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Sir Michael Caine has spent a lifetime defying expectations—his own included.
Born Maurice Micklewhite in 1933 in a bombed-out corner of South London, he rose from being a fish-market worker’s son to an acting legend whose name appears on more than 160 film credits, two Academy Awards, and some of the most defining moments in modern cinema.
Now 92, Caine arrived in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, earlier this week for the Red Sea International Film Festival, where he was honoured at the 2025 opening ceremony in Cultural Square in Historic Jeddah.
Surrounded by peers and some of the film industry’s biggest names, he received a standing ovation that seemed to lift the entire room, as his unmistakable presence filled the space.
Accompanied on stage by his three grandchildren—Taylor, Miles, and Allegra—Caine was presented the award by close friend and Hollywood star Vin Diesel, for whom he recently came out of retirement to film The Last Witch Hunter 2, due for release in 2026.
What the audience didn’t know—but what I can exclusively reveal—is that earlier that day, Caine hosted a private session for a select group of young international filmmakers through Red Sea Labs, the festival’s talent-development program.
The conversation unfolded as part masterclass, part memoir, and part love letter to the craft that shaped his life.
As the Middle Eastern film industry accelerates toward becoming a global powerhouse, Sir Michael reflected on his own humble beginnings, urging the young creatives to keep pushing forward despite whatever barriers they may face.
‘I’m 92, and I started acting when I was 14, I come from a very poor family, but I now live in a very rich one—so there’s hope for everyone,’ he laughed.
Never one to shy away from his working-class roots, he added: ‘I’m from England, I’m a Cockney, I come from a slum in London… and fortunately, I became a millionaire along the way. I’ve given hope to loads of people. They say, ‘If he can do it, then I can do it.’ I worked with very good people, and I got very lucky.’
Indeed, Caine’s love for acting began as a teenager in an amateur dramatic society—mainly, he admits, because he noticed ‘all the pretty girls’ were in it. But what started as teenage curiosity became a lifelong devotion to performance.
His road to stardom began in the mid-1950s with small stage and television roles, but his breakthrough came with Zulu (1964), the classic British war epic in which he played a young colonial officer under siege.
Before that first major role, however, he had to overcome rigid class barriers in the early British film industry.
‘English films were very class prejudiced. They only made films about lords,’ he told the young filmmakers. ‘Then it changed—they started making films about working-class, ordinary people. Then I became fine.’
In his personal life, Caine still speaks with his natural Cockney accent—something he remains proud of—though he perfected pure Oxford English for most of his roles, which he believes opened doors that remained shut for many of his peers.
‘There were a lot of young actors I grew up with who didn’t make it. I could speak without a Cockney accent.’
Despite lighting up screens for over seven decades and earning a knighthood from the late Queen in 2000 for his services to drama, Caine admits he has never enjoyed watching himself on screen.
‘I’ve never watched myself—as I know all the lines, and I know who did it,’ he chuckled.’
One film, however, remains especially close to his heart: Alfie, the performance that earned him his first Oscar nomination in 1967.
‘The film I enjoyed working on the most was Alfie, about a young man chasing girls all over the bloody place. I enjoyed that,’ he grinned.
Off-screen, Caine’s life could not be more different. He has been married to his second wife Shakira—Lady Caine—since 1973, and together they share a daughter, Natasha.
He also has an older daughter, Dominique, from his previous marriage to the late actress Patricia Haines. His daughters alongside the rest of his family been at the centre of his every chapter, both on and off screen.
Following Alfie, the Oscar nominations continued to follow: Sleuth (1973), Educating Rita (1984), and The Quiet American (2003). He won his first Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for Hannah and Her Sisters (1987), and his second for The Cider House Rules (2000).
Sir Michael Caine’s notable success in Tinseltown remains among his proudest achievements. ‘I love Hollywood. I went for ten weeks and stayed for ten years because they kept giving me scripts. Everyone was so talented, and you had to prove it. If you were successful, you made a couple of quid. If you weren’t good, they fired you—you were gone.’
Although he jokes, he wishes he had gone ‘sooner,’ some of his most meaningful collaborations came late in life, most notably with director Christopher Nolan.
Nolan cast him in eight films, from Batman Begins (2005) to Tenet (2020), effectively reigniting his career in his seventies.
‘I was his lucky charm—every film I made with him was successful,’ Sir Michael tells me. ‘I was very lucky to work with him toward the end of my career, when I was very old in Hollywood.’
Having made the decision to retire two years ago aged 90, Sir Michael is now enjoying a much overdue slower pace of life.
‘I was pleased to retire as you don’t want to get up about 6am when you’re 90 and have 20,000 lines to learn on the way to the studio, and you’ve got to know them when you get there, because you couldn’t learn them the day before because you were working yesterday.’
It’s clear that for this legendary actor, in this new chapter of his life, family sits firmly at the forefront of his mind. He considers them his greatest accomplishment.
‘I love being with the people I’m with all the time. I have a fabulous family that I adore beyond belief,’ he said while accepting his Red Sea Honoree Award on stage.
Hearing Sir Michael share insights from his remarkable seven-decade career with this budding group of filmmakers left all of us profoundly inspired and I’m beyond excited to see how his words of wisdom will continue to shape and influence these future stars in global cinema.
Hearing Sir Michael Caine share his wisdom with a new generation of filmmakers was profoundly inspiring. His honesty, humour, and generosity left a mark on everyone in the room—and I am eager to see how his words will shape the future stars of global cinema.
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