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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

I have been rich and I have been poor. I know which one I prefer.
MICHAEL CAINE

Myself Poor Preference Rich
Movie acting is about covering the machinery. Stage acting is about exposing the machinery. In cinema, you should think the actor is playing himself, if he’s that good. It looks very easy. It should. But it’s not, I assure you.
MICHAEL CAINE

Act Cinema Easy Goodness Machine Movie Stage Yourself
Books were my window on the world. Growing up at the Elephant and Castle, which was very rough, my paradise was the library.
MICHAEL CAINE

Book Castle Library Myself Window World
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
Use the difficulties – if you can’t avoid them
MICHAEL CAINE

Avoid Choice Difficult Inspirational Perspective Yourself
My father was a fish market porter. So I grew up on fish, because he used to steal one a day, I grew up on the very best fish that money could buy, ’cause he only stole the good stuff.
MICHAEL CAINE

Father Food Goodness Growth Money Myself Occupation Steal
I prefer to remake flops. Dirty Rotten Scoundrels was a remake of a flop, and The Quiet American is a remake of a flop.
MICHAEL CAINE

Choice Movie Myself Preference Repeat
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 don’t see myself as anything. I just wander around getting on with my life.
MICHAEL CAINE

Life Myself See Sight
Acting is not a competition; everything must be done for the good of the film or else everybody loses.
MICHAEL CAINE

Act Competition Goodness Lose Movie
I was so poor for so long that I didn’t use anything. I didn’t drive cars, I didn’t eat very much. So, I figured the world owed me a debt, so I’ve been eating very well and have had a very big car for a long time. But I still haven’t caught up with my youth.
MICHAEL CAINE

Age Car Drive Eat Myself Poor Youth
There’s only two things I hate in this world. People who are intolerant of other people’s cultures and the Dutch.
MICHAEL CAINE

Culture Hate Myself People Tolerance World
I never look back at all. All of my sentiment and emotion goes into my family. I’m an extremely family oriented person and I have a very, very happy family life. That doesn’t just include blood relations. I have friends who are close to me.
MICHAEL CAINE

Emotion Family Friendship Life Myself Person Relationship
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
If you’re a movie actor, you’re on your own – you cannot control the stage. The director controls it.
MICHAEL CAINE

Control Director Movie Power Yourself
I’m looking for me to disappear, and the acting to disappear, and all you see is a real person.
MICHAEL CAINE

Act Disappear Myself Person Reality
To me, growing old is great. It’s the very best thing – considering the alternative.
MICHAEL CAINE

Alternative Best Growth Myself Old
Be like a duck. Calm on the surface, but always paddling like the dickens underneath.
MICHAEL CAINE

Calm Hard Work Hustle Myself Surface
When I look in the mirror, I see someone who’s happy with how he looks, because I was never one of the handsome Hollywood people. And I’ve had success as I’ve gotten older, because I’m able to play characters. I no longer get the girl, but I get the part.
MICHAEL CAINE

Character Happiness Mirror Myself People Play
I did everything. I ran my life exactly as I wanted to, all the time. I never listened to anybody. I’m pig-headed.
MICHAEL CAINE

Head Life Listening Myself Time
My most useful acting tip came from my pal John Wayne. Talk low, talk slow, and don’t say too much.
MICHAEL CAINE

Act Advice Friendship Low Slow Talk
Maybe it’s time we all stop trying to outsmart the truth and let it have its day.
MICHAEL CAINE

Day Smart Stop Time Truth
You can’t get blase about something you haven’t done yet.
MICHAEL CAINE

Action Work Yourself
I feel like 35. At 35 you’re old enough to know something and young enough to look forward to what you can do with the knowledge. So I stayed at 35!
MICHAEL CAINE

Enough Feeling Knowledge Myself Old Stay
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
Save your money. You’re going to need twice as much money in your old age as you think.
MICHAEL CAINE

Age Money Old Save Thinking Yourself
Be patient.Of course it will come. It took me years to get an Oscar.
MICHAEL CAINE

Myself Patience Reward Time

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.

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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.

Related Topics

Popular Authors

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