Michael Caine: Don't call me 'sir'

Sir? No Sir: Michael Caine in Zulu, 1964 Photo: Paramount, The Kobal Collection By Melanie Hall

2:48PM BST 31 Mar 2013

The star of iconic films such as The Italian Job and Alfie, 80-year-old Caine has spoken about how he treats everyone the same, be they a cleaner or the Queen, and dislikes ever referring to his knighthood.

“A lot of people say the English are snobs," he told the Sunday Times Magazine. "No - the English never think they are better than you are.

“What they think is that no one is better than them. And that's me. I will talk exactly the same to the Queen - and have done many times - as I am talking to you or the woman cleaning the hotel room.

“I am a knight and no one has to call me 'Sir'. I never mention it - well, I mentioned it to you, but just to make a point."

Caine was speaking at the Museum of London, which has launched a dedicated photographic exhibition to his life, as he received the ancient honour of the Freedom of the City.

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The actor hails from humble origins – his father was a porter at Billingsgate fish market, while his mother was a char lady – and said one of his motivations to become an actor was to inject a genuine Cockney accent onto the silver screen.

Until Caine, cockneys in British films were played by "actors from Rada doing cockney accents", he said. "I became an actor just to put the record straight, really."

After 60 years of acting, Caine has no intention of retiring yet, saying: "I got a new script yesterday, which I'm reading.

"I haven't retired. I think if you retire you're sort of saying, 'I've given up. I'm going to sit here and what am I going to do now? I'll tell you what — I'm going to die.’"

He added: "You keep making movies if you're fit enough, until no script comes, or the part's too small, or the money isn't worth getting out of bed for — then you're retired. But that hasn't happened yet."

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