Michael Caine receives award at Karlovy Vary film festival

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Sir Michael Caine changed his name a few times when he first entered the industry and struggled to get traction for years. Tonight, Sir Michael stars in 1969s The Italian Job alongside comedic legend Benny Hill. 

Sir Michael is now worth $80million (£65million) and is one of the highest-grossing box office stars with his movies bringing in billions. 

However, he didn’t start out in cinema with wealth, in fact the star was almost 30 and still struggling as a penniless actor. 

Sir Michael had dreams of being an actor from a young age and began acting in school plays at the age of 10, meaning the actor has spent almost 80 years perfecting his craft. 

He would later be widely quoted as saying: “I started with firm conviction that when I came to the end, I wanted to be regretting the things that I had done, not the things I hadn’t”. 

The actor would follow this motto throughout his career after leaving school at 16 to serve in the Queen’s Royal Regiment and Royal Fusiliers.

As part of his service Sir Michael spent time in Germany and Korea on active duty, noting that he faced death a few times in events that would shape his character for the rest of his life. 

When Sir Michael came back to the UK he immediately began working in the entertainment industry, which is where he met his first wife Patricia Haines who was also an actress. 

Sir Michael would have a fair share of acting time on stage, under the name Michael White, however in 1954 he found himself in a predicament. 

He moved to London, searching for bigger, better-paying roles and was forced to change his stage name as there was already another performer using the name Michael White. 

Sir Michael was walking past Odeon Cinema while talking to his agent on the phone. The cinema was showing The Caine Mutiny and thus Sir Michael’s stage name would take form. 

In 1956 Sir Michael believed he was getting his big break with his first role in a film for A Hill in Korea. 

Unfortunately the film was not as successful as many had hoped and at the same time the newlyweds welcomed their daughter Dominique. 

Sir Michael found work to be increasingly scarce, noting on his website that he found this period of his life “hard to cope with”. 

The family’s financial situation would become so dire it would ultimately spark the end of their marriage and Sir Michael moved back home “with a huge amount of guilt, out of work and penniless” according to his website.

His father couldn’t work as he was bedridden so Sir Michael took on a job in the steel yard, almost abandoning his artistic dreams entirely. 

Unfortunately, Sir Michael’s father would soon pass and he would lose his job in the steel yard as well. 

His mother encouraged him to “sort himself out”, so he fled to Paris working in a snack bar until he felt ready to return home. 

When he did, he accepted the role that would completely change his life. 

Sir Michael played Lieutenant Gonville Bromhead in the 1963 film Zulu which followed British soldiers throughout the battle at Rorke’s Drift in South Africa against the native Zulu warriors. 

Zulu smashed the box office, becoming one of the biggest hits in the British market at the time and started the incredible career of Sir Michael. 

Following Zulu, Sir Michael starred as Steve McQueen in 1966’s Alfie which grossed over 20 times more than its budget of $800,000 (£657,000). 

Sir Michael’s career would only go from strength to strength, finishing off the 1960s with The Italian Job.

His line “You’re only supposed to blow the bloody doors off” became a cultural phenomenon and was voted as the second funniest line in movie history according to Wealthy Genius. 

The Italian Job airs this afternoon on ITV4 at 3:50pm.

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