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Michael Caine
Age: 76
Height: 6' 2
Birth Place: Rotherhithe, London, England, UK
Born: Mar. 14th, 1933
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Michael Caine's Main TV Roles
NOTE: Complete List of Works can be found at
IMDB
BIOGRAPHY: Born Maurice Micklewhite in London, Michael Caine was the son of a fish-market porter and a charlady. He left school at 15 and took a series of working-class jobs before joining the British army and serving in Korea during the Korean War, where he saw combat. Upon his return to England he gravitated toward the theater and got a job as an assistant stage manager. He adopted the name of Caine on the advice of his agent, taking it from a marquee that advertised The Caine Mutiny (1954). In the years that followed he worked in more than 100 television dramas, with repertory companies throughout England and eventually in the stage hit, "The Long and the Short and the Tall." Zulu (1964), the 1964 epic retelling of a historic 19th-century battle in South Africa between British soldiers and Zulu warriors, brought Caine to international attention. Instead of being typecast as a low-ranking Cockney soldier, he played a snobbish, aristocratic officer. Although "Zulu" was a major success, it was the role of Harry Palmer in The Ipcress File (1965) and the title role in Alfie (1966) that made Caine a star of the first magnitude. He epitomized the new breed of actor in mid-'60s England, the working-class bloke with glasses and a down-home accent. However, after initially starring in some excellent films, particularly in the 1960s, including Gambit (1966), Funeral in Berlin (1966), Play Dirty (1968), Battle of Britain (1969), Too Late the Hero (1970), The Last Valley (1970) and especially Get Carter (1971), he seemed to take on roles in below-average films, simply for the money he could by then command. There were some gems amongst the dross, however. He gave a magnificent performance opposite Sean Connery in The Man Who Would Be King (1975) and turned in a solid one as a German colonel in The Eagle Has Landed (1976). Educating Rita (1983) and Hannah and Her Sisters (1986) (for which he won his first Oscar) were highlights of the 1980s, while more recently Little Voice (1998), The Cider House Rules (1999) (his second Oscar) and Last Orders (2001) have been widely acclaimed.
TRIVIA:
- 2001: Was voted fifth in the Orange Film Survey of greatest British actors.
- Three of his memorable films (_Alfie (1966)_ (qv), _The Italian Job (1969)_ (qv), and _Get Carter (1971)_ (qv)) have all been remade.
- Has stated that the character of Vichy war criminal Pierre Brossard in _The Statement (2003)_ (qv) was his least favorite. He said that all the other characters he played in his career, whether good or evil, had a sense of humor on some level that he would try to convey in his performance. He felt that Brossard had no sense of humor whatsoever, in part because the character was such an intense man.
- He and 'Quincy Jones' (qv) were born on the same day.
- In an interview with "The Sunday Telegraph" on 26 April 2009, Caine admitted that he is considering becoming a tax exile again if Labour Prime Minister 'Gordon Brown (VI)' (qv) increases taxes on high earners.
- 11/16/00: Formally knighted at Buckingham Palace under his real name of Maurice Micklewhite. He will be known professionally as Sir Michael Caine.
- Lobbied for the lead role in _The Day of the Jackal (1973)_ (qv) but was rejected by director 'Fred Zinnemann' (qv), who felt that the character of The Jackal, who essentially is a cipher, should not be played by a movie star.
- He owns seven restaurants: six in London, one in Miami.
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