ACTOR · BORN 1933
Michael Caine
- Born
- 14 March 1933, Rotherhithe, London, England, UK
- Known for
- Interstellar (2014), The Dark Knight Rises (2012), Batman Begins (2005), The Prestige (2006)
86 archived facts 8 topics 1 source Last reviewed Nov 2026
Michael Caine (born 14 March 1933) is an actor best known for Interstellar, The Dark Knight Rises and Batman Begins.
Michael Caine over the years
86 Interesting Facts About Michael Caine
Interesting Facts (13)
- #001
He is famous for the catch-phrase "Not a lot of people know that", though he never actually said it. The phrase was probably first said by Peter Sellers when he appeared on Parkinson (1971) on 28 October 1972 and said: "Not many people know that. This is my Michael Caine impression. You see, Mike's always quoting from the Guinness Book of Records. At the drop of a hat he'll trot one out. 'Did you know that it takes a man in a tweed suit five and a half seconds to fall from the top of Big Ben to the ground?' Now there's not many people who know that!".
- #002
The production offices of Mona Lisa (1986) were located in the disused St. Olave's hospital, the very hospital in which Caine was born.
Michael Caine: hospital sceneImage: Wikimedia Commons · Ethan Doyle White, CC BY-SA 4.0 - #003
Though he had been considered for, but never appeared in a Bond movie, Caine was the very first person to hear the completed film score for Goldfinger (1964). After he and roommate Terence Stamp were both ejected from their apartment, Caine asked composer friend John Barry if he could use the spare bedroom at Barry's London residence. As they were good friends, Barry agreed and so for several months Caine crashed with Barry and was there the sleepless night he completed his iconic score. At breakfast the following morning, Barry played his composition for Caine, the first time he had performed it for anybody.
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He first saw Shakira Caine (then Shakira Baksh) in a 1971 Maxwell House coffee commercial, directed by a then-unknown Ridley Scott. Caine became obsessed with her, calling her "the most beautiful woman he had ever seen". He desperately tried to meet her, even planning a trip to Brazil. A friend of his said that she was living in London, and gave him her phone number. Caine and Baksh married at the Algiers Hotel in Las Vegas in 1973.
- #007
He is famous for the catch-phrase "Not a lot of people know that", though he never actually said it. The phrase was probably first said by Peter Sellers when he appeared Parkinson (1971) on 28 October 1972 and said: "Not many people know that. This is my Michael Caine impression. You see, Mike's always quoting from the Guinness Book of Records. At the drop of a hat he'll trot one out. 'Did you know that it takes a man in a tweed suit five and a half seconds to fall from the top of Big Ben to the ground?' Now there's not many people who know that!".
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He is a fan of cricket. This was alluded to by Gary Oldman, who acted with Caine in The Dark Knight Rises (2012), when he talks about Caine's acting methods: "It's, 'Take one'. He got it. 'Take two', got it. 'Take three', got it. He's just on the money... He doesn't fuck around because he wants to get back to cricket.".
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Production Story (13)
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Turned down the role of Robert Rusk in Alfred Hitchcock's crime thriller Frenzy (1972). He thought the character was disgusting and said "I don't want to be associated with the part." After Caine declined the role he later mentioned in his memoirs how Hitchcock completely ignored him when they met in a hotel a few years later.
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He turned down both of the male leads in Women in Love (1969) because he refused to do any nudity. The roles went to Sir Alan Bates and Oliver Reed.
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- #025
Turned down the role of Robert Rusk in Alfred Hitchcock's crime thriller Frenzy (1972). He thought the character was disgusting and said "I don't want to be associated with the part." After Caine declined the role he later mentioned in his memoirs how Hitchcock completely ignored him when they met in a hotel a few years later.
- #026
Behind the Scenes (4)
- #027
He was first seen on a horse crossing a river, but it was a local horse which got frightened when the sun glinted on the camera and threw Michael into the river. With him having to get dried and changed to save time, one of the prop men donned his cloak and helmet, and it is him in the opening shot.
- #028
The soundstage at Shepperton Studios, in which he filmed Batman Begins (2005), is also the one where he filmed his very first film, Hell in Korea (1956).
Michael Caine: a sceneImage: Wikimedia Commons · Ben Coombs, CC BY-SA 2.0 - #029
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Characters & Cast (8)
- #031
He has stated that the character of Vichy war criminal Pierre Brossard in The Statement (2003) 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.
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Easter Eggs & References (2)
Deeper Meaning (2)
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In every film where Caine and Christopher Nolan collaborate, Caine's character either assists, guides, trains or educates the protagonist of each film. In The Prestige (2006), Caine portrays a magician who teaches the main character the art of illusion. In the Dark Knight trilogy, Caine plays a butler to the Wayne family, where he supports, nurtures and loves the main character Bruce Wayne (Batman). In Inception (2010), Caine depicts the father-in-law of the main protagonist, Cobb, and aids him in recruiting one of his students. In Interstellar (2014), Caine portrays a professor and engineer who invites and encourages the central character, Cooper, to lead an important space mission that will determine the future of planet Earth.
Career & Awards (26)
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- #052
In his 2018 memoir, Blowing the Bloody Doors Off, Caine relates that during his early stage acting days in London in the early 1960s, he played a bit part in a play called "Dixon of Dock Green" with another unknown named Donald Sutherland, and in "The Long and The Short and The Tall," a play about ordinary British soldiers by Willis Hall, he understudied another unknown who was making his West End debut, Peter O'Toole.
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- #061
The title role in Alfie (1966) was turned down by Laurence Harvey, Anthony Newley and Terence Stamp (who had already played the part on Broadway) before this was offered to him.
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Life & Family (18)
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- #073
Throughout the 1960s, he was by his own estimation drinking two bottles of vodka and smoking at least eighty cigarettes a day. He quit smoking cigarettes following a stern lecture from Tony Curtis at a party in 1971, and finally quit smoking cigars shortly before his 70th birthday in 2003.
- #074
He first saw Shakira Caine (then Shakira Baksh) in a 1971 Maxwell House coffee commercial, directed by a then-unknown Ridley Scott. Caine became obsessed with her, calling her "the most beautiful woman he had ever seen". He desperately tried to meet her, even planning a trip to Brazil. A friend of his said that she was living in London, and gave him her phone number. Caine and Baksh married at the Algiers Hotel in Las Vegas in 1973.
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- #078
He is a fan of cricket. This was alluded to by Gary Oldman, who acted with Caine in The Dark Knight Rises (2012), when he talks about Caine's acting methods: "It's, 'Take one'. He got it. 'Take two', got it. 'Take three', got it. He's just on the money... He doesn't fuck around because he wants to get back to cricket."
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Related pages
- UFO — Michael Caine comes up in the facts on that page
- Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead — Michael Caine comes up in the facts on that page
- Craig Ferguson — Michael Caine comes up in the facts on that page
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Sources & editorial notes
Reference databases
- Wikipedia
- IMDb
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