Michael Caine Announces Retirement From Acting

Sir Michael Caine starred in the dramedy film Best Sellers alongside Aubrey Plaza this year. The movie released on 17 September to moderate reviews. Caine starred as Harris Shaw in the movie, who is a retired author who goes on a final book tour in support of a young publisher. Now, Caine has announced that Best Sellers will be his last film.

Caine appeared in a multitude of iconic roles, such as the role of Alfred Pennyworth in the Dark Knight trilogy. He has also appeared in Inception and Tenet, He has appeared in more than 130 films and his career spans over 6o years, No wonder he is considered a British film icon.

Caine talked about his decision to retire while appearing on BBC Radio’s Kermode and Mayo’s Film Review. He listed a number of reasons namely his spine problem, the pandemic, and his age. He also seems to be more interested in writing now.

Funnily enough, it has turned out to be what is my last part really. Because I haven’t worked for two years, and I have a spine problem which affects my legs so I can’t walk very well, so… And I also wrote a book, a couple of books, which were published and were successful, so I’m now not an actor, I’m a writer. Which is lovely, because as an actor you have to get up at half past six in the morning and go to the studio. As a writer, you start writing without leaving the bed!

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I think it would be [my last picture], yeah. There haven’t been any offers honestly for two years, because nobody’s been making any movies I wanna do. Also, you know I’m 88. There’s not exactly scripts pouring out with a leading man that’s 88, you know?

Caine made his breakthrough in films in the 1960s with films such as Zulu, The Italian Job and Battle of Britain. He made strides in his career in the 1980s, with Dressed to Kill and Educating Rita, which earned him the BAFTA and Golden Globe Award for Best Actor. He went on to win his first Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for Hannah and Her Sister and received critical acclaim for his role. He would receive his second Academy Award in the same category for The Cider House Rules in 1999.

Caine has been an iconic personality in the world of cinema and his presence on the big screen will surely be missed. Fortunately, Caine has a filmography of over 150 titles so there’s a lot of him to go back and see. We hope Caine enjoys his retirement, since he has more than deserved it at this point.

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