Michael Caine: Withdrawal from acting

Sir Michael Caine (88) draws a line. The two-time Oscar winner has announced his retirement from acting. On the BBC radio show “Kermode and Mayo’s Film Review”, he said, according to media reports, that his new film “Best Sellers” would be his last.

“Strangely enough, it turned out to be my last role,” he said. “Because I haven’t worked for two years and I have a spinal problem that affects my legs. So I can’t walk very well.” And he also wrote, “a few books that have been published and have been successful”. “So I’m not an actor anymore, I’m a writer, which is nice because as an actor you have to get up at 5:30 in the morning and go to the studio. As a writer, you can start writing without getting out of bed,” added Caine added.

That’s what his new film is about

The 88-year-old plays the writer Harris Shaw in “Best Sellers,” who reluctantly agrees to go on a tour to promote his first book in decades. His publisher Lucy Stanbridge (Aubrey Plaza) tracked him down to save her late father’s publishing house. The film, which was shot in Montreal in 2019, also stars Scott Speedman, Cary Elwes and Ellen Wong.

There have been no offers for him for two years, said Caine, “because nobody has made any films that I want to make. But I’m 88 too.” There aren’t many scripts with an 88-year-old leading actor.

Caine celebrated his breakthrough with the war film “Zulu” from 1964. This was followed by films such as “The seducer lets greet you” (1966), “Charlie dusts off millions” (1969), “Jack accounts” (1971) or “The man who wanted to be king “. So far, he is said to have been seen in over 160 films. Among other things, it won two Academy Awards and three Golden Globes.