Michael Caine once picked out his most memorable projects
It has been almost 75 years since Michael Caine first stepped foot on a movie set and began carving out his place as one of the most influential actors in British cinema. Since then, he’s amassed a truly mammoth filmography, starring in well over 150 features ranging from con artist classics to disappointing Jaws sequels to superhero adaptations.
Individual picks for Caine’s most memorable role will likely change from generation to generation. To those who grew up in the 1960s, he’s the philandering protagonist of Alfie and the Cockney con-man from The Italian Job. To the kids of the 2000s, he’s Batman’s beloved butler in Christopher Nolan’s take on the superhero or the dubious sponsor of the magical four-piece at the centre of Now You See Me.
Almost every film in Caine’s catalogue has the potential to be his most memorable, as he adorns each role with his distinctive accent and British charm, but which movies have stuck with Caine for the longest? The actor answered the question or, more precisely, struggled to answer it, during a chat with Pop Entertainment back in 2009.
Well aware of just how wide-spanning his own work is, Caine prefaced his answer with, “Films are memorable for different reasons.” He went on to give just a few titles that have stuck with him, kicking things off with 1964’s Zulu, directed by Cy Endfield. Caine was still early on in his career when he took on the role of an ignorant Lieutenant. In fact, according to the actor, it was the “first speaking part where I had more than ten lines”.
Before then, Caine had secured small appearances in a number of other pictures but nothing on the level of Zulu. It’s easy to see why the project made a particular impression on Caine, giving him his first opportunity to stretch his wings behind the camera. It’s almost impossible to imagine Caine being cast in such reduced to tiny parts now, but even he had to start somewhere.
Caine’s picks all seem to follow this trend of pivotal moments in his career. His next pick was 1965’s The Ipcress File, which marked his first outing as Harry Palmer. For Caine, the film was particularly memorable because it was the first time his name appeared above the movie title. The film also marked the start of a series which would continue throughout the 1960s and cement Caine as a spy movie star.
Alfie also made a particular impact on Caine as it “opened a market for [him] in America,” while Dirty Rotten Scoundrels offered a particularly memorable experience behind the scenes. “They gave me a villa in the south of France for three months,” Caine remembered, “I’m still waiting for another movie like that. I’ve never gotten it.” He considers both to be among his favourite films in his own filmography.
Though Caine has accrued a vast filmography and worked with the best of the best, his picks for the most memorable moments in his career don’t stem from the biggest box office hits or the most impressive credits. Instead, the projects that have stayed with him for decades beyond their release are those that had a transformative impact on his career, marking his progression and opening up new opportunities. And, of course, the project that granted him three months in southern France.
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