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Top 10 Michael Caine

With recent roles in Inception as Leo DiCaprio's mentor and father-in-low, as a vigilante pensioner in Harry Brown and currently filming the third in Christopher Nolan's Batman films, there's no stopping Michael Caine. In fact, when a British tabloid claimed Harry Brown would be his last lead role, he angrily refuted the suggestion. We look back at his best moments so far.

His Top 10 Films

Zulu (1964)

For his first major film role, Michael Caine’s nerves reportedly got the better of him, resulting in a sketchy screen-test for the part of Lieutenant Gonville Bromhead. Caine had originally hoped to play Private Henry Hook, but lost out to a much smoother James Booth. Although riddled with historical inaccuracies, this epic battle picture was nominated for a BAFTA in 1965.

Rent

The Ipcress File (1965)

Caine almost wasn’t placed in the picture for Sidney J. Furie’s BAFTA-winning, The Ipcress File. The film, based on Len Deighton's novel, was initially offered to Christopher Plummer but he later dropped out to frolic with Julie Andrews in The Sound Of Music. Caine’s clumsiness is rumoured to have halted production after numerous pairs of glasses, worn by his character Harry Palmer, were broken.

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Alfie (1966)

Replete with smooth-talking cockney bravado, Caine slipped into the role of Alfie with ease. Nominated for five Academy Awards, director Lewis Gilbert and writer Bill Naughton’s comedy drama didn’t shy away from taboo subjects such as womanising and abortion, much to critics’ praise, and bravely broke the fourth wall with its brash, face-to-screen narration style.

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The Italian Job (1969)

Caine clinched the role of Charlie Croker over Hollywood counterpart Robert Redford, who was said to have had first dibs on it. The film’s literal cliff-hanger ending is only one of many final scenes written for the film, as producer Michael Deeley wanted the final moments to leave the narrative open for a sequel. This has not (yet) appeared, though the film got a modern-day make-over in 2003.

Rent

Get Carter (1971)

Based on Ted Lewis' 1969 novel, Jack's Return Home, Get Carter sees Caine as a mobster who embarks on a trail of revenge against the dreary backdrop of Newcastle. As a first time writer and director, Mike Hodges’ creation was primarily met with mixed reviews, but has since garnered a cult following and appeared on several credible best film lists. The same cannot be said for the 2000 remake starring Sylvester Stallone.

Rent

Sleuth (1972)

Playwright Anthony Shaffer’s Tony Award-winning play was adapted for the silver screen, with Laurence Olivier as a scheming husband who pays off his wife’s lover (Caine). A third choice for the part behind Albert Finney and Alan Bates, Caine is rumoured to have been beside himself at the prospect of working with Olivier. The film was Oscar and BAFTA nominated, four times in each case.

Rent

The Man Who Would Be King (1975)

In The Man Who Would Be King, Caine teamed up with the suave stylings of Sean Connery for a tale based on the short story by Rudyard Kipling, in which two adventurers become kings of Kafiristan. Curiously, John Huston was having trouble casting the character of Roxanne, so Caine’s wife Shakira stepped up to play the part. The film was nominated for four Oscars

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Educating Rita (1983)

With eight BAFTA nominations under his belt, Caine’s glory finally came in 1983, when he won the Best Actor gong for his portrayal of Dr. Frank Bryant in Educating Rita. Lewis Gilbert’s screen adaptation of Willy Russell’s play was also nominated for three Oscars and received rave reviews from critics. Caine’s co-star Julie Walters was reprising on film the role in which she had made her London stage debut.

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Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988)

Rock legends Mick Jagger and David Bowie put this project into motion by approaching film producers about a remake of 1964 film Bedtime Stories, starring David Niven and Marlon Brando, intending to star themselves. When screenwriter Dale Launer came on board, Jagger and Bowie pulled out, and replaced by Steve Martin and Caine in a hugely memorable comic duet.

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Batman Begins/Dark Knight (2005/2009)

Caine added an Oscar to his trophy cabinet for The Cider House Rules in 1999, but perhaps a more popular crown to his four decades of screen success came when he joined the cast of Christopher Nolan’s Batman reboot. As Alfred, the stalwart British butler of billionaire Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale), Caine graced Nolan’s dramatic crime-thriller with a silvery flash of levity and gravitas, and reprised the role four years later in the Oscar-winning Dark Knight.

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Jennifer Trevorrow