Michael Caine confirms retirement from acting
Legendary British actor Michael Caine, who turned 90 earlier this year, has confirmed his retirement and stated the upcoming film The Great Escaper will “probably” be his last.
In 2021, Caine played down rumours of his impending retirement after he previously claimed in an interview that his “last part” was in the film Best Sellers. Taking to Twitter, he calmed fans by writing: “I haven’t retired and not a lot of people know that.”
However, it now seems that Caine is prepared to walk back from acting following the release of The Great Escaper. He stars in the film alongside the late Academy Award-winner Glenda Jackson, who passed away in June aged 87.
In a new interview, Caine said the role is “probably” his last, and spoke of his joy about bowing out on a positive note. “I was so happy to do it. I just loved the character of Bernie. I thought he was incredible, and it’s so beautifully written,” he said.
“With COVID and all that, I hadn’t done a picture for three years, and I thought I was finished. And I suddenly did it – and had such a wonderful time,” he admitted during the same interview with The Telegraph.
Caine also revealed he found it difficult from a physical perspective to play the role, noting: “They gave me a very good walking stick. And I was able to do scenes that needed that. I’d just do them once, and then fall over. But just one take, and that’s it. Forget it.”
Elsewhere in the interview, Caine confirmed he’s “sort of” retired, adding, “I am bloody 90 now, and I can’t walk properly and all that. I sort of am retired now. Anyway…”
Although he’s retired from acting, Caine plans to stay creative. In November, his debut thriller novel Deadly Game is set for release.
The synopsis for the upcoming novel reads, “[DCI Harry Taylor is] called in when just such a package is found, mysteriously abandoned in Stepney and stolen before the police can reclaim it. As security agencies around the world go to red alert, it is former SAS man Harry and his small team from the Met who must race against time to find who has the nuclear material and what they plan to do with it.”
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