The only actor Michael Caine worked with who “never fluffed a line”
You’d think that an actor being in the business a long time would guarantee a certain level of professionalism, but not every star has the sophisticated kind of competence that you’d expect from someone of their calibre. Just look at Marlon Brando.
Grumbling his way through lines, the legendary actor might have turned in many terrific performances, but he was known for struggling to remember his lines without being prompted, while his attitude could vary from idiotic to plain rude. The filming of The Island of Dr Moreau was a disaster, for example, with Brando requesting his lines through an earpiece. How was this the same man who led movies like A Streetcar Named Desire and The Godfather?
This isn’t true for all actors, of course – not everyone possesses this level of flippancy. You see, British icon Michael Caine had the pleasure of working with an actor whom he claimed “never fluffed a line.” Now that’s professionalism.
Caine has had the joys of working with many incredible actors since he made his screen debut all the way back in 1950, but only one stood out as the greatest at the job. In 1972, Caine was cast alongside one of Hollywood’s most well-known stars, Elizabeth Taylor, in the British film X Y & Zee. Here, he found himself impressed by her sheer talent – this was someone who knew what she was doing, unlike anyone else.
In fact, Caine once detailed his time working with Taylor, writing, “Elizabeth turned out to be absolutely charming, no trouble at all and very professional – the only actor I ever worked with who never ever fluffed a line.” He continued, “We worked well together, quickly became friends and have remained so to this day.”
He echoed this sentiment when he spoke to People in 2010, explaining, “She knew her lines, she never fluffed — she was perfect. In fact, I fluffed my lines far more than she did. She was sweet as pie. Lovely.”
Caine and Taylor just seemed to get each other, even though they came from completely different parts of the industry. She was known for being a glamorous Hollywood star, having played iconic roles in the likes of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and the bloody expensive Cleopatra. Meanwhile, Caine had emerged from a working-class area of London, working his way up from a local theatre to eventual success in the big fucking leagues, with his first Oscar nomination coming in 1966 for Alfie.
Their cultural differences evidently didn’t matter, and Caine came to admire Taylor’s professionalism and sense of humour, which allowed them to work well together. X Y & Zee might not have been a masterpiece, but Caine walked away from the project happy, having worked with such a legendary Hollywood icon.
The height difference between the pair even spawned an inside joke between the two, with Caine fearing that people would think he was short when Taylor was forced to stand on a box for a scene so that they could both fit in a frame.
“After I had done this a couple of times, I told her that, as everybody knew she was short, they would now assume that I was the same height. ‘I am going to look like Mickey Rooney in this picture,’ I commented. She laughed and that was it – to this day she still calls me Mickey and, I might add, she is the only person in the world allowed to do so,” Caine concluded.
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