Caine, set, match for lifetime achievement

It is a long road from the projects of south London to Peninsula Hotel in Beverly Hills, where Michael Caine is reflecting on his rough-and-tumble roots.

“It's called the Elephant Castle,'' recalls Caine, who retains the cockney accent — and the lack of pretension — of his childhood home. “It's very, very rough.''

The memories are fresh in his mind because the two-time Oscar winner (Hannah and Her Sisters, The Cider House Rules) recently completed a film, Harry Brown, in his old neighbourhood.

“It was amazing,'' he says. “There was a mural with me on it and Charlie Chaplin, who is from there as well. It's Charlie Chaplin in The Kid and me with my mum.''

Caine, who has given indelible performance after indelible performance in the last four decades in such films as Alfie, The Man Who Would Be King and The Dark Knight, was from his home in England to talk about his latest movie, Is There Anybody There? He also was scheduled to receive ShoWest's lifetime achievement award.

“It's an extraordinary thing to get,'' says Caine, trim and fit at 76, of the honour from the movie exhibitors' convention. “They are tough. There is no sentiment there. I have been to ShoWest before. They are not a namby-pamby crowd.''

But you would be hard-pressed to find anybody saying an unkind word about Caine as an actor or as a person.

“He is the actor of actors,'' says Mitch Neuhauser, co-managing director of ShoWest.

"What makes this tribute at ShoWest so appropriate and so meaningful is that over the course of his career he has been responsible for providing hours and hours of entertainment for audiences worldwide.''

“He makes it look easy,'' adds film critic-historian Leonard Maltin. “That is the mark of a true artiste. He started out as a young-stud leading man but then showed he had skills to back up his charisma, so he earned respect to go along with his stardom.''

Reinventer of image

Caine, born Maurice Micklewhite, reinvented himself again as he got older.

“He didn't shy away from character parts,'' Maltin says. He always found a way to bring colour and life to any role he played.

He is a very skilled craftsman, as he proved in a series of illustrated lectures (on the craft of acting) he did some years ago for the BBC. But he never lets you know the wheels are turning.''

In a way, Caine became a role model for younger film stars by toggling between mainstream fare and smaller indie projects such as Is There Anybody There? In the touching drama directed by John Crowley (Boy A), Caine plays Clarence, a grumpy old magician who arrives unwillingly to live in an old-folks' home.

It doesn't take long, though, for Clarence to befriend Edward (Bill Milner), the 10-year-old son of the home's owners.

As Clarence disappears further into senility, Edward becomes his caretaker.

“One of my closest friends — he was only 68 — just died of Alzheimer's,'' says Caine softly. “I know of where I speak.''

Perhaps it is that deep connection with dementia that allowed Caine to give such a performance — Clarence wears his emotions on his sleeve, including crying over the loss of his past life and getting angry when he can't remember who he is.

“Dougie having dementia was a reason I wanted to do it,'' Caine says. “But also from a selfish point of view, it was a great part to do. I'm now looking for things that are different and stretch me. I don't work very much. So a movie has to grab me.''

Connections and a co-star

Caine particularly loved the relationship between Clarence and Edward and “how I become responsible for the boy and try to help him and eventually how he became responsible to me''.

Caine developed a deep affection for his young co-star, who was previously seen in Son of Rambow.

“He is not a trained actor,'' Caine says. “So it was easy. We got to know each other very well. People say to me, ‘Did you give him advice?' I wouldn't think of giving Billy advice.''

Caine hadn't talked to many people who had seen the film until the previous evening when he participated in a question-and-answer session in Los Angeles after a screening. “They seemed impressed with the movie,'' he says.

But his wife, Shakira, was a basket case when she saw it. “She got very upset,'' Caine says, “because she watched me grow old and die. I said, ‘It's a performance. I am not like him. I am not the same person.'''

Flashback and emotions

Michael Caine has starred in some of the best-loved modern films. But what does he think of them? We asked him to offer his opinions on some of his most popular characters and films.