Blowing the Bloody Doors Off

September 1, 2018
An actor's secrets for success include showing up on time.Now 85, Caine (The Elephant to Hollywood, 2010, etc.) melds candid anecdotes and a master class on acting into an upbeat, unpretentious, and star-studded memoir. Born to poor, working-class parents, Maurice Joseph Micklewhite was not destined to become an international film icon. "I am living proof," he writes, "that, whatever your start in life, you can make it." Caine attributes his success to hard work, determination, stamina, the influence of his mother's indomitable spirit, and pure luck. When he began his career in the 1960s, he observes, working-class actors like himself, Sean Connery, and Roger Moore were increasingly able to find roles in plays and screenplays by writers such as John Osborne, Alan Sillitoe, and Harold Pinter. Still, he admits that the first decade of his career was difficult. "Success is survival," he remarks, and "comes from doing." His Oscar-nominated performance in Alfie, released in 1966, proved a turning point; in the next four years, he made 12 movies, and by 1972, he had major roles in 20. Among at least 100 directors he worked with, he singles out for special praise the fatherly John Huston, coolly distant Brian de Palma, perfectionist Woody Allen, and the brilliant Chris Nolan, who offered him the delectable part of Batman's butler. Although Caine enjoys the attention and perks of being a star, he cautions actors against acting like divas--e.g., the imperious Laurence Olivier or the pampered Elizabeth Taylor. Treat everyone on the set equally, he advises, and prepare assiduously. "Confidence comes from experience plus preparation," he writes. Know your character so well "you're thinking his or her thoughts." Caine is forthcoming about some low points--e.g., when he tried to self-medicate with alcohol and 80 cigarettes per day until friends, and his beloved wife, intervened. When he stopped being offered major roles in the early 1990s, he thought about retiring from acting but instead decided to reinvent himself as a character actor.Warm recollections and practical advice from an acclaimed star.

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October 15, 2018
Oscar-winning British actor Caine (What’s It All About?) mines his long career for entertaining anecdotes and life lessons in this genial memoir, taking readers from his childhood in a London slum to his years as a struggling unknown—one studio canceled his contract because an executive thought he looked gay—to major roles in hits such as Alfie, Sleuth, and Batman Begins. Much of the book is blithe showbiz picaresque, stocked with A-listers including John Wayne and Beyoncé and full of filmmaking pratfalls. (“The bees were shitting on us,” he writes of a scene in The Swarm, which he cheerfully allows may be “the worst movie ever made.”) From these vignettes, Caine distills advice on topics including acting mechanics (“Stand straight and you look younger; round your shoulders for instant aging”) and success strategies (“You are always auditioning”), and delivers generic pep talks (“Any time you learn from a failure, it’s a success”). His pensées gain resonance from deeply felt passages on the grueling rejection and insecurity of an actor’s life, the sting of being typecast as an “ignorant cockney bastard,” and the immersion in craft and preparation that overcome obstacles. Caine’s writing—funny, warm, down-to-earth—will captivate fans and casual readers alike.

October 15, 2018
He may have played a dirty rotten scoundrel in the 1988 movie of the same name, but in real life actor Michael Caine is a dedicated, respectful star whose personal and professional attitudes and actions rise far above anything as nefarious as his film role might suggest. Despite a recognizable Cockney accent signaling his roots as an impoverished youth from a rough-and-tumble London neighborhood, Caine attributes his unlikely pursuit of an acting career to a deep desire to avoid following in his working-class father's footsteps. Blessed with iconic hits and plagued with ironic misses, Caine made career choices that each came with its own teachable moment. Now in his 85th year, with more than 100 films and two Academy Awards to his credit, Caine reflects on an exceptional life on and off stage and shares pertinent advice and poignant observations in a dishy and anecdotal rumination. Caine's pithy but passionate counsel can be applied to nearly any situation. Gracious, generous, and humble, this consummate professional is a generous advocate for creating a fulfilling and contented life.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)

May 1, 2018

Two-time Academy Award winner Caine looks back over his 100-plus movies.

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