One movie gave Michael Caine the chance to work with his “favourite director”
Michael Caine‘s name has long since been etched into the annals of cinematic history. Walking into the figurative library of film, one which encompasses the entire world’s work, it would be hard not to see at least small monuments arranged to celebrate the brilliance of Caine.
A working-class figurehead, Caine proved that it was possible to break out of Britain’s class system and find greatness on the stage and screen. An industry that had been previously shut off to working lads like Caine, the young man would use his charisma and charm to become an indelible piece of the British theatre and film industry, before he finally found his way across the Atlantic and onto the screens of Hollywood.
Most directors would consider themselves lucky to have worked with an actor like Michael Caine during their lifetime. Although it’s any good director’s job to give actors a sense of purpose whenever the camera starts rolling, Caine’s unique approach to the medium has led to some of the most spellbinding performances of the past 40 years of filmmaking. Over those years, it’s still possible for Caine to get starstruck, and he thought that his ‘pinch-me’ moment came when working on The Man Who Would Be King.
The number of people working on the film is practically a ‘We Are the World’ of British actors from the 1970s. Outside of Caine, bringing Sean Connery and Christopher Plummer under one roof to create an action film is the kind of movie that writes itself. You need to have someone capable at the wheel, though, and John Huston could have done that in his sleep.
Having already been the man behind movies like Asphalt Jungle and Moulin Rouge, Huston was practically a living legend of Hollywood before he began work on the adaptation of the beloved Rudyard Kipling novel. Though the script tends to stick very close to the book, any extensions come from the actor’s careful attention to detail, always giving 110% on any line of dialogue.
When Caine was first offered the part, he was convinced that it was a joke and that someone was pranking him on the other end of the phone. Once Caine actually realised he was talking to the real John Huston, he met him at a bar next door to where he was staying to discuss the part.
For Caine, this was something that he needed to think about for all of maybe two seconds, telling TimesTalks, “I’d never met John Huston. He was my favourite director…He said, ‘I was going to make it before, but Clark Gable and Humphrey Bogart died. Bogart was going to play your part’. Bogart was my favourite actor. He said, ‘I’ll send you a script,’ and I said, ‘I’ll do it, don’t worry.’”
Although any taking Humphrey Bogart’s shoes would have their work cut out for them, Caine took to the script like a fish in water. Even though more than a few shots may have seemed more suited to Bogart’s style of acting, Caine is absolutely electric on film working off of Connery. Since both of them were friends before they had even started work, it’s easy to see the chemistry of them working off each other despite being on very different sides of history.
That’s not to say that Caine didn’t have a few challenges when making the movie. During production, Caine was always looking to shadow Huston, trying to find some sense of direction, but the director didn’t want to hear it, saying that that was the call for the actors to make, not the director.
If anything, that kind of director is the golden ticket that any professional actor could ask for at the onset. Because no matter how many takes a shot might need to feel complete, it’s all about finding your comfort level whenever someone calls ‘ACTION’.
Never Miss A Tale
The Far Out Michael Caine Newsletter
All the latest stories about Michael Caine from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.