Michael Caine

Michael Caine

Sir Michael Caine, CBE (born Maurice Joseph Micklewhite on 14 March 1933) is an English actor and author. Renowned for his distinctive Cockney accent, Caine has appeared in over one hundred films and is one of Britain's most recognisable actors.

He made his breakthrough in the 1960s with starring roles in a number of British films, including, Zulu (1964), The Ipcress File (1965), Alfie (1966), The Italian Job (1969), and Battle of Britain (1969). His most notable roles in the 1970s included, Get Carter (1971), The Man Who Would Be King (1975), and A Bridge Too Far (1978). He achieved critical success in the 1980s, with Educating Rita (1983) earning him the BAFTA and Golden Globe Award for Best Actor, and in 1986 he received an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Hannah and Her Sisters.

Caine played a British con-man in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988), and Ebenezer Scrooge in The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992). He received his second Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for The Cider House Rules (1999). Caine played Nigel Powers in the 2002 parody Austin Powers in Goldmember, and more recently portrayed Alfred Pennyworth, the butler in Christopher Nolan's the Dark Knight trilogy. He also appeared as supporting characters in Nolan's 2006 film The Prestige, 2010 film Inception and Pixar's 2011 spy film Cars 2.

Caine is one of only two actors nominated for an Academy Award for acting in every decade from the 1960s to 2000s (the other one being Jack Nicholson). In 2000, Caine was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in recognition of his contribution to cinema.