Michael Caine

Sir Michael Caine, born Maurice Joseph Micklewhite on 14 March 1933, is an English retired actor and British cultural icon. Recognized for his distinctive Cockney accent and a career spanning eight decades, he has appeared in more than 130 films. He is one of only five male actors to receive Academy Award nominations for acting in five different decades, and as of 2017, his films had grossed over $7.8 billion worldwide.

Caine was born at St Olave's Hospital in Rotherhithe, London, to a cook and charwoman mother and a fish market porter father. Raised in Southwark, he was evacuated to Norfolk during World War II, where he made his acting debut in a village school play. He later attended Wilson's School, leaving at age 16 to work as a filing clerk and messenger. In 1951, he was called up for national service in the British Army, serving in West Germany and in the Korean War before being discharged in 1953 after contracting malaria.

Following his military service, Caine pursued acting in repertory theater under the name Michael Scott. Upon moving to London in 1954, he discovered another actor was using that name and adopted the stage name Michael Caine after seeing The Caine Mutiny advertised at the Odeon Cinema in Leicester Square. He performed on television, radio, and the stage, serving as Peter O'Toole's understudy in the 1959 production of The Long and the Short and the Tall before securing a major stage break in Next Time I'll Sing To You in 1963.

Caine achieved his film breakthrough in 1964 with the historical film Zulu. He quickly established stardom playing spy Harry Palmer in The Ipcress File (1965) and the title character in Alfie (1966), which earned him his first Academy Award nomination. Known for his sharp suits and thick horn-rimmed glasses, he became a style icon of the 1960s. During the late 1960s and 1970s, he starred in notable films including The Italian Job (1969), Battle of Britain (1969), Get Carter (1971), Sleuth (1972), The Man Who Would Be King (1975), and A Bridge Too Far (1977).

Over his career, Caine earned four Best Actor Academy Award nominations for Alfie, Sleuth, Educating Rita (1983), and The Quiet American (2002). He won two Academy Awards for Best Supporting Actor for his performances in Hannah and Her Sisters (1986) and The Cider House Rules (1999). His extensive credits also include comedies such as Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988) and Miss Congeniality (2000), family features like The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992), and acclaimed dramas including Mona Lisa (1986) and Youth (2015).

In the 2000s and 2010s, Caine achieved wide recognition playing Alfred Pennyworth in Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy (2005–2012) and appeared in five additional Nolan films, including Inception (2010) and Interstellar (2014). His honors include a BAFTA Award, three Golden Globe Awards, a Screen Actors Guild Award, a 2000 BAFTA Fellowship, and a knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II in 2000. Caine announced his retirement from acting following his final feature film, The Great Escaper (2023).