When Michael Caine hilariously disrupted Kate Winslet’s performance
Often, an actor’s performance can depend entirely on what their co-stars are willing to give them while on set. For Kate Winslet, this is the ultimate gift an actor can give to another, allowing them the room to feel comfortable and free. We often hear of masterful films beset by disastrous sets, but these are rare exceptions, and usually, triumphs are borne from creative harmony.
This is exactly how Winslet feels. Explaining to AboutFilm, she said, “You’re very lucky if you work with an actor who is brilliant and very inspiring, and gives you a lot, and that’s why I try and do that myself, you know if I’m doing off-camera dialogue.”
But, more often than not, actors are more concerned with what they can get from their co-stars instead of what they can give. And occasionally, what they give to their co-stars is inevitably a distraction, which is exactly what Michael Caine gifted to Winslet on the set of Quills.
Quills was a 2000 period film based on the life of the Marquis de Sade, featuring Winslet and Caine alongside Geoffrey Rush and Joaquin Phoenix. At the time, Winslet had performed alongside the likes of – most famously – Leonardo DiCaprio, Kenneth Branagh and Harvey Keitel, so she had come to expect being given plenty to work with from her fellow actors.
But the one time she allowed an actor to distract her from her performance and not give quite as much as she did was when she was working alongside Caine. During one scene, when everyone else had had their close-ups and she had been “acting [her] heart out” for them, it came to her turn, and Caine decided to get out of costume. She explained, “Michael Caine, the great Michael Caine, Sir Michael Caine—turned around to me and said [adopting Caine’s accent], ‘Darling, do you mind, I just—I’ve got to be somewhere a little bit later. Do you mind if I just take my costume off?’”
Thinking that he meant simply removing his wig or jacket, she was surprised when he went “back to the dressing room, wig off, full normal clothing on”. Given that Quills was set in 1790 during The Reign of Terror in France, the costumes were an important part of the production. So imagine Caine acting the part of 18th-century French psychiatrist Dr Royer-Collard in a casual button-down shirt and blazer. That’s sure to be distracting.
However, Winslet assured AboutFilm that he still “acted his heart out” and that it would be impossible not to forgive a great actor for such a distraction. After all, Caine is known for being “so charming and so funny”, which Winslet confirmed.
To the actor, it seems that the acting of your co-star is the truly important part, and she explained that she always tries to give her all to her co-stars. Talking to AboutFilm on starring alongside Jim Carrey in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, the actor explained, “If Jim was doing a scene where the camera was just on him, I would be off camera acting my ass off because otherwise, he wouldn’t have had anything to react to. You have to commit to that and continue to be that character off-camera.”
It’s quite ironic then that it wasn’t one of the actors known for his on-set pranks and antics wasn’t the one to distract Kate Winslet, but the gentlemanly Michael Caine! The real question is: what were his ever-so-important plans that evening?
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