‘I was so desperate I did a movie with Steven Seagal’: Michael Caine opens up about the toughest stage of his acting career

Michael Caine’s career ended recently. The actor confirmed last year that he was leaving the set at the age of 90. However, there was a moment in his career when he almost quit the profession prematurely, a moment of desperation that led him to agree to make a film he is not exactly proud of, starring Steven Seagal.

In 2010, in the columns of the Daily Mail, the actor revealed that in 1992 he had to retire. He was then 58 years old and started getting offers for roles that did not seem interesting to him. He himself describes this period of his life as a “twilight zone” where “The spotlight on the movie stars was fading and everything looked bleak.“

“Soon the scripts started to dry up completely – even the bad ones – and if it’s worse than offering bad scripts, it’s not offered at all.he said. “The danger, of course, is that waiting for a decent movie makes you desperate, and I was so desperate that I agreed to shoot a movie in Alaska with martial arts expert Steven Seagal. The film was called On Deadly Ground, and the title proved to be appropriate.“

He continued:Although it was great working with Stephen and the rest of the crew, I broke one of the cardinal rules of bad movies: if you’re going to make a bad movie, at least make it in a good location. I was shooting a film there, where the work froze my brain and time froze my ass. I vowed never to work in a difficult place again.“

in the movie Steven Seagal Played by Forrest Taft, an expert firefighter who chooses to fight the environmental destruction caused by his ruthless former employer (Michael Caine). Released in 1994, the feature film received negative reviews and grossed only $78.1 million worldwide against a $50 million production budget.

• ‘In my day we’d shoot a love scene and move on’: Michael Caine gives his take on Intimacy Coordinators

Another fake note

Things did not improve when he later agreed to play his legendary Harry Palmer role in two TV movies: Bullet in Peking and Midnight in Petersburg in 1995 and 1996. Michael Caine He himself said that this character was one of his favorites, but everything did not turn out as he hoped: “It was the worst professional experience of my career.“

It didn’t help that he had to be accompanied by two bodyguards because the production was afraid of the local mafia in St. Petersburg and made it all the more unbearable.

“The shoot itself was a joke. The final blow came when we were shooting at Lenfilm Studios. I wanted to go to the toilet and they told me where to go. I could smell them from 50 yards away and they were the dirtiest toilets I had ever seen. I went out and relieved myself against the wall of the studio, which several other men had already done.“

“This is how my career ended, I told myself: in the toilet“, he concluded.

• “Never wear suede shoes!” John Wayne’s weird advice to Michael Caine

Jack Nicholson to the rescue

Fortunately, things changed after returning to the United States, thanks to an old friend, Jack Nicholson, who introduced himself to director Bob Rafelson on a film called Blood and Wine (1996), which they were going to shoot in Miami.

“The combination of these three was fascinating and I decided to give it one last try to become a film actor. It was the best decision I ever made. Jack is a wonderful actor who takes life with grace and I owe him for trusting me in this often unpleasant business. I know he’s not what everyone thinks of as a fairy godmother, but he is to me.“

If Michael Caine Admits that the film was not a commercial success and adds that it was a success for him:It was the beginning of a new exciting phase in my life. I’m really back!“

The actor would next star in God’s Work, The Devil’s Part, a comedy-drama opposite Tobey Maguire and Charlize Theron, for which he would be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 1999.

“I learned my lesson with my previous Oscar, in 1987, when I won for Hannah and Her Sisters, but I didn’t attend and this time I made sure I was there. And it’s a good thing I did, because I won with a long standing ovation.“

The rest you know: many collaborations with Christopher Nolan (The Prestige, The Dark Knight Trilogy, Inception, Interstellar, Tenet…), but also The Sons of Man, Elusive, Kingsman. Everything is said.