At 93, Michael Caine Reveals The 5 People He Loved The Most 

fan. Massive movie fan. I used to go to pictures seven seven days a week. I used to see always lots of films to see. Mind you, there was no television, you know? And so I I um I was asked something not long ago that made me stop and think for a minute. Somebody said, “Michael, after all these years, who are the five people you’ve loved the most in this business?” I smiled because that’s not the same as asking who the greatest actors were.

The greatest actors are easy to argue about. Everybody has a different list. But the people you love, that’s different. That comes from spending years together, sharing film sets, sitting through long dinners after work, talking while you’re waiting for the lights to be ready, flying halfway around the world to make another picture.

I’ve been lucky enough to know a lot of extraordinary people. Some were exactly the way you’d imagine. Some surprised me completely. The funny thing is when people become famous, everyone talks about what they did. Very few people talk about what they were like when the cameras weren’t rolling. That’s the part I remember.

I remember who made everyone laugh. I remember who stayed behind to talk with the youngest actor on the set. I remember who treated the crew with the same respect they showed the director. Those things stay with you much longer than opening weekends or awards. The older I’ve become, the more I’ve realized that careers eventually become photographs in books. Friendships don’t.

There are people I still expect to bump into when I walk into an old studio, even though I know they’ve been gone for years. I still hear their voices sometimes. Not because I’m living in the past, just because some people never really leave you. So, when I finally answered that question, these were the first five names that came into my mind.

Not because they were the biggest stars, because they made my life better simply by being part of it. The first name that came into my head was Sean Connery. I don’t think that will surprise many people. If you were a British actor trying to make your way in Hollywood during our time, you couldn’t help but admire what Sean had done.

He’d walked through doors that a lot of us hoped would eventually open for us. The funny thing is, once you got to know him, you stopped thinking about James Bond. He was just Sean. People often expected him to be serious because of the roles he played. They’d meet him and almost wait for him to say something dramatic.

Most of the time, he’d say something that made everybody laugh instead. That was one of the things I loved about him. He never seemed interested in pretending to be larger than life. Whenever we found ourselves at the same event, we’d end up standing in a corner talking about ordinary things. Our families, football, Scotland, England, how much traveling we’d both done.

Before long, we’d forget there were photographers only a few feet away. That’s usually how friendships work. They don’t happen during interviews. They happen in the quiet moments when nobody’s paying attention. Sean had a confidence that couldn’t be taught. It wasn’t arrogance, there was a difference.

 He simply knew who he was and he never felt the need to prove it to anyone else. I always respected that. This business has a way of changing people. Success comes along and suddenly they start acting like someone they’ve invented. Sean never struck me that way. He was the same man, whether he was accepting an award or sitting with friends over dinner.

I admired that more than any performance he ever gave. When I heard that he’d passed away, I found myself thinking less about the films we’d all watched, and more about those conversations we’d shared over the years. You reach an age where losing an old friend feels different. It isn’t only their voice that disappears.

It’s a piece of your own life that quietly goes with them. That’s why Sean was one of the very first people I thought of. Not because he was one of Britain’s greatest stars. Because every time I saw him, I was happy he was there. The next person I have to mention is Roger Moore. Now, Roger and I were very different in some ways, but I think that’s exactly why we got along so well.

If you spent 10 minutes with Roger, you’d understand what people loved about him. He made things easy. Film sets can be stressful places. Long days, endless waiting, scenes that refuse to come together. Every production has moments when people start feeling the pressure. Roger always seemed to know when that was happening.

He’d walk over with a smile, tell a story, make a joke, and somehow the whole mood would change. That wasn’t something you could learn in acting school. That was simply who he was. People remember Roger as James Bond, and they should. He was wonderful in that role. But that’s not the Roger I remember first. I remember the man who treated everyone exactly the same.

It didn’t matter if you were the director, the makeup artist, or the young runner bringing coffee to the set. Roger spoke to everyone. He looked people in the eye. He remembered names. That tells you a lot about a person. I’ve always believed that fame shows you who someone really is. Some people become kinder.

Some become harder to reach. Roger never changed. If anything, the more famous he became, the more determined he seemed to make people feel comfortable around him. I admired that. We talked about our families more than we talked about films. By the time you’ve been in this business as long as we had, you’ve answered every interview question a hundred times.

Real conversations happen after the interviews are over. That’s where you get to know someone. When Roger became ill, I admired the way he carried himself. He never seemed interested in asking people to feel sorry for him. He kept his sense of humor. He kept thinking about other people. That’s much harder than it sounds.

When he was gone, the industry lost a wonderful actor. I lost someone who always made me smile. And when I think about Roger now, that’s still the first thing that comes to mind. Not Bond. Not the films. Just a genuinely kind man who made every room he walked into feel a little warmer. The next person I always think about is Laurence Olivier.

Now, I’ll be honest with you. The first time I worked with him, I was nervous. How could I not be? By then, he wasn’t just another actor. He was Laurence Olivier. I’d watched his work for years, and like so many young actors, I wondered if I’d ever be good enough to stand in the same scene with him. You build people up in your mind.

Sometimes you expect them to be distant. Sometimes you expect them to remind you how important they are. Laurence did neither. He greeted me like we’d known each other for years. Before long, we were talking about the day’s work instead of worrying about reputations. That put me at ease straight away. One thing I always admired was how prepared he was.

It didn’t matter how many great performances he’d already given. He came to work ready. Every line mattered. Every scene mattered. Watching him taught me something I carried through the rest of my career. Experience doesn’t give you permission to stop trying. If anything, it should make you work even harder. People often think great actors have some secret that nobody else knows.

After spending time with Laurence, I realized the secret was much simpler. He respected the work every single day. He also had a wonderful sense of humor that people didn’t always get to see. Between takes, he’d tell a story or make a dry little comment that caught everyone off guard. The whole crew would laugh.

Then the cameras would roll and he’d become someone completely different. That transformation never stopped amazing me. Looking back now, I don’t only remember the performances. I remember the example he set. He showed younger actors that talent can open the first door, but discipline is what keeps it open. I’ve tried to remember that throughout my own life.

And whenever people ask me about the greatest actors I’ve ever known, Laurence Olivier is always part of the conversation. But when I think about the people I love the most, I remember something much simpler. I remember a man who never made a younger actor feel small. That’s something I’ll always be grateful for.

The next person I want to talk about is John Wayne. Now, if you told the young Michael Caine that one day he’d be sitting down with John Wayne, I probably wouldn’t have believed you. To my generation, he wasn’t just a movie star. He was John Wayne. His face was everywhere. His voice was unmistakable. People watched the way he walked, the way he talked, even the way he stood.

That’s the kind of reputation that can make you a little nervous before you meet someone. But the man I met wasn’t the man people imagined. He was quieter than I expected. He didn’t waste words. When he spoke, you listened because he never seemed interested in talking just to fill the silence. I liked that about him.

>> [clears throat] >> We spent time talking between takes, and what surprised me was how little we discussed films. We talked about getting older. We talked about family. We talked about how strange fame could be. Those were the conversations I enjoyed the most. People sometimes assume that that famous actors spend all day talking about acting.

The truth is, after you’ve been making films for years, you usually want to talk about almost anything else. One thing I always respected was the way John carried himself. There was a steadiness about him. He didn’t seem interested in proving he was tough. He simply was who he was. There’s a difference. I’ve met people who tried very hard to create an image.

John never felt like he was creating anything. He seemed comfortable in his own skin. Uh that’s not as common as people might think. As we both grew older, I think we appreciated those conversations even more. You begin to understand that careers eventually slow down. The phone doesn’t ring quite [clears throat] as often.

The premieres become fewer. What matters then is whether you’ve built real friendships along the way. When I heard that John was gone, I realized another chapter of Hollywood had closed. But more than that, I’d lost someone I genuinely enjoyed spending time with. People will always remember the legend. I’ll always remember the man who was happy to sit down, have a quiet conversation, and make you feel like there was nowhere else he’d rather be.

The last person I want to talk about is Shirley MacLaine. Some people might expect me to end this list with uh another British actor. I understand that. But this list was never about where someone came from. It was about who stayed in my life. And Shirley certainly did. The first thing people notice about Shirley is her energy.

She walks into a room and somehow it feels brighter almost immediately. She’s curious about everything. She asks questions. She listens to the answers. That’s a rarer quality than people realize. I’ve known plenty of people who loved hearing themselves talk. Shirley always seemed more interested in hearing what someone else had to say.

I appreciated that. Whenever we worked together or happened to meet over the years, our conversations never felt rushed. We’d start talking about films, then drift into family, travel, books, growing older, and before either of us noticed, an hour had disappeared. Those are my favorite kinds of conversations.

No cameras. No audience. Just two old friends enjoying each other’s company. One thing I’ve always admired about Shirley is that she never lost her sense of wonder. Hollywood has a way of making people cynical. After enough years, it’s easy to become suspicious of everyone and everything. Shirley never seemed to let that happen.

She still looked at people with genuine curiosity. She still found reasons to laugh. She still believed there was something new to learn. I think that’s one of the reasons we’ve remained friends for so long. She reminds you that growing older doesn’t mean becoming smaller. It simply means collecting more stories.

When people ask me about the greatest privilege of my career, they usually expect me to mention an award or a famous film. They’re always surprised by my answer. Uh the greatest privilege was the people. People like Sean. People like Roger. People like Lawrence. People like John. And people like Shirley. The films gave us a reason to meet.

Friendship gave us a reason to stay in touch. Looking back now, I honestly don’t think you can ask for much more than that. At the end of your life, nobody remembers how many days you spent on a film set. You remember who was standing beside you. Those are the memories I’ve held onto. And I imagine I always will.