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Sir Maurice Joseph Micklewhite, CBE (born 14 March 1933), known professionally as Sir Michael Caine, is a British film actor. He was born in Rotherhithe, South London, and grew up in nearby Camberwell. During World War II, he was evacuated to Norfolk. When he first became an actor he used the stage name "Michael Scott". He happened to be speaking to his agent in a telephone box in Leicester Square in London when he was informed that he had to change his name again because another actor was already using the name "Michael Scott". His agent insisted that he come up with a new name immediately. Looking around for inspiration, he noted that The Caine Mutiny was being shown at the Odeon cinema, and so he decided to change his name to "Michael Caine". He once joked to an interviewer that had he looked the other way, he would have ended up as "Michael One Hundred and One Dalmatians".
After several minor roles, Caine came into the public eye as an upper-class British army officer in the 1964 film, Zulu. This proved to be ironic, as Caine was quickly to become notable for using a regional accent, rather than the Received Pronunciation hitherto considered proper for film actors. At the time, Caine's working-class cockney, just as with The Beatles Liverpudlian accents, seemed like a breath of fresh air. Zulu was closely followed by his two best-known roles: the spy "Harry Palmer", in The Ipcress File (1965), and the woman-chasing Alfie (1966). He went on to play Palmer in a further two films. His trademark horn-rimmed glasses did not prevent him becoming a pin-up. After ending the 1960s with the equally iconic The Italian Job and a solid role as an RAF fighter pilot, Squadron Leader Canfield, in the all-star cast of Battle of Britain (1969), Caine entered the 1970s with Get Carter, one of the best British gangster films. The 1970s proved to be a lean period for Caine, with successes such as Sleuth (1972) and The Man Who Would Be King (1975) overshadowed by disasters such as The Swarm (1978) and Beyond the Poseidon Adventure (1979).
Throughout the 1980s and early 1990s Caine alternated between acclaimed performances in films such as Educating Rita (1983) and Mona Lisa (1986), and unashamedly mercenary roles in notorious duds such as Jaws: The Revenge (as Hoagie Newcombe) (1987) and On Deadly Ground (1994). Of the former, Caine famously said "I have not seen the film, but I hear it is terrible. However, I have seen the house that it paid for, and it is superb". By this time Caine's reputation as an icon was assured, and recent performances in Little Voice (1998), Last Orders (2001) and others have rehabilitated his critical reputation.
He has been Oscar-nominated six times, winning his first Academy Award for the 1986 film, Hannah and Her Sisters, his second in 1999 for The Cider House Rules, in both cases as a supporting actor. He was created Commander of the British Empire (CBE) in 1993 for services to drama, and in 2000 a Knight Bachelor, becoming Sir Maurice Micklewhite. Unlike some actors who adopt their stage name for everyday use, Caine still uses his real name when he is not working. He recently appeared as Bruce Wayne's beloved butler in Batman Begins, 2005
Caine is a popular subject for impressionists and mimics, having a distinctive yet fairly easy to copy voice. Most Caine impressions repeat the catchphrase, "Not a lot of people know that," which was never actually used by Caine, except more recently when sending up himself and the mimics who established the catchphrase; it originated with an answering machine message recorded by Peter Sellers, who impersonated Caine very well and in this case did so saying, "My name is Michael Caine. Peter Sellers is not in at the moment. Not a lot of people know
that.
Michael Caine Filmography
Actor
• The Weather Man (2005)
• Bewitched (2005)
• Batman Begins (2005)
• Around the Bend (2005)
• Around the Bend (2004)
• Quicksand (2003)
• The Statement (2003)
• Secondhand Lions (2003)
• Around the Bend (2003)
• Shiner (2002)
• The Quiet American (2002)
• Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002)
• Last Orders (2002)
• Miss Congeniality (2000)
• Quills (2000)
• Get Carter (2000)
• The Cider House Rules (1999)
• 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1998)
• Little Voice (1998)
• Beyond the Poseidon Adventure (1997)
• Curtain Call (1997)
• Mandela & de Klerk (1997)
• Blood and Wine (1996)
• Bullet to Beijing (1995)
• Midnight in St. Petersburg (1995)
• World War II: When Lions Roared (1994)
• World War II: When Lions Roared, V. 1 (1994)
• World War II: When Lions Roared, V. 2 (1994)
• On Deadly Ground (1994)
• Blue Ice (1993)
• On Deadly Ground (1993)
• The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)
• Noises Off (1992)
• Bullseye! (1991)
• Mr. Destiny (1990)
• A Shock to the System (1990)
• Ashanti: Land of No Mercy (1989)
• Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988)
• Without A Clue (1988)
• Jaws 4 - The Revenge (1987)
• Surrender (1987)
• The Fourth Protocol (1987)
• The Whistle Blower (1987)
• The Black Windmill (1986)
• Half Moon Street (1986)
• Sweet Liberty (1986)
• Mona Lisa (1986)
• Water (1986)
• Hannah and Her Sisters (1986)
• The Holcroft Covenant (1985)
• Blame It on Rio (1984)
• Educating Rita (1983)
• The Jigsaw Man (1983)
• Deathtrap (1982)
• The Hand (1981)
• Victory (1981)
• Dressed to Kill (1980)
• The Island (1980)
• California Suite (1978)
• Silver Bears (1978)
• The Swarm (1978)
• A Bridge Too Far (1977)
• The Eagle Has Landed (1977)
• Harry and Walter Go to New York (1976)
• Romantic Englishwoman (1975)
• The Man Who Would Be King (1975)
• The Wilby Conspiracy (1974)
• Pulp (1972)
• Sleuth (1972)
• X, Y and Zee (1972)
• The Last Valley (1971)
• Get Carter (1971)
• Too Late the Hero (1969)
• The Italian Job (1969)
• Battle of Britain (1969)
• Play Dirty (1969)
• Billion Dollar Brain (1967)
• Woman Times Seven (1967)
• Alfie (1966)
• Gambit (1966)
• Funeral in Berlin (1966)
• The Wrong Box (1966)
• The Ipcress File (1965)
• The Africa Collection: Zulu (1964)
• Zulu (1964)
• The Key (1958)
• A Hill in Korea (1956)
• Beyond the Limit
Cameo
• The Wrong Arm of the Law (1963)
Executive Producer
• The Fourth Protocol (1987)
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