| Michael Caine is the stage name of Sir Maurice Joseph Micklewhite, one of the most in-demand British actors of the 1960s and 1970s. He is a unique actor because (besides Jack Nicholson), he has been nominated for an" Oscar" in 1960, 1970, 1980, 1990 and 2000.
Michael Caine was born in the London slums on March 14, 1933. He was bad at studies in school and for a long time lived in misery and thought of quitting the actor's path. At the age of 30, at last, he achieved international recognition, having played the role of a lieutenant-aristocrat in the film “Zulus” in 1964. On the recommendation of Sean Connery, Caine was taken in the film "The Ipcress File" for playing the leading role of Harry Palmer, the eccentric spy-womanizer in glasses and subsequently became a cult character and prototype of Austin Powers. He was nominated for an “Oscar” for his role in the film “Alfie” in 1966.
If internal nobility was a main feature in the roles played by Caine in the 1960s, then at the turn of the 1970s, he acted in two very successful comedies: “The Wrong Box” and “The Italian Job”. In 1972, he played alongside Sir Laurence Olivier in the tragic comedy “Slueth” and once again was nominated for an “Oscar”.
Starting from the second half of the 1970s, Caine was often reproached with illegibility for the selection of his roles. Many of his films have crashed miserably but some artistic success was also tasted during this period: the role of the alcoholic professor in “Educating Rita” (1983) and professional lady-killer in “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels” (1988) have won “Golden Globe Awards” and the role of financier Elliot in Woody Allen's film “Hannah and her sisters” (1986) fetched him the long-awaited "Oscar" but only for the Best Supporting Actor.
In the 1990s, the career of Michael Caine once again took off. He was honored with the third “Golden Globe” award for the film "Little Voice" (1998), the second "Oscar" for the role in the film “The Cider House Rules” (1999) and Caine was once again nominated for an “Oscar” for the leading role in the film “The Quiet American” (2002). In 2000, he was conferred with a Knighthood by Queen Elizabeth II. The following are few amongst the latest works of Caine, the father of Austin Powers in the third film about an amusing spy, a retired caricaturist in the fantastic film “Children of Men”, the butler of Batman in the blockbuster “Batman Begins” and an elderly engineer of illusions in another film by Christopher Nolan "The Prestige".
Interesting facts:
Outside the shooting sets, the actor uses his real name. In one of his books, Caine writes that the stage name has been chosen absolutely incidentally. While talking to an agent from a telephone booth, he was asked to mention a stage name. On turning back, he saw the film poster "The Caine Mutiny" and mechanically mentioned this name.
According to Michael Caine, his own favorite role in cinema is that of Uncle Scrooge in the screen version of the Dickens story “The Muppet Christmas Carol” (1992).
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Academy award winner Michael Caine celebrates his 75th birthday today. Having starred in over 100 movies, Caine is one of England's most famous actors and one of the very few actors in history to have won all of the following awards: Academy Award (twice), Golden Globe (thrice), BAFTA Award, and Screen Actors Guild Award. Many British viewers remember Caine for his roles as agent "Harry Palmer" (movies "Billion Dollar Brain", "Funeral in Berlin", etc.). Harry Palmer was created as a middle-class analogy of James Bond - a simple guy who went from zero to hero.
