Michael Caine Quotes

Michael Caine shares sly, candid anecdotes about acting, fame, and the quirks of a long-lasting career.

21 quotes

1. In 1967: I've never been out with a married woman, never. I respect others' properties.

2. [about starring in 'Jaws: The Revenge'] I have never seen it, but by all accounts it is terrible. However, I have seen the house that it built, and it is terrific.

3. 'I am in so many movies that are on TV at 2:00 a.m. that people think I am dead.'

4. 'I used to get the girl; now I get the part. In 'The Quiet American' you may have noticed I got the part and the girl. It's a milestone for me, because it's the last time I'm going to get the girl. I'm sure of it, now I'm nearly 70.'

5. 'Movie acting is about covering the machinery. Stage acting is about exposing the machinery. In cinema, you should think the actor is playing himself, if he's that good. It looks very easy. It should. But it's not, I assure you. To disappear your complete self into a character is quite difficult. I've tried it 85 times, and I've succeeded two or three times.'

6. 'The best research [for playing a drunk] is being a British actor for 20 years.'

7. 'First of all, I choose the great [roles], and if none of these come, I choose the mediocre ones, and if they don't come, I choose the ones that pay the rent.'

8. You start pretending to have fun, you might have a little by accident.

9. If you held a pistol at my head, I couldn't tell you who they're going to vote for Best Actor.

10. I wear a baseball cap all the time, which I would never normally wear, and I walk very fast.

11. I've always loved reprehensible people because they're so much more interesting to play on screen.

12. I want to stick around with the big boys. I don't want to be in the old folks home.

13. I've been on movies where I literally couldn't hear what the other actor was saying. It's very awkward.

14. My father was a fish market porter. So I grew up on fish, because he used to steal one a day, I grew up on the very best fish that money could buy, 'cause he only stole the good stuff.

15. The trouble with women? Elbows.

16. To be a movie star, you have to carry a movie. And to carry a movie where you play the title role is the supreme example.

17. Just because I have made a point of never losing my accent it doesn't mean I'm an eel-and-pie yob.

18. That to me is what my idea of film acting should be. There shouldn't be any acting. You should just be watching a real person.

19. If you're a leading actor you don't work with another actor. You work with a lady.

20. I try to make everyone around me feel comfortable.

21. You can see all sorts of things in film acting if you know where to look and what to look for. One thing I often notice is that the actor is looking for his mark, the place where he has to stand to be in the right place in the shot.