Michael Caine Says He Spent Eight Years Trying To Not Blink On Camera
"Some men just want to watch the world [blink]" ... but not Sir Michael Caine. The two-time Oscar-winning actor, known to millennials for his roles in "The Cider House Rules" and all but one Christopher Nolan movie since "Batman Begins," has a secret weapon when he's acting: he doesn't blink.
Before you start to doubt him or question his acting methods, consider the fact that the 88-year-old Caine has appeared in over 130 films. His career stretches back much further than the 21st century, to '60s and '70s films like the original "Alfie," "The Italian Job," "Get Carter," and "Sleuth" — all of which gave rise to remakes in the 2000s. His first film role came a full 65 years ago in the British war movie, "A Hill in Korea." Clearly, Caine would not have enjoyed such longevity were he not a talented master thespian.
The Mirror reports that Caine nabbed the not-blinking tip from a book called "Teach Yourself Film Acting." He then spent two full U.S. presidential terms endeavoring not to blink onscreen. This sometimes made him an imposing figure to his costars and others. He explained:
"For the next eight years, I walked around trying not to blink. People around me, my mother and everybody, thought I had gone nuts. They thought I was a psychopath. I used to frighten the life out of people."
You Won't Win a Staring Contest Against Michael Caine
In the video above, you can see Caine teaching acting on the BBC in 1987, the year he won Best Supporting Actor at the 59th Academy Awards for his role in "Hannah and Her Sisters." Sure, enough, he starts talking about blinking around the 4:10 mark:
"If I keep blinking, it weakens me. But If I'm talking to you and I don't blink and I just keep going, and I don't blink, and I keep on going, and I don't blink, you start to listen to what I'm saying and it makes me a very strong person."
Put that in your back pocket and whip it out later in scene, all you aspiring actors. There's an old saying, useful to remember in the jungle (or Hollywood): you don't engage a silverback gorilla in a staring contest. Perhaps the same holds true for Michael Caine.
It's worth noting, as Mirror does, that Sir Anthony Hopkins applied the "don't blink" rule to his own acting in "The Silence of the Lambs." We all know how that turned out.
If you ever run into Michael Caine on the street, it might be wise to avoid eye contact, not because he's one of those primadonna actors who forbids eye contact, but because he's liable to put a hex on you with his unblinking eyes.