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Born Maurice Micklewhite in London, Michael Caine was the son of a fish-market porter and a charlady. He left school at 15 and took a series of working-class jobs before serving with the British army in Korea during the Koraen War, where he saw combat. Upon his return to England he gravitated toward the theater and got a job as an assistant stage manager. He adopted the name of Caine on the advice ...  show all 

Born Maurice Micklewhite in London, Michael Caine was the son of a fish-market porter and a charlady. He left school at 15 and took a series of working-class jobs before serving with the British army in Korea during the Koraen War, where he saw combat. Upon his return to England he gravitated toward the theater and got a job as an assistant stage manager. He adopted the name of Caine on the advice of his agent, taking it from a "Caine Mutiny" marquee. In the years that followed he worked in more than 100 television dramas, with repertory companies throughout England and eventually in the stage hit, "The Long and the Short and the Tall." The 1964 adventure epic retelling of a historic 19th-century battle in South Africa between British soldiers and Zulu natives in "The Zulu (1964)" brought Caine to international attention. Instead of being typecast as a Cockney soldier, he played an effete, aristocratic officer. Although "Zulu" was a major success, it was the role of Harry Palmer in "Ipcress File (1965)" and his title role as "The Alfie (1966)" that made Caine a star of the first magnitude. He epitomized the new breed of actor in mid-'60s England, the working-class bloke with glasses and a down-home accent. However, after initially starring in some excellent films, particularly in the 1960s, including "Gambit (1966)", "Funeral in Berlin (1966)", "Play Dirty (1968)", "Battle of Britain (1969)", "Too Late the Hero (1970)", "Last Valley (1971)" and especially "The Get Carter (1971)", he often seemed to take on roles in below-average films, simply for the money he could by then command. There was some gems amongst the dross, however. He gave a magnificent performance opposite Sean Connery in "Man Who Would Be King (1975)" and turned in a solid performance as a German colonel in "The Eagle Has Landed (1976)". "The Educating Rita (1983)" and "Hannah and Her Sisters (1986)" (for which he won his first Oscar) were highlights of the 1980s, while more recently "Little Voice (1998)", "Cider House Rules (1999)" (his second Oscar) and "Last Orders (2001)" have been widely acclaimed.  hide