Sir Michael Caine
- Profession: Actor
- Place/Date of Birth: Rotherhithe, 14 March 2020
Sir Michael forgets his lines - Nov 30 2007
Hollywood great Sir Michael Caine has admitted he was so lost for words when he saw Heath Ledger perform as The Joker that he actually forgot his lines.
The pair were rehearsing for their upcoming film, Batman Begins sequel The Dark Knight, when Sir Michael was apparently rendered speechless.
The veteran actor told Empire Magazine: "Heath plays him (The Joker) like an absolutely maniacal murderous psychopath. You have never seen anything like it in your life. He is very, very scary."
Recalling his shock, the 64-year-old revealed: "I had to do this bit where Batman and I watch a video which The Joker sends to threaten us. So I'd never seen him, and then he came on the television in the first rehearsal and I completely forgot my lines. I flipped, because it was so stunning, it was quite amazing."
Michael plays the role of the butler Alfred in the film, which stars Christian Bale at Batman. The movie is directed by Christopher Nolan.
Sir Michael reincarnated - Nov 8 2007
Sir Michael Caine has apparently admitted that he believes in reincarnation.
The two-time Academy Award winner also feels it is possible to distinguish between those who have lived on earth before and those who are new to a terrestrial existence, reports the Daily Express.
The actor is quoted as saying: "You know, you meet old souls and you meet dull people... I think dull people have never been here before.
"Then you meet these fascinating people and you go: ’God, he’s definitely been here before’."
The 74-year-old continued: "I believe in reincarnation. All my friends are what I call ’old souls’. They’ve been here before.
"They know stuff that other people don’t know. Like Jude Law. You meet these people and they seem to have a cognisance and then meet other people who are nothing - they just sit and watch television and they’re boring."
But when asked who he would like to come back as, British-born Michael apparently confessed: "I’d come back as the son of a billionaire, just hanging about and doing nothing."
Sir Michael’s fishy fears - Oct 18 2007
Sir Michael Caine has reportedly revealed that he once thought he saw a ghost in his bedroom - but it actually turned out to be a smoked haddock.
The film legend’s dad apparently insisted he leave his bedroom window open at night to let fresh air in, and because the room was so cold, the family left fresh fish in there to prevent it from going off, reports The Sun.
The silver-haired actor told the paper: "My father, who was very tough, always insisted, ’You’ve got to be healthy, keep the windows open at night.’ So, even in winter, the windows were always open. It was freezing cold.
"My father was a fish market porter and he used to steal fish to feed us. He used to keep the fish in our bedroom because it was the coldest room in the house."
He added: "And one night, I woke up and I yelled because at the end of the bed there’s this ghost. I’m screaming, and my mother came in and said, ’What’s the matter?’
"She turned the lights on and there was a big plate of smoked haddock. And smoked haddock has phosphorous in it and it glows in the dark. I thought it was a ghost, it was smoked haddock."
Caine invites you to chill out - July 31 2007
Sir Michael Caine has announced the name of his new chill-out album - Cained - and has compiled a selection of his favourite tracks for the record.
Celebrity star rating: | |||||||||
A- list: | B- list: | C- list: | D- list: | Z- list: |
Helena Bonham Carter
Hugh Laurie
Rachel Weisz
Faces in Fashion
Ricci Stoene
Sadie Frost
Musicians
DJ Jon Carter
Graham Coxon
Ms Dynamite
Writers & Artists
Amanda Craig
Features
Celeb Rehab
Keeping up with the WAGs...
Profiles: Film
Angelina Jolie
Keira Knightley
Tom Cruise
Profiles: Music
Britney Spears
Kylie Minogue
Madonna
Profiles: Fashion
Kate Moss
Naomi Campbell
Victoria Beckham
Win a flight to New York
Win a flight to New York
Win a return flight to New York and get paid for your opinions!
Book local Hotels | under £40 | from £40 to £60 | from £60 to £80 | from £80 to £100 | over £100 |
In 1955 Michael married the actress Patricia Haines and they had one daughter Dominique (known as Nikki). His very early films between 1956 and 1962, mainly bit-parts, included Sailor Beware!, Hell in Korea, How to Murder a Rich Uncle, A Woman of Mystery and Solo for Sparrow. In 1964 he played the part of Horatio in Hamlet for the BBC, but it was when he appeared as Lieut. Gonville Bromhead in Zulu in the same year that he won the attention of the media.
Michael’s film career really took of when in 1965 he appeared as bespectacled Harry Palmer in the first of a trilogy of Len Deighton spy thrillers, The Ipcress File, the two follow-up films being Funeral in Berlin (1966) and Billion Dollar Brain (1967). However, it was his role as Cockney lothario Alfie Elkins that made him legend, earning both Oscar and Golden Globe nominations in 1967.
From 1969’s The Italian Job onwards through the seventies, Caine found success at every turn, his role as Dr Frank Bryant in Educating Rita in 1983 earned him another Oscar nomination for Best Actor and he also won his first Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Comedy/Musical. 1986 saw him take the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for Hannah and Her Sisters plus further Oscar and Golden Globe nominations for Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Jack The Ripper and Hemmingway. The nineties and on bought older roles but nonetheless earned as much, if not more, in the way of acclaim - Little Voice and The Cider House Rules were among those great parts. Recent films meanwhile have included Batman Begins, Bewitched and The Prestige.
In 1973 Michael who was now single married Shakira, a former Miss Guyana, whohe is still with, they have a daughter Natasha, he has another daughter, Dominique from a previous marriage to Patricia Haines.
Caine has been awarded the British Variety Club Award for Best Film Actor and in 1993 he was given the CBE. He owns his own production company and has written five books including an autobiography in 1992 entitled What’s It All About.
In June 2000 Michael was awarded a knighthood in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List. He was delighted with the award and said "It’s the greatest honour I’ve ever had, or am every likely to have, in my life and I am very quietly but so ecstatically happy".
updated January 2007
November 2007