Sir Michael Caine is Not Quite Ready to Retire
Don Khan Swaylo | Oct 17, 2021 |
Despite his statements to Kermode and Mayo’s Film Review on October 15th, Sir Michael Caine has NOT retired.
I haven’t retired and not a lot of people know that
— Michael Caine (@themichaelcaine) October 16, 2021
Tweeting out the response, “I haven’t retired and not a lot of people know that” the following morning, that cleared up a lot of concern for those with good taste in film.
The 88-year-old was discussing his latest role in Best Sellers on the BBC Radio program. “Funnily enough, it has turned out to be my last part, really,” said the recipient of the Order of the British Empire. Noting his development of a spinal issue that creates difficulty in walking, Caine said, “I think it would be, yeah. I don’t have any, there haven’t been any offers, obviously, for two years because nobody’s been making any movies that I want to do, but also, I’m 88. There’s not exactly scripts pouring out for a leading man who’s 88, you know?” Caine responded to Simon Mayo when asking for confirmation that “Harris Shaw” would be the final role the two-time Oscar recipient would take on. If Sir Michael is looking for leading man work, he should get in touch with Clint Eastwood; he just put out a banger in Cry Macho at the spry age of 91!
As much as the clip sounded like a confirmation of The Prestige star hanging it up, Deadline received word from the man himself: “I’ve spent over 50 years getting up at 6:00 A.M. to make movies, and I’m not getting rid of my alarm clock!” That’s a man’s answer right there!
In August, Caine spoke with Variety about the subject of retirement. “I never did retire. I mean I’m 88 – people are not knocking at my door trying to give me a script. But occasionally there is a part,” using similar phrasing to the recent clip. “If I retired at 65, I would never have won an Academy Award [Cider House Rules, for which he won Best Supporting Actor at 66], I would have never done a picture with Jack Nicholson [Blood & Wine; how Nicholson convinced Caine to prolong his career is a fascinating story in itself – the clip below is Caine on Letterman explaining it as well] and would not have done all those [Batman] movies with Christopher Nolan.” Arguably his most notable and memorable performances came after his initial flirtation with retirement.
As long as he’s still willing, we’re still ready for one of the greatest thespians to continue engaging in his craft!
