Michael Caine has been doing movies longer than many of us have been alive, and it’s probably because he’s good at it. Or it’s because he’s British, and therefore sounds like a professional all the time, so people keep hiring him for things. Who really knows?! But the man has been in over 150 movies in his lifetime, which is less than Donald Sutherland, but still more than Anthony Hopkins. Maybe Hopkins would have come out on top if he opted to play Gandalf.
Still, Caine seems to be over the whole “prestigious actor” thing. He recently spoke to The Telegraph about his latest film The Great Escaper, and mentioned that he has been considering retirement since 2021, but now it feels real. “I wasn’t 90 then. I am bloody 90 now, and I can’t walk properly and all that. I sort of am retired now,” the actor admitted. What does “sort of” retired mean to a 90-year-old actor? Probably just showing up for a Chris Nolan movie every once in a while, or an Instagram post with Vin Diesel. Whichever comes first.
He says that he prefers to write, hence his new book, a thriller called Deadly Game out in the fall. “And I’m very happy with that because it’s something I can do without walking. All you need is a chair and a pencil and paper,” he explained. You probably also need a computer but hey, he’s 90, he can do what he wants.
Caine was also asked about death, which he is not afraid of. “Everybody’s going to die. At least I’ve lived to f***ing 90; I didn’t die at nine, or 19, or 29. I’m 90, and I’ve had the best possible life I could have thought of. The best possible wife, and the best possible family. They may not be a family that other people would say is the best possible family – but the best possible family for me.” The best part? He got to befriend The Muppets. And that’s what makes it all worth it.