Caine, Michael (1933– )

English screen actor. He is a prolific and versatile performer with an enduring Cockney streak. His first major success was in Alfie (1966). He has played historical roles in Zulu (1964) and The Man Who Would Be King (1975), hardboiled psychopaths in Get Carter (1971) and Mona Lisa (1986), and comic buffoons in Educating Rita (1983) and Sweet Liberty (1986). He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for both Hannah and Her Sisters (1986) and The Cider House Rules (1999), and the Golden Globe for Best Actor for Little Voice (1998).

He played novelist Len Deighton's reluctant spy Harry Palmer in a trilogy of films: The Ipcress File (1965), Funeral in Berlin (1966), and Billion Dollar Brain (1967). Since the 1970s, Caine has continued his prolific output, although often proving himself willing to feature in low-quality fare.

His other works include The Italian Job (1969), Sleuth (1972), The Eagle Has Landed (1976), On Deadly Ground (1994), Midnight in St Petersburg (1995), Mandela and de Klerk (1997), Quills (2000), Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002), The Quiet American (2002), Children of Men (2006), and The Prestige (2006).

He was knighted as Sir Maurice Micklewhite in 2000.