Michael Caine Talks About His Portrayal of Alfred
In an interview with Empire Magazine, Michael Caine spoke about playing the character of Alfred Pennyworth in Chris Nolan's Batman trilogy and also gave some insight into his relationship with the director. (The two refer to each other as their good luck charms.) Head on over to Empire to read the full piece, but we've pulled a few choice quotes out in case you don't have time:
When talking about Alfred, Caine said, "I get some great moments. I have a couple in this last one, too."
What's new with Alfred then, in The Dark Knight Rises?
Its such a plot point that I can't tell you. We've signed agreements for silence. I think I'd go to jail if I told you. Or I'd have to kill you. But we don't want either of those things to happen!
It looks absolutely huge, a full-on, epic war movie. What was the experience like making it for you?
For me, it was incredible because the great thing about it was - and the secret of the success of this picture as opposed to those massive blockbusters out there - is the stunts and special effects are real. There is very, very little computer generated imaging in it. All these other ones you see a million people marching towards you, you know they've photographed ten and just kept doubling it up and up and up. In ours, when the stuntman falls off the roof, it's a real man falling off the roof and hitting the bottom. And I think that is very important. It's very human and I suppose the class of acting is a little better... For a start both Batman and the butler are Oscar-winners! (laughs). Gary Oldman, who's the chief of police, nearly became one himself, do you see what I mean? So it's a very high standard of acting, and a very high standard of reality. That's the secret of that series, for me.
Will you miss playing Alfred?
In a way, but in a way it's right. I mean, I've played him three times. His role in Batman is to be your reality. When you get into the fantasy, suddenly you've got the butler there saying exactly what you're thinking - "you can't do that! You can't go flying up in a bat suit in here! What are you, nuts?!" He is the foot on the ground and that's what was always important to me. And I played it that way.
There's much more at Empire, so head that way to read the rest, then bounce back over here and let us know what you think in the comments. What is your favorite Michael Caine role of all time?