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Fri 12 December 2025 17:45, UK
If anyone has watched cinema’s drastic evolution over the years, then it’s Michael Caine, who began acting way back in the 1950s.
He landed a job in a theatre when he first moved into the performance world, which proved to be the key to his success, starting to gain experience in the world of acting here, occasionally starring in productions as an extra, and before he knew it, he’d made enough connections to appear in a few films, although nothing was exactly helping him to break through.
Things suddenly changed in the 1960s, however, which was a time of increased visibility for working-class actors in the country. Caine went from appearing in an uncredited part in the 1963 film The Wrong Arm of the Law to gaining a supporting part in Zulu the following year. Two years later, he was nominated for an Oscar.
Caine’s career moved fast from that point, and he has since become British acting royalty, known for playing British gangsters with his Cockney accent, making him instantly recognisable. As roles kept coming, he was soon swept off to Hollywood, and he has appeared in movies by everyone from Woody Allen to Christopher Nolan, although a few mishaps certainly surfaced from time to time.
Let’s not talk about Jaws: The Revenge or The Swarm, which certainly weren’t the finest displays of his talent. Still, Caine has lent himself to roles as diverse as The Muppet Christmas Carol and Miss Congeniality, so really, nothing is off limits to the actor.
It seems like he just loves to act, and he’s not afraid to admit that he also loves a good cheque. Sometimes you need a job, and if that means doing a movie that’s probably not going to gain Oscar acclaim (he’s already got two golden statuettes), then so be it.
Throughout his career, there have been several times when Caine has said he’s going to pack it in, though, finally putting to bed a long career as one of Hollywood’s most beloved stars. Yet, multiple times he has gone back on his word, coming out of retirement for just one more movie (and perhaps one more cheque?).
For a while, we all believed that The Great Escaper was going to be Caine’s last role, considering that it came out when he was 90, but now, two years on, he has plans to star in a new Vin Diesel film, The Last Witch Hunter 2, as a favour to his unlikely friend.
Back in 2009, Caine had claimed that Harry Brown would be his last film, so you can never really be sure if the actor is telling the truth.
He told The Guardian, “Yeah. I play Charles Darwin. And that’ll be it. I won’t do another one after.” It does appear that a movie with Caine as Darwin will never happen now, considering that Caine was recently seen on the red carpet in a wheelchair. Darwin also died when he was in his early 70s, too, which is much younger than Caine, who is going to be 93 in a few months’ time.
So, will The Last Witch Hunter 2 be his last role? I guess if anyone can bring him out of supposed retirement, it’s Diesel.
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