Biography
Michael Caine is one of the most sought-after actors of the 60s-90s. Now the eminent Briton’s filmography numbers hundreds of films, and his arsenal of awards includes two Oscars and three Golden Globes.
Maurice Joseph Micklewhite (the actor's birth name) was born in the slums of London on March 14, 1933.
The future artist’s mother worked as a cleaner, and his father worked as a loader. At school, Maurice was not a diligent student, he often skipped classes, preferring watching films at the local cinema to gaining knowledge. The only reason the actor went to school was basketball. It is known that in his teenage years, the master of disguise played for the school basketball team and even went to competitions with it a couple of times.
At the age of 16, Kane, contrary to the prohibitions of the head of the family, left school and went to serve under contract in the British Expeditionary Force in Korea. Upon returning to his homeland, Michael managed to try himself in various fields of activity. The actor worked as a dishwasher in a restaurant, as a barker in a bar, and as a loader in a warehouse. Then the hardworking guy got a job as an assistant administrator at the theater.
Inspired by the atmosphere that reigned in the temple of the goddess Melpomene, Kane enrolled in acting courses, which he graduated in 1955. After this, the artist performed for a couple of years as part of provincial theater troupes at various theaters and even participated in the production of television plays. At the beginning of his career, the actor chose the pseudonym Michael Scott, which he soon changed to Michael Caine.
There are two versions of how Morris Joseph Micklewhite became Michael Caine. The version that says that the actor named himself after the film “Citizen Kane” is erroneous. In fact, during a telephone conversation with an agent, the artist came across a poster for the military drama “The Caine Mutiny,” after viewing which this pseudonym arose in his imagination.
Movies
Kane's debut film was the feature film Zulu directed by Cy Endfield, released in 1964. In the film, which was based on a real historical event (the Battle of Rorke's Drift), Michael played Lieutenant Gonville Bromhead.
A year later, the artist received the main role in the spy detective “The Ipcress File.” It is worth noting that Sean Connery himself recommended Kane to director Sidney Fury. In this film, the artist took on the image of Sergeant Harry Palmer, a favorite of women and a threat to international crime, who later became the prototype for the creation of a character named Austin Powers.
"Ipcress Dossier"
In 1966, the film “Alfie” was released, which brought Michael his first Oscar nomination. In this film, the actor played a polygamous man, Alfred Elkins. The same year, Kane starred in the American comedy film Gambit, in which the actor appeared before the audience as the elegant robber Harry Dean.
"Alfie"
"Gambit"
In 1971, the master of impersonation demonstrated to the audience the versatility of his creative nature by playing in the detective drama Get Carter by Michael Hodges, based on the novel by Ted Lewis. In this film, Michael played the main role - gangster Jack Carter.
"Get Carter"
In the tragicomedy Game of Bang, released the following year, Caine played opposite Laurence Olivier, and 35 years later, in the remake of Game of Bang, Detective, Jude Law became the artist’s partner.
"Game to Bang"
The films in which the eminent actor played, starting from the second half of the 70s, caused negative reviews from critics and failed at the box office one after another. At that time, film fans, after each new role of Michael, accused him of being indiscriminate when choosing characters. Among the artist’s successful works in the 80s, the image of Dr. Frank Bryant in the film “Educating Rita” should be noted. In this film, the artist’s partner on the set was the well-known Julie Walters.
In 1986, Woody Allen's film Hannah and Her Sisters appeared in theaters, in which Caine played the supporting role of Elliot, the husband of the main character. In 1988, the actor’s collection of awards was replenished with the Golden Globe. He received this trophy for his role in the adventurous comedy Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, in which his partner on the set was Steve Martin. In the same year, the artist starred in the TV series “Jack the Ripper.”
"Hannah and Her Sisters"
"Dirty Rotten Scoundrels"
"Jack the Ripper"
In 1992, the eminent actor’s filmography was replenished with the films “The Muppet Christmas Carol,” “Blue Ice” and “Crazy Stages.” In the late nineties, Kane played in the films “The Voice” and “The Cider House Rules,” roles in which brought him an Oscar and a Golden Globe.
"The Muppet Christmas Carol"
"Blue Ice"
"Crazy Stage"
The year 2000 was marked by the release of the film “Miss Congeniality” with actress Sandra Bullock in the title role. In the film, which tells the story of an FBI employee who, by the will of fate, became an undercover agent at the annual prestigious Miss United States pageant, the actor played stylist Victor Melling. Two years later, fans saw their favorite in the films “Austin Powers: Goldmember” and “The Quiet American.”
"Miss Congeniality"
"Austin Powers: Goldmember"
"The Quiet American"
In 2005, the superhero action film directed by Christopher Nolan based on DC Comics “Batman Begins” was released. In the film, in which actor Christian Bale played the main role, Kane played Batman's butler Alfred Pennyworth. Michael also appeared in the next two parts of the trilogy: “The Dark Knight” (2008) and “The Dark Knight. Revival of the Legend" (2012).
"The Dark Knight"
The year 2010 was marked by the release of the science fiction thriller Inception, based on the idea of lucid dreaming. In addition to Kane, the film stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Ellen Page and Joseph Gordon-Levitt.
"Start"
In 2013, the premiere of the detective thriller Now You See Me and the film The Last Love of Mr. Morgan, based on the book of the same name by screenwriter and writer Francoise Dorner, premiered.
"Illusion of deception"
"Mr. Morgan's Last Love"
Between 2014 and 2021, the master of disguises replenished his cinematic repertoire with the films “Kingsman: The Secret Service”, “Residential of the Damned”, “Interstellar”, “Now You See Me 2” and The Last Witch Hunter.
"Kingsman: The Secret Service"
"Abode of the Damned"
"Interstellar"
"The Last Witch Hunter"
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The seventies were not so successful in the cinematic biography of Michael Caine - most of the films failed at the box office, and fans of the actor accused their idol of becoming less picky when choosing roles.
In the next decade, Kane's position improved - he had several successful roles, and his list of awards was supplemented by a Golden Globe for his role in the comedy Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. Michael Caine received his next Oscar and Golden Globe in the late nineties for his roles in “The Cider House Rules” and “The Voice.”
And now the actor continues to act, delighting his fans with his cinematic works. In 2021, the film “Dear Dictator” was released with the participation of Michael Caine in the role of General Anton Vincent, in the same year he took part in the dubbing of the cartoon “Gnomeo and Juliet: Sherlock Gnomes” and in the documentary “My Generation”, in which acted as narrator.
Michael Caine in the movie Alfie
Personal life
Michael Caine met his first wife at the very beginning of his acting career - having joined a theater troupe in Suffolk immediately after graduating from acting courses, he met one of the theater actresses, Patricia Hines, who helped him quickly grasp the intricacies of the craft and comprehend the rules of good manners.
Soon Patricia became not only a mentor, but also the wife of Michael Caine. Almost immediately after the wedding, the newlyweds went to London, which opened up broader prospects for an acting career. However, the dreams turned out to be far from reality, and Michael, in order to support his family, had to engage in more than just his main profession.
By this time, a joyful event had occurred in Michael Caine’s personal life - Patricia gave birth to a daughter, Dominique, but financial problems became even more acute. It was difficult to find a job, there was always a shortage of money, and Michael Caine’s wife decided to take the child to her parents, which was the beginning of the destruction of the actor’s first marriage, who felt endlessly guilty before his wife and daughter.
He also returned to his parents' house, where nothing good awaited him - his sick father was bedridden, and Michael, in order to help the family, got a job at a steel mill, but soon lost this job too. After the death of his father, on the advice of his mother, Kane went to France in search of a better life, but even in Paris he had to be content with only working in a diner.
Having failed to find decent work in the French capital, the actor decided to return home, and then he had hope for changes for the better - an agent found him a job in the film "A Hill in Korea", but the joy was short-lived - the film failed, and Kane was offered role in the production of "Chime" by Charles Dickens at the Theater Workshop in the East End of London.
Later, the actor managed to get into a small film, and for four years in the creative biography of Michael Caine there were only minor, unnoticeable roles. He was ready to quit acting if he had not been offered a role in a television production based on the play “The Lark.”
Gradually and hard, but his career began to improve, and in the seventy-first year there were happy changes in the personal life of Michael Caine - he fell in love.
He first saw Shakira Baksh in an advertisement for Maxwell House coffee and was instantly smitten.
“THIS GIRL, SHE IS BEAUTIFUL. I WANT TO MEET HER,” HE SAID TO HIS FRIEND WITH WHOM HE WAS WATCHING TV.
With the help of friends, Kane found out Shakira's address and later invited her to dinner. But the girl did not agree immediately, and Kane had to wait ten whole days, which seemed like an eternity to him.
On their first date, Michael realized that he was not mistaken in his feelings, and he and Shakira never parted again, and two years later Baksh became the official wife of Michael Caine. The first time they lived together was not easy for the actor’s wife - Kane drank a lot, and she had to make a lot of efforts so that he could overcome this addiction.
Their wedding took place in January seventy-three - a modest celebration without a large number of invited guests took place in Las Vegas. In the same year, Michael Caine’s second child, daughter Natasha, was born.
In 1975, Michael starred with Shakira in the film “The Man Who Would Be King,” which he considers one of the best in his career.
A few years later, the actor wanted to open his own restaurant. He bought part of the shares of Langana's beer restaurant, but the business was not very successful. Kane could not bear the burden of taxes that had to be paid in England, and he and his wife decided to move to Los Angeles.
To pay for the purchase of an expensive house in a new place, the actor starred in “Silver Bears” and “The Swarm”, earning twenty-five thousand pounds sterling. Having found buyers for their house in England, the Kane family moved to Los Angeles and settled in a new home.
Despite the fact that life in Los Angeles suited Kane and his wife in every way, he really missed his native England and tried to visit his homeland every year. Michael Caine's wife noticed his melancholy and felt sorry for her husband, but after five years of living in Hollywood they had already gotten used to the new place and made friends.
And then they decided that if Michael received an Oscar for his role in the film Educating Rita, then they would stay in America, and if not, they would go to England. Although Kane won a BAFTA, another actor won the Oscar for Best Actor, and the couple decided to return to the UK.
THEY FOUND A HOUSE IN OXFORDSHIRE, WHICH, ACTUALLY, NEEDED REPAIRS, AND FOR THREE YEARS, WHILE THE HOUSING WAS BROUGHT IN ORDER, THE ACTOR'S FAMILY WAS PREPARING TO MOVE. ALL THIS TIME, KANE CONTINUED FILMING, AND AFTER THE MOVE, TOOK PART IN THE TV SERIES “THE STRANGE CASE OF DOCTOR JEKYL AND MR. HYDE.”
In ninety-two, Michael Caine finally realized his dream and opened a restaurant in Chelsea Harbor. At the end of the nineties, the actor's career reached its peak; he acted a lot and was involved in his restaurant business. For his role in the film Voice, Kane was awarded a Golden Globe, and for his portrayal of Dr. Wilbur Larch in The Cider House Rules, he received a second Oscar for his supporting role.
Michael Caine's personal life is no less successful than his creative biography - the actor is still happy with his wife Shakira, and their marriage is strong and unbreakable.
Movie star. Filmography of Michael Caine
At the age of 30, Kane received international recognition after his role in the film “Zulu” (1964, directed by Cy Endfield). There he played Lieutenant Gonville Bromhead.
For the next role - in the spy detective film "The Ipcress File" - Sean Connery himself recommended Kane. The artist brilliantly embodied the later iconic image of Sergeant Harry Palmer, a favorite of women and a threat to international crime. By the way, it was on the basis of agent Harry Palmer that the image of Austin Powers was created.
In 1966, the film Alfie was released, which brought Caine his first Oscar nomination. In this film, the actor played a polygamous man, Alfred Elkins, who could not stop changing partners, which became his personal drama. The same year, Kane starred in the American comedy heist film Gambit, where he played the elegant robber Harry Dean. “Gambit” received many positive reviews from critics, and Michael Caine himself was awarded a Golden Globe nomination for his leading role in the film.
In the late 60s and early 70s, the actor starred in two comedy films. One of them was, which later became a cult classic, “The Italian Job” (1969, directed by Peter Collinson).
Michael Caine in his youth In 1971, the actor demonstrated the breadth of his role, playing in the detective drama by Michael Hodges based on the novel by Ted Lewis “Get Carter.” In this film, Michael Caine played the main role - gangster Jack Carter. Interestingly, Kane played in an episode of the remake of the film Get Carter in 2000, starring Sylvester Stallone.
The tragicomedy “The Game of Bangs,” based on the play by E. Schaffer, in which Kane played opposite Laurence Olivier, was released in 1972. The role in this film brought the artist a second Oscar nomination. In the remake of Game of Bang, Detective, filmed 35 years later, the artist played opposite Jude Law.
The films in which Kane played, starting in the second half of the 70s, caused negative reviews from critics and failed at the box office, and the actor himself was accused at that time of being indiscriminate when choosing characters. Among the artist’s successful works in the 80s, noteworthy is the image of a literature professor in the film “Educating Rita” (1983, directed by Lewis Gilbert). Kane played in this film together with actress Julie Walters. The role brought Michael a Golden Globe Award.
In 1986, Woody Allen's film Hannah and Her Sisters appeared in theaters, in which Caine played a supporting role as Hannah's husband, Elliot, for which he received his first Oscar. In 1988, the actor received another Golden Globe for his role in the adventurous comedy Dirty Rotten Scoundrels; his partner on the set was the famous comedian Steve Martin. In 1988, Kane played in the farce film Without a Single Evidence, where he portrayed an unsuccessful drinking actor hired by Dr. Watson to play Sherlock Holmes.
Michael Caine is happy in his personal life. He and his second wife have been together for 30 years. In the 1990s, the actor also acted a lot. In 1992, he played Uncle Ebenzer Scrooge in the film The Muppet Christmas Carol, based on Dickens's work, one of his favorite film roles. In the late nineties, Kane played in the film “Voice” (1998, directed by Mark Herman), which brought him a Golden Globe. His work in the film directed by Lasse Hallström “The Cider House Rules” (1999) brought Kane a second Oscar statuette for Best Supporting Actor.
Kane considers his participation in the film “Express to Beijing” (1995, directed by George Michalka) to be one of his most unsuccessful works, his worst filming period.
At the beginning of the 2000s, Michael Caine again received an Oscar nomination, this time for his leading role in The Quiet American (2002, directed by Philip Noyce), based on the novel by Graham Greene. Kane plays Alfred Pennyworth, Batman's butler, in the series of superhero graphic novel adaptations, Batman. Inception" 2005, "The Dark Knight" 2008, "The Dark Knight. Revival of the Legend" 2012.
In 2006, the actor played a supporting role in the fantastic-philosophical film “Children of Men.” In 2006, Kane continued to work with director Chris Nollan and actor Christian Bale (who plays Batman), this time in the science-fiction thriller “The Prestige” about the life of illusionists.
Filmography
- 1966 – “Alfie”
- 1966 – “Gambit”
- 1980 – “Razor”
- 1987 – “Jaws 4: The Revenge”
- 1988 – “Jack the Ripper”
- 2000 – “Miss Congeniality”
- 2002 – “Austin Powers: Goldmember”
- 2003 – “Sentence”
- 2006 – “Children of Men”
- 2006 – “Prestige”
- 2008 – “The Dark Knight”
- 2010 – “The Beginning”
- 2012 – “The Dark Knight Rises”
- 2013 – “The illusion of deception”
- 2017 – “Leaving gracefully”
- 2017 – “Dunkirk”
