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Fri 10 October 2025 10:21, UK
Earlier this year, after years of speculation, Sir Michael Caine formally announced that he was retiring from acting at the age of 90, with 2023’s The Great Escaper being his final film. As such, the legendary actor leaves behind a body of work few other creatives could ever match.
Inevitably, given that the man has made over 130 movies, Caine has appeared in some terrible works, too, with The Swarm, Beyond the Poseidon Adventure, the Now You See Me films, and of, course, Jaws: The Revenge all lingering in the memory. For the most part, however, Caine’s filmography is simply extraordinary, and he remains an undeniable icon of British cinema, with works such as The Ipcress Files films, The Italian Job, Alfie and Zulu really solidifying his place in the pop culture pantheon. His voice has become one of the most recognisable in cinema, and not without good reason.
Ironically enough, despite his huge array of work, Caine was perhaps underrated as a serious actor for a long time. As well as being a charismatic leading man, Caine is also a formidable dramatic actor. He has proven this time and time again through his many collaborations with Christopher Nolan, his Oscar-winning performances in Hannah and Her Sisters, and The Cider House Rules. Perhaps most of all, however, his stunning performance in Get Carter, a true masterpiece that ranks among the finest British movies, is the best of them all.
And let’s not forget his starring role as Ebeneezer Scrooge in The Muppet Christmas Carol. Even though he was in a Muppet movie, Caine treated the material like Shakespeare and gave an extraordinarily moving performance.
Caine truly is one of the greats, and while it’s very likely many who met him were starstruck in his presence, it’s pretty hard to imagine him being in awe of any other actors. After all, he did more than most actors will ever do throughout his 70 years on the silver screen. But no, during an interview with Time Out, Caine revealed that a particular actor did leave him feeling genuinely starstruck. That actor was none other than Marlon Brando.
In his autobiography What’s It All About? Caine describes their meeting. Caine encountered Brando when he visited the set of the 1966 western The Appaloosa alongside its director Sidney Furie, who’d previously directed Caine in The Icpress File. Caine recalls that Brando was being difficult with Furie and stated that he didn’t think Furie could even direct traffic, let alone a film, a sentiment Caine in no way shared.
Caine wrote: “Sidney Furie, who had directed me in Ipcress, was also working at Universal on a picture called The Appaloosa, a western starring Marlon Brando,” Caine began. “Sidney came to my dressing room one day almost in tears with horror stories at how badly things were going over on his set. The main problem seemed to be that Brando would not take him seriously.”
Caine wasn’t put off: “I had some free time so I went back with Sidney to the set and met Brando, who was sitting on a horse at the time,” he continued. “We said hello and then Brando asked me what I thought of Sidney as a director. I told him that I thought he was excellent, and Brando said, in front of Sidney, ‘I don’t think he can direct traffic.’
Suddenly, Caine realised was in the middle of one of Brando’s infamous diva moments. “Sid just stood there terribly hurt,” Caine continued, “and I found myself saying, ‘It’s a western — there isn’t any traffic.’ This got a slightly tense laugh after a moment while everybody waited to see if Marlon laughed, which he did and things lightened up a bit.”
Caine’s experience with Brando was hardly unique, as Brando was famous for being a very difficult actor to work with. Nonetheless, it is with good reason that Brando is still revered as one of the finest performers in the history of cinema. He was a truly exceptional actor whose intense methods yielded some of the most critically acclaimed performances in film history. Therefore, if Caine were to be starstruck by any actor, it would make sense that it would be Brando.
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