images)" data-image-copyright="2000-wp-oscars---cider-house-rules---GettyImages-51544976" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/2000-wp-oscars-cider-house-rules-GettyImages-51544976-253x380.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2019/04/2000-wp-oscars-cider-house-rules-GettyImages-51544976-507x760.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="1.5353535353535" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/2018-BOOK-BLOWING-THE-BLOODY-DOORS-OFF.jpg" data-image-caption="2018: <i>Blowing the Bloody Doors Off: And Other Lessons in Life</i> by Michael Caine. Now in his 85th year, Caine recounts his fascinating personal and professional journey from his childhood in a London slum to major roles in hit films." data-image-copyright="2018 - BOOK-BLOWING THE BLOODY DOORS OFF" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/2018-BOOK-BLOWING-THE-BLOODY-DOORS-OFF-248x380.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2019/04/2018-BOOK-BLOWING-THE-BLOODY-DOORS-OFF-495x760.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="1.005291005291" title="(Photo by Terry O’Neill/Iconic Images/Getty)" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - (Photo by Terry O’Neill/Iconic Images/Getty)">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/1995-2280-GettyImages-75433608.jpg" data-image-caption="1995: Michael Caine with his wife, Shakira, a Guyana-born model and actress and a runner-up in the Miss Universe contest. They were married in Las Vegas, Nevada, on January 8, 1973. (Photo by Terry O’Neill/Iconic Images/Getty)" data-image-copyright="1995-2280-GettyImages-75433608" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/1995-2280-GettyImages-75433608-378x380.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2019/04/1995-2280-GettyImages-75433608-756x760.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="0.67894736842105" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/1986-Hannah-and-Her-Sisters-1st-academy-award-GettyImages-163063104.jpg" data-image-caption="1986: Michael Caine with Barbara Hershey in a scene from the Woody Allen film <i>Hannah and Her Sisters</i>. Caine won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of “Elliot” in 1987. (Photo by Orion/Getty Images)" data-image-copyright="Michael Caine And Barbara Hershey In 'Hannah And Her Sisters'" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/1986-Hannah-and-Her-Sisters-1st-academy-award-GettyImages-163063104-380x258.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2019/04/1986-Hannah-and-Her-Sisters-1st-academy-award-GettyImages-163063104-760x516.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="1.4785992217899" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/1970-get-carter-GettyImages-73668349.jpg" data-image-caption="1970: Michael Caine and Geraldine Moffat star in the film <i>Get Carter</i>. (Photo by Terry O’Neill/Iconic Images/Getty)" data-image-copyright="Get Carter" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/1970-get-carter-GettyImages-73668349-257x380.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2019/04/1970-get-carter-GettyImages-73668349-514x760.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="1.4700193423598" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/2000-wp-knighthood-GettyImages-98671956.jpg" data-image-caption="2000: Michael Caine and his wife, Shakira, after he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace as Sir Maurice Micklewhite. The 67-year-old actor used his real name during the ceremony with the Queen but will be known professionally as Sir Michael Caine. He said, “I was named after my father, and I was knighted in his name because I love my father. I always kept my real name — I’m a very private and family-orientated person.” (© Getty)" data-image-copyright="2000-wp-knighthood-GettyImages-98671956" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/2000-wp-knighthood-GettyImages-98671956-258x380.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2019/04/2000-wp-knighthood-GettyImages-98671956-517x760.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="1.5079365079365" title="(Photo by Ron Burton/Mirrorpix/Getty Images)" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - (Photo by Ron Burton/Mirrorpix/Getty Images)">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/1964-ipcress-file-GettyImages-874948252.jpg" data-image-caption="September 21, 1964: Michael Caine and Sue Lloyd on the set of <i>The Ipcress File</i>. (Ron Burton/Mirrorpix and Getty)" data-image-copyright="The Ipcress File" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/1964-ipcress-file-GettyImages-874948252-252x380.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2019/04/1964-ipcress-file-GettyImages-874948252-504x760.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="1.25" title="(Photo by Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images)" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - (Photo by Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images)">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/1964-GettyImages-139633798.jpg" data-image-caption="1964: Michael Caine wearing a British Army uniform in a publicity portrait issued for the film <i>Zulu</i> in South Africa. The historical drama depicting the Battle of Rorke’s Drift, during the Anglo-Zulu War, was directed by Cy Endfield and starred Caine as “Lieutenant Gonville Bromhead.” (Photo credits: Silver Screen Collection and Getty Images)" data-image-copyright="Zulu" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/1964-GettyImages-139633798-304x380.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2019/04/1964-GettyImages-139633798-608x760.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="0.66710526315789" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/WP-LondonSummit_0644.jpg" data-image-caption="Academy Awards Council member Bill Clinton, 42nd President of the United States, with 2017 honoree English actor Sir Michael Caine and guests at the honoree reception prior to the Banquet of the Golden Plate ceremonies at Claridge's in London. (© Academy of Achievement)" data-image-copyright="WP-LondonSummit_0644" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/WP-LondonSummit_0644-380x253.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2017/11/WP-LondonSummit_0644-760x507.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="0.66710526315789" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/wp-LondonSummit_0642.jpg" data-image-caption="Academy Awards Council member Bill Clinton, 42nd President of the United States, with 2017 honoree English actor Sir Michael Caine and guests at the honoree reception prior to the Banquet of the Golden Plate ceremonies at Claridge's in London. (© Academy of Achievement)" data-image-copyright="wp-LondonSummit_0642" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/wp-LondonSummit_0642-380x253.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2017/11/wp-LondonSummit_0642-760x507.jpg"></div>  </figure>    </div> </section> </div> </div> <div class="container"> <footer class="editorial-article__footer col-md-8 col-md-offset-4"> <div class="editorial-article__next-link sans-3"> <a href="#"><strong>What's next:</strong> <span class="editorial-article__next-link-title">profile</span></a> </div> <ul class="social list-unstyled list-inline ssk-group m-b-0"> <li class="list-inline-item"><a href="" class="ssk ssk-facebook" data-gtm-category="social" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Shared Achiever on Facebook"><i class="icon-icon_facebook-circle"></i></a></li> <li class="list-inline-item"><a href="" class="ssk ssk-twitter" data-gtm-category="social" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Shared Achiever on Twitter"><i 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[(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/10/coppola-017a-1-380x380.jpg"></div> <div class="achiever-block__overlay"></div> <figcaption class="text-xs-center achiever-block__text"> <div class="display--table"> <div class="display--table-cell"> <div class="achiever-block__text--center"> <div class="achiever-block__name text-brand-primary">Francis Ford Coppola</div> <div class="achiever-block__known-as text-white sans-6">Filmmaker, Producer and Screenwriter</div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="text-white achiever-block__text--bottom"> <div class="achiever-block__year sans-4">Inducted in <span class="year-inducted">1994</span></div> </div> </figcaption> </figure> </a> </div> </div> </div> <div class="centered-blocks"> <div class="isotope-achiever the-arts ambitious curious extroverted be-a-performer make-films " data-year-inducted="2005" data-achiever-name="Field"> <div class="achiever-block view-grid"> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/sally-field/"> 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<div class="display--table"> <div class="display--table-cell"> <div class="achiever-block__text--center"> <div class="achiever-block__name text-brand-primary">Jimmy Page</div> <div class="achiever-block__known-as text-white sans-6">Guitarist and Founder of Led Zeppelin</div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="text-white achiever-block__text--bottom"> <div class="achiever-block__year sans-4">Inducted in <span class="year-inducted">2017</span></div> </div> </figcaption> </figure> </a> </div> </div> </div> <div class="centered-blocks"> <div class="isotope-achiever the-arts difficulty-with-school poverty racism-discrimination small-town-rural-upbringing ambitious curious extroverted resourceful be-a-performer " data-year-inducted="2014" data-achiever-name="Poitier"> <div class="achiever-block view-grid"> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/sidney-poitier/"> <figure class="ratio-container ratio-container--square bg-black"> <div class="lazyload box 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class="achiever-list-name">Dame Julie Andrews</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/maya-angelou/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Maya Angelou</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/frances-h-arnold-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Frances H. Arnold, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/robert-d-ballard-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Robert D. Ballard, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/sir-roger-bannister-2/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Sir Roger Bannister</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/john-banville/"><span class="achiever-list-name">John Banville</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/ehud-barak/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Ehud Barak</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/lee-r-berger-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Lee R. Berger, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/sir-timothy-berners-lee/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Sir Tim Berners-Lee</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/yogi-berra/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Yogi Berra</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/jeffrey-p-bezos/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Jeffrey P. Bezos</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/benazir-bhutto/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Benazir Bhutto</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/simone-biles/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Simone Biles</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/keith-l-black/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Keith L. Black, M.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/elizabeth-blackburn/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Elizabeth Blackburn, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/david-boies-2/"><span class="achiever-list-name">David Boies</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/norman-e-borlaug/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Norman E. Borlaug, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/benjamin-c-bradlee/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Benjamin C. Bradlee</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/sergey-brin/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Sergey Brin</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/carter-j-brown/"><span class="achiever-list-name">J. Carter Brown</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/linda-buck/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Linda B. Buck, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/carol-burnett/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Carol Burnett</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/george-h-w-bush/"><span class="achiever-list-name">George H. W. Bush</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/susan-butcher/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Susan Butcher</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/sir-michael-caine/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Sir Michael Caine</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/james-cameron/"><span class="achiever-list-name">James Cameron</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/benjamin-s-carson/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Benjamin S. Carson, M.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/jimmy-carter/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Jimmy Carter</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/johnny-cash/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Johnny Cash</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/william-j-clinton/"><span class="achiever-list-name">William J. Clinton</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/francis-s-collins/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/denton-a-cooley/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Denton A. Cooley, M.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/francis-ford-coppola/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Francis Ford Coppola</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/ray-dalio/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Ray Dalio</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/olivia-de-havilland/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Dame Olivia de Havilland</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/michael-e-debakey-m-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Michael E. DeBakey, M.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/michael-dell/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Michael S. Dell</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/ron-dennis/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Ron Dennis</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/joan-didion/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Joan Didion</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/david-herbert-donald-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">David Herbert Donald, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/david-doubilet/"><span class="achiever-list-name">David Doubilet</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/jennifer-a-doudna-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Jennifer A. Doudna, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/rita-dove/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Rita Dove</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/sylvia-earle/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Sylvia Earle, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/elbaradei/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Mohamed ElBaradei</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/gertrude-elion/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Gertrude B. Elion, M.Sc.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/larry-j-ellison/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Larry J. Ellison</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/nora-ephron/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Nora Ephron</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/julius-erving/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Julius Erving</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/tony-fadell/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Tony Fadell</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/paul-farmer/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Paul Farmer, M.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/suzanne-farrell/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Suzanne Farrell</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/anthony-s-fauci-m-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Anthony S. Fauci, M.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/sally-field/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Sally Field</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/lord-norman-foster/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Lord Norman Foster</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/aretha-franklin/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Aretha Franklin</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/milton-friedman-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Milton Friedman, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/carlos-fuentes/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Carlos Fuentes</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/athol-fugard/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Athol Fugard</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/peter-gabriel/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Peter Gabriel</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/ernest-j-gaines/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Ernest J. Gaines</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/william-h-gates-iii/"><span class="achiever-list-name">William H. Gates III</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/leymah-gbowee/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Leymah Gbowee</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/frank-gehry/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Frank O. Gehry</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/murray-gell-mann-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Murray Gell-Mann, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/vince-gill/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Vince Gill</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/ruth-bader-ginsburg/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Ruth Bader Ginsburg</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/louise-gluck/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Louise Glück</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/whoopi-goldberg/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Whoopi Goldberg</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/jane-goodall/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Dame Jane Goodall</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/doris-kearns-goodwin/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Doris Kearns Goodwin, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/mikhail-s-gorbachev/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Mikhail S. Gorbachev</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/nadine-gordimer/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Nadine Gordimer</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/stephen-jay-gould/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Stephen Jay Gould, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/carol-greider-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Carol W. Greider, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/john-grisham/"><span class="achiever-list-name">John Grisham</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/sir-john-gurdon/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Sir John Gurdon</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/dorothy-hamill/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Dorothy Hamill</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/demis-hassabis-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Demis Hassabis, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/lauryn-hill/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Lauryn Hill</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/sir-edmund-hillary/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Sir Edmund Hillary</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/reid-hoffman/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Reid Hoffman</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/khaled-hosseini/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Khaled Hosseini, M.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/ron-howard/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Ron Howard</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/john-hume/"><span class="achiever-list-name">John Hume</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/louis-ignarro-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Louis Ignarro, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/daniel-inouye/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Daniel K. Inouye</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/jeremy-irons/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Jeremy Irons</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/john-irving/"><span class="achiever-list-name">John Irving</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/kazuo-ishiguro/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Sir Kazuo Ishiguro</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/sir-peter-jackson/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Sir Peter Jackson</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/donald-c-johanson/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Donald C. Johanson, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/frank-m-johnson/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Frank M. Johnson, Jr.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/philip-johnson/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Philip C. Johnson</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/chuck-jones/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Chuck Jones</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/james-earl-jones/"><span class="achiever-list-name">James Earl Jones</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/quincy-jones/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Quincy Jones</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/beverly-joubert/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Beverly Joubert</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/dereck-joubert/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Dereck Joubert</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/paul-kagame/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Paul Kagame</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/thomas-keller-2/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Thomas Keller</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/anthony-m-kennedy/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Anthony M. Kennedy</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/carole-king/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Carole King</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/b-b-king/"><span class="achiever-list-name">B.B. King</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/coretta-scott-king/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Coretta Scott King</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/henry-kissinger-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Henry A. Kissinger, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/willem-j-kolff/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Willem J. Kolff, M.D., Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/wendy-kopp/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Wendy Kopp</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/henry-r-kravis/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Henry R. Kravis</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/nicholas-d-kristof/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Nicholas D. Kristof</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/mike-krzyzewski/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Mike Krzyzewski</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/ray-kurzwell/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Ray Kurzweil</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/eric-lander-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Eric S. Lander, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/robert-s-langer-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Robert S. Langer, Sc.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/richard-leakey/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Richard E. Leakey</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/leon-lederman-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Leon Lederman, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/robert-lefkowitz-m-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Robert J. Lefkowitz, M.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/congressman-john-r-lewis/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Congressman John R. Lewis</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/maya-lin/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Maya Lin</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/george-lucas/"><span class="achiever-list-name">George Lucas</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/paul-b-maccready-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Paul B. MacCready, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/norman-mailer/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Norman Mailer</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/peyton-manning/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Peyton Manning</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/wynton-marsalis/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Wynton Marsalis</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/john-c-mather-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">John C. Mather, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/johnny-mathis/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Johnny Mathis</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/ernst-mayr-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Ernst Mayr, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/willie-mays/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Willie Mays</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/frank-mccourt/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Frank McCourt</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/david-mccullough/"><span class="achiever-list-name">David McCullough</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/audra-mcdonald/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Audra McDonald</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/admiral-william-h-mcraven/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Admiral William H. McRaven, USN</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/w-s-merwin/"><span class="achiever-list-name">W. S. Merwin</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/reinhold-messner/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Reinhold Messner</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/james-a-michener/"><span class="achiever-list-name">James A. Michener</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/marvin-minsky-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Marvin Minsky, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/mario-j-molina-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Mario J. Molina, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/n-scott-momaday-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">N. Scott Momaday, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/story-musgrave/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Story Musgrave, M.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/ralph-nader/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Ralph Nader</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/peggy-noonan/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Peggy Noonan</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/jessye-norman/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Jessye Norman</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/tommy-norris/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Lt. Thomas R. Norris, USN</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/lynn-nottage/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Lynn Nottage</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/joyce-carol-oates/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Joyce Carol Oates</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/pierre-omidyar/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Pierre Omidyar</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/jimmy-page/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Jimmy Page</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/larry-page/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Larry Page</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/arnold-palmer/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Arnold Palmer</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/leon-panetta/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Leon Panetta</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/rosa-parks/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Rosa Parks</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/suzan-lori-parks/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Suzan-Lori Parks</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/linus-pauling/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Linus C. Pauling, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/shimon-peres/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Shimon Peres</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/itzhak-perlman/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Itzhak Perlman</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/general-david-petraeus/"><span class="achiever-list-name">General David H. Petraeus, USA</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/sidney-poitier/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Sidney Poitier</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/general-colin-l-powell/"><span class="achiever-list-name">General Colin L. Powell, USA</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/harold-prince/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Harold Prince</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/venki-ramakrishnan-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Venki Ramakrishnan, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/lord-martin-rees/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Lord Martin Rees</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/lloyd-richards/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Lloyd Richards</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/sally-ride-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Sally K. Ride, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/cal-ripken-jr/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Cal Ripken Jr.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/sonny-rollins/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Sonny Rollins</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/anthony-romero/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Anthony D. Romero</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/james-rosenquist/"><span class="achiever-list-name">James Rosenquist</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/martine-rothblatt-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Martine Rothblatt, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/pete-rozelle/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Pete Rozelle</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/bill-russell/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Bill Russell</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/albie-sachs/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Albie Sachs</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/oliver-sacks-m-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Oliver Sacks, M.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/jonas-salk-m-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Jonas Salk, M.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/frederick-sanger-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Frederick Sanger, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/george-b-schaller-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">George B. Schaller, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/barry-scheck/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Barry Scheck</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/richard-evans-schultes-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Richard Evans Schultes, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/general-h-norman-schwarzkopf/"><span class="achiever-list-name">General H. Norman Schwarzkopf, USA</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/stephen-schwarzman/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Stephen A. Schwarzman</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/glenn-t-seaborg-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Glenn T. Seaborg, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/neil-sheehan/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Neil Sheehan</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/admiral-alan-shepard-jr/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Admiral Alan B. Shepard, Jr., USN</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/ellen-johnson-sirleaf/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Ellen Johnson Sirleaf</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/carlos-slim/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Carlos Slim Helú</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/frederick-w-smith/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Frederick W. Smith</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/stephen-sondheim/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Stephen Sondheim</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/sonia-sotomayor/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Sonia Sotomayor</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/wole-soyinka/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Wole Soyinka</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/esperanza-spalding/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Esperanza Spalding</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/martha-stewart/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Martha Stewart</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/admiral-james-b-stockdale/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Admiral James B. Stockdale, USN</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/hilary-swank/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Hilary Swank</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/amy-tan/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Amy Tan</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/dame-kiri-te-kanawa/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Dame Kiri Te Kanawa</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/edward-teller-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Edward Teller, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/twyla-tharp/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Twyla Tharp</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/wayne-thiebaud/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Wayne Thiebaud</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/lt-michael-e-thornton-usn/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Lt. Michael E. Thornton, USN</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/clyde-tombaugh/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Clyde Tombaugh</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/charles-h-townes-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Charles H. Townes, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/david-trimble/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Lord David Trimble</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/ted-turner/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Robert Edward (Ted) Turner</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/desmond-tutu/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Archbishop Desmond Tutu</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/john-updike/"><span class="achiever-list-name">John Updike</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/gore-vidal/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Gore Vidal</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/antonio-villaraigosa/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Antonio Villaraigosa</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/lech-walesa/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Lech Walesa</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/herschel-walker/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Herschel Walker</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/alice-waters/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Alice Waters</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/james-d-watson/"><span class="achiever-list-name">James D. Watson, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/andrew-weil-m-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Andrew Weil, M.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/leslie-h-wexner/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Leslie H. Wexner</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/elie-wiesel/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Elie Wiesel</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/edward-o-wilson-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Edward O. Wilson, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/oprah-winfrey/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Oprah Winfrey</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/tom-wolfe/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Tom Wolfe</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/john-wooden/"><span class="achiever-list-name">John Wooden</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/bob-woodward/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Bob Woodward</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/shinya-yamanaka-m-d-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Shinya Yamanaka, M.D., Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/general-chuck-yeager/"><span class="achiever-list-name">General Chuck Yeager, USAF</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051826/https://achievement.org/achiever/andrew-young/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Andrew J. 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