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I’ve always loved reprehensible people because they’re so much more interesting to play on screen.

Michael Caine

The basic rule of human nature is that powerful people speak slowly and subservient people quickly – because if they don’t speak fast enough, nobody will listen to them.
MICHAEL CAINE

Enough Fast Human Listening Nature People Powerful Rule Speak
It’s a lesson in life – don’t look back, you’ll trip over.
MICHAEL CAINE

Lesson Life Past Sight Trip Yourself
You start pretending to have fun, you might have a little by accident.
MICHAEL CAINE

Accident Fun Pretend Start Yourself
I’m the audience’s representative on earth.
MICHAEL CAINE

Audience Earth Myself Representation
For all my education, accomplishments, and so called ‘wisdom’… I can’t fathom my own heart.
MICHAEL CAINE

Accomplishment Education Heart Myself Wisdom
I never listened to the people who said I should give it up, which is the main advice I got.
MICHAEL CAINE

Advice Listening Myself People
The old guys like me started in the theatre. I was in the theatre for nine years.
MICHAEL CAINE

Man Myself Old Start Theatre Time
The difference between a movie star and a movie actor is this – a movie star will say, ‘How can I change the script to suit me?’ and a movie actor will say. ‘How can I change me to suit the script?’
MICHAEL CAINE

Change Difference Movie
In film, other actors’ performances really are not your concern. If the other actor isn’t giving you what you want, act as though he were.
MICHAEL CAINE

Concern Performance Yourself
There was a certain moment. I was about 61 – two, three or four, and I got a script. And I sent it back to the producer saying – “I don’t wanna do it. The part’s too small.” And he sent it back to me, he said, “You shouldn’t read the lover. You should read the father.
MICHAEL CAINE

Age Father Lover Moments Movie Reading Scripture Time Yourself
Don’t sit as if you have nothing to say. You should be bursting with things to say. You just choose at this particular place and time, not to say them.
MICHAEL CAINE

Choice Place Time Yourself
At age 11, I went to a Jewish school. I speak Yiddish. I’m Church of England Protestant. My father was Catholic, and my mother was Protestant. My wife is a Muslim.
MICHAEL CAINE

Age Children Father Relationship Religion Talk
Anyone can write. But comedy, you’ve got to do some writing. You get one comedy script to every 20 dramas.
MICHAEL CAINE

Comedy Drama Oneself Writing
Funny things happen to you in movies for silly reasons.
MICHAEL CAINE

Funny Movie Scene Yourself
I am a great admirer of other actors, but I never compete with other actors. I always compete with what I did last, and I’m my own most vicious critic. So I’m always trying to do it better.
MICHAEL CAINE

Actor Better Compete Criticism Greatness Myself Try
I’ve never been out with a married woman, never. I respect others’ properties.
MICHAEL CAINE

Marriage Myself Property Respect Togetherness Woman
I always exposed the weakness rather than the nastiness.
MICHAEL CAINE

Myself Nasty Weakness
It’s much harder to act in a bad film than in a good one. A terrible script makes for very difficult acting. You can win an Academy Award for some of the easiest acting in your career, made possible by a brilliant script.
MICHAEL CAINE

Act Award Bad Brilliant Career Difficult Easy Hard Scripture
I’ve never taken drugs – if you take a drug of your choice, you get some ecstatic feeling.
MICHAEL CAINE

Choice Drugs Happiness Yourself
When you reach the top, that’s when the climb begins.
MICHAEL CAINE

Climb Deep Reach Success Top Yourself
What a lot of people dont realize about gangs, in my opinion, is that a gang is not there to attack you. Eighty percent of the people in a gang are there to stop anyone from attacking them. You join a gang for protection, not to go out and hit someone.
MICHAEL CAINE

Attack Hit Opinion People Protection Yourself
The trouble with women? Elbows.
MICHAEL CAINE

Hands Trouble Woman
Theater acting is an operation with a scalpel, movie acting is an operation with a laser.
MICHAEL CAINE

Movie Operation Theatre
I never bring a role home with me. The moment they say, ‘It’s a wrap,’ it’s gone completely. I’m a totally ruthless professional, and life is my family, not my work.
MICHAEL CAINE

Family Home Life Moments Myself Professional Ruth
That to me is what my idea of film acting should be. There shouldn’t be any acting. You should just be watching a real person.
MICHAEL CAINE

Ideas Movie Person Reality Watch Yourself
Be like a duck. Calm on the surface, but always paddling like the dickens underneath.
MICHAEL CAINE

Calm Hard Work Hustle Myself Surface
I usually control the environment I’m in, but my control is very quiet and subtle.
MICHAEL CAINE

Control Environment Myself Quiet Subtle

I’ve always loved reprehensible people because they’re so much more interesting to play on screen.

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I’ve always loved reprehensible people because they’re so much more interesting to play on screen.

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