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.
- #004
His favorite film is the film noir The Third Man (1949).
- #005
Lodged with composer John Barry in the early 1960s for several months, after being forced to leave his own flat, penniless. He returned the favor in 1998 when agreeing to introduce the composer's Royal Albert Hall concert - his first in the United Kingdom for 25 years.
- #006
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!".
- #008
It was rumoured that he did not get along with Steven Seagal while filming On Deadly Ground (1994). He has stated that while they got on fine, but he hated filming in Alaska, even joking that "On Deadly Ground" was an apt title.
- #009
He was considered to play C.S. Lewis in Shadowlands (1993), which went to Sir Anthony Hopkins.
- #010
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.".
- #011
Is a supporter of Chelsea FC (English soccer team).
- #012
Following the launch of Harry Brown (2009), Caine called for the reintroduction of national service in the UK to give young people "a sense of belonging rather than a sense of violence".
- #013
He will not do any films that concerns harming children even if his character is on the good side.
Production Story (13)
- #014
He screen tested for Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines or How I Flew from London to Paris in 25 Hours 11 Minutes (1965), but the role went to James Fox. If he had gotten the role, he would probably have lost out on The Ipcress File (1965).
- #015
Took a role in the film The Wrong Box (1966) which had been turned down by James Fox, and it put him on the road to stardom.
- #016
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.
- #017
He revealed in his autobiography that he also read for Doctor Yuri Zhivago in Doctor Zhivago (1965) and participated in the screen shots with Julie Christie, but (after watching the results with David Lean) was the one who suggested Omar Sharif.
- #018
He was offered the main guest role in Homer and Apu (1994), the joke being that his propensity for appearing in anything also included working in the Kwik-E-Mart. He turned it down and the role went to James Woods.
- #019
Michael spent two hours trying to talk Terence Stamp, his flat mate, into taking the title role in Alfie (1966).
- #020
He turned down the role of Jolly in Kiss Me Goodbye (1982) in order to star in Educating Rita (1983). The role went to James Caan.
- #021
When he tested for Zulu (1964), Cy Endfield told him that it was the worst test he had ever seen. But as they were stuck for a suitable actor, he still got the role.
- #022
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.
- #023
Before he became famous as a film star, he turned down the role of PC Bob Steele in the BBC's police drama series Z Cars (1962) because he did not want to be typecast in a popular television program. The role was taken by Jeremy Kemp.
- #024
He lobbied for the lead role in The Day of the Jackal (1973) but was rejected by director Fred Zinnemann, who felt that the character of The Jackal, who essentially is a cipher, should not be played by a movie star.
- #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
He turned down the role of Staff Sergeant Williams in The Hill (1965) in order to star in Alfie (1966). The role went to Ian Hendry.
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
It was rumoured that he did not get along with Steven Seagal while filming On Deadly Ground (1994). He has stated that while they got on fine, he hated filming in Alaska, even joking that "On Deadly Ground" was an apt title.
- #030
His first American accent was in the film Hurry Sundown (1967). He was taught the Southern drawl by Vivien Leigh, who told him to say "four door Ford" all day long for weeks. (source - "What's it all about?" Michael Caine's autobiography - 1992).
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.
- #032
He always liked the part of Harry Palmer in The Ipcress File, which he read about about two years before being offered the part. He thought at the time that he would like to play the role, but at that time it was impossible for unknowns to get lead roles.
- #033
He will not do any films that concern harming children, even if his character is on the good side.
- #034
He claims that his trick to being able to cry on cue is thinking about a painful childhood memory.
- #035
His stated belief that actors shouldn't blink on screen was dismissed as "old-fashioned bullshit" by the director Mike Leigh during an interview on Breakfast (2000) in 2018.
- #036
He was considered for the role of Mark Wallace in Two for the Road (1967), which went to Albert Finney.
- #037
He revealed in his autobiography that he that he also read for Doctor Yuri Zhivago in Doctor Zhivago (1965) and participated in the screen shots with Julie Christie, but (after watching the results with David Lean) was the one who suggested Omar Sharif.
- #038
"Michael Caine", a top 10 song in Britain in the mid-1980s by the new wave group Madness, had his "My Name is Michael Caine" quote sampled into the song.
Easter Eggs & References (2)
- #039
Near the end of The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992), he passes by a store called "Micklewhite's". His real name is Maurice Micklewhite.
- #040
Mike Myers said that he based the character Austin Powers partially on Caine's character in Alfie (1966). Caine would play Austin Powers' father in Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002).
Deeper Meaning (2)
- #041
Following the launch of Harry Brown (2009), Caine called for the reintroduction of national service in the UK to give young people "a sense of belonging rather than a sense of violence".
- #042
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)
- #043
In 1957, at Brighton University, Caine appeared in a one-act play written by a fellow actor who went by the name of David Baron. It was Baron's very first play. He later changed his name back to Harold Pinter, the name under which he won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2005.
- #044
On 13 October 2023 he announced his retirement from acting at the age of 90.
- #045
In 1987, he was not present at the Academy Awards ceremony when he won Best Supporting Actor for Hannah and Her Sisters (1986), because he was filming Jaws: The Revenge (1987), for which he was nominated for Worst Supporting Actor at the Razzie Awards the following year.
- #046
He claimed that the worst films he ever made were The Magus (1968), The Swarm (1978) and Ashanti (1979).
- #047
In 2009, he praised Christoph Waltz's performance as Colonel Hans Landa in Inglourious Basterds (2009), saying that it was the "best performance of a villain" he had seen in years.
- #048
He owns his own film production company.
- #049
He is a huge fan of chill-out music and released a compilation CD called "Cained" (2007) on the UMTV record label. He met Sir Elton John and was discussing musical tastes, when Caine said that he had been creating chill-out mix tapes as an amateur for years.
- #050
Was the first person to be nominated for an acting Razzie Award for more than one title. He was nominated for Worst Actor of 1980 at the very first Razzie Awards for his roles in the films Dressed to Kill (1980) and The Island (1980).
- #051
He once said that he knew he had made it as an actor when he started getting scripts to read that no longer had coffee stains already on them, meaning that he was the first choice for that role.
- #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.
- #053
In an interview on BBC's The One Show on May 29, 2019, he said he won a Best Actor Award for his performance in the television play "The Compartment" (1961).
- #054
He has been nominated for an Oscar at least once in five consecutive decades (1960s-2000s).
- #055
Of the six performers who have won Oscars for performances in films directed by Woody Allen, he is the only man. The others are Diane Keaton, Dianne Wiest (twice), Mira Sorvino, Penélope Cruz and Cate Blanchett.
- #056
When he was still a struggling actor in London and rooming with Terence Stamp, Caine's barber was future hairstylist-guru Vidal Sassoon.
- #057
1987: Was not present at the Academy Awards ceremony when he won best supporting actor for Hannah and Her Sisters (1986) because he was filming Jaws: The Revenge (1987), for which he was nominated for worst supporting actor at the Razzie awards the following year.
- #058
Shared a London flat with actor Terence Stamp early in his career.
- #059
In 1957, at Brighton University, Caine appeared in a one-act play written by a fellow actor who went by the name of David Baron. It was Baron's very first play. He later changed his name back to Harold Pinter, the name under which he won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2005.
- #060
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).
- #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.
- #062
- #063
He did not learn to drive a car until he was over 50. Caine said that when he was unknown he could not afford driving lessons, and afterwards the film studio always provided a chauffeur-driven car for him. Whenever he was shown driving in films he was always on a trailer.
- #064
Resides in Leatherhead, Surrey, and is a patron to the Leatherhead Drama Festival.
- #065
Michael spent two hours trying to talk Terence Stamp, his flat mate into taking the title role in Alfie (1966).
- #066
Made his first screen appearance in a Watneys beer commercial in 1959.
- #067
He claimed that the worst films he ever made were The Magus (1968), The Swarm (1978) and Ashanti (1979).
- #068
Says that of the films he has made he thinks he was good in Zulu (1964), Alfie (1966), The Last Valley (1971), Sleuth (1972), The Man Who Would Be King (1975), Beyond the Limit (1983) and Educating Rita (1983).
Life & Family (18)
- #069
Lodged with composer John Barry in the early 1960s for several months, after being forced to leave his own flat, penniless. He returned the favor in 1998 when agreeing to introduce the composer's Royal Albert Hall concert - his first in the United Kingdom for 25 years.
- #070
He took his name from the film The Caine Mutiny (1954).
- #071
When he was still a struggling actor in London and rooming with Terence Stamp, Caine's barber was future hairstylist-guru Vidal Sassoon.
- #072
For more than forty years, Caine's mother, Ellen Maria Burchell, paid periodic visits to a "cousin" in a mental hospital. When she died in 1989, Caine learned that the cousin was really his elder brother, David.
- #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.
- #075
He did not learn to drive a car until he was over 50. Caine said that when he was unknown he could not afford driving lessons, and afterwards the film studio always provided a chauffeur-driven car for him. Whenever he was shown driving in films he was always on a trailer.
- #076
He didn't know about his older half-brother, David, until their mother died. David suffered from epilepsy and spent his life in a hospital. His younger brother, Stanley Caine, appeared in Billion Dollar Brain (1967), Play Dirty (1969), and The Italian Job (1969).
- #077
He stated that for years he hated the smell of garlic as he associated it with his service in the Korean War, where North Korean and Chinese troops would munch it as a snack. He eventually overcame his dislike upon becoming a restaurateur.
- #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."
- #079
He visited John Wayne several times when the veteran star was dying of cancer in hospital.
- #080
Father of Dominique 'Nikki' Caine (b. 14 August 1957) with the late Patricia Haines, and Natasha Hall (b. 15 July 1973) with Shakira Caine. Through Natasha, he has three grandchildren.
- #081
In 2016, at age 83, he finally changed his legal name from Maurice Micklewhite to Michael Caine. He said this was because he was fed up being delayed in airport security by staff who did not understand why the name on his passport did not match the person they recognised.
- #082
He is close friends with Sir Elton John and Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber.
- #083
Educating Rita (1983) is his favourite film of his own, and the performance he's the most proud of.
- #084
The production offices of Mona Lisa (1986) were located in the disused St. Olave's hospital, the very hospital in which Caine was born.
- #085
He is a huge fan of chill-out music and released a compilation CD called "Cained" (2007) on the UMTV record label. He met Sir Elton John and was discussing musical tastes, when Caine said that he had been creating chill-out mix tapes as an amateur for years.
- #086
Is a keen collector of trivia and little known fact, and authored two books of trivia in the 80s with the proceeds going to charity.
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
Continue through the archive
Sources & editorial notes
Reference databases
- Wikipedia
- IMDb
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