As we were reminded via Kris’s lovely piece a few days ago, Michael Caine gives great interview. Coupled with his trademark Cockney candour is the kind of unguarded conversational ease that comes from decades in the business — he clearly knows how to politely direct the conversation into the area he deems most productive.
Such is the case in a recent interview with the thesp in the Telegraph, in which he spends the requisite amount of time on his widely acclaimed performance in John Crowley’s “Is Anybody There?” before going on a number of enjoyable tangents, both personal and political.
Under the former banner comes such invaluable advice as the secret to a successful marriage lying in having two bathrooms, while under the latter — well, let’s just say he isn’t a fan of Gordon Bown’s Labour government. (His blunt assessment: “They’ve gone rotten and they’ve gotta go.”) What I really liked, however, was his graceful and pragmatic approach to the issue of his eventual retirement:
What happens now is that I’ll sit here and see if another script comes in that I really want to do, and if one doesn’t then I’ll be retired. There will be no fanfares, I just won’t appear again. You don’t retire, movies retire you.
So far 2008 hasn’t offered much for an Oscar shortlist beyond a few festival offerings that have yet to see a domestic release. Certainly nothing in the way of powerhouse awards-caliber performances has come down the pike, leaving some to talk up smaller, menial turns amid the lull. But one actor has certainly put forth an effort in the year’s first half that deserves the kind of recognition we cover here at In Contention.