On This Day

Birthday of Michael Caine

March 14th 1933

10:12 14 March 2024

English actor Sir Michael Caine was born on this day in 1933. Caine got his first credited film role in ‘A Hill in Korea’ (1956). It was one of many small parts in film and television before he landed his breakthrough role as an aristocratic army officer in ‘Zulu’ (1964). The role brought  him international recognition and he went on to star in a string of iconic movies throughout the 1960s and 70s including ‘The Ipcress File’ (1965), ‘Alfie’ (1966), ‘The Italian Job’ (1969), ‘Battle of Britain’ (1969), ‘Get Carter’ (1971), ‘Sleuth’ (1972), ‘The Man Who Would Be King’ (1975), ‘The Eagle Has Landed’ (1976) and ‘A Bridge Too Far’ (1977).

The 1980s brought critical acclaim with ‘Educating Rita’ (1983) earning him Golden Globe and BAFTA awards for Best Actor and ‘Hannah and Her Sisters’ earning him his first Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. Other notable film credits include ‘Dirty Rotten Scoundrels’ (1988), ‘The Muppet Christmas Carol’ (1992), ‘Little Voice’ (1998), ‘The Cider House Rules’ (1999), 'Secondhand Lions' (2003), ‘Children of Men’ (2006) and ‘Harry Brown’ (2009). More recently, Michael Caine has been a regular collaborator with Christopher Nolan on a number of highly successful movies including ‘The Dark Knight’ trilogy (2005-2012), ‘The Prestige’ (2006), ‘Inception’ (2010), ‘Interstellar’ (2014) and ‘Tenet’ (2020).

In a career spanning eight decades, Michael Caine has appeared in more than 160 films that have grossed more than $7.8 billion worldwide. He is one of only two actors to be nominated for an Academy Award in every decade from the 1960s to the 2000s (the other being Jack Nicholson). In October 2023, the actor announced his retirement from acting, with ‘The Great Escaper (2023) being his final film. A British film icon and one of the greatest movie stars of all time. Happy Birthday Sir Michael.