Michael Caine Speaks Volumes on Art and Craft of Acting

From the time of Konstantin Sergeyevich Alekseyev Stanislavsky’s “An Actor Prepares” in 1926, a book still sold and read, hundreds of volumes have been published on the art/craft/profession of acting.

The advice ranges from something close to psychoanalysis self-taught and self-inflicted to simple adages like “Don’t bump into the furniture.” James Cagney summed it all up by suggesting that what you do is plant your feet solidly, look the other actor in the eye and tell the truth. The nonagenarian wonder, George Burns, has confirmed this in his act and in print, saying that honesty is the key to acting. He adds: “If you can fake that, you’ve got it made.”

Michael Caine, who almost single-handedly helped Cockney and other down-market accents to supplant the splendidly cultured tones of the BBC as the standard in British stage and screen performances, has made nearly 70 movies since “A Hill in Korea” in 1956. He worked in provincial theaters, in the West End and in television dramas until his film career took off with “Zulu” and “Alfie.” He knows the territory.

Several months ago, Caine did a one-hour BBC special on movie acting. His thoughts have subsequently been refined into a book, “Acting in Film” (Applause Books, edited by Maria Aitken, $14.95, illustrated).

It’s wonderful reading, even for those who would not dream of playing “Let’s pretend” in front of a camera, let alone in front of a live audience. Caine’s guidance, aimed at novices still dreaming of the big break, can also give hardened critics fresh insights to what it is they’re seeing up there on the screen.

Caine, as he has proved on innumerable talk shows, is sardonically funny. In print, he is sensible-funny. On making the most of small opportunities, he asks the actor to imagine doing a scene in which another character offers a cup of tea, and the actor’s response is “Yes, please.” On the face of it, pretty nothing. But think about it, Caine advises.

“Let’s say you would have prefered coffee. The minute the other actor says ‘tea,’ your eyes change because you’d really like coffee.” Or maybe, Caine speculates, the character can’t afford to offer you a drink, or thinks you’re an alcoholic and shouldn’t have a drink. Whatever. The line is still “Yes, please,” but your eyes can make your face more than a bland mask.

“You’ll seem a maniac if everything sets you off,” Caine adds, sensibly. But a little creative thought can lead to a more interesting performance.

Alfred Hitchcock, asked once about an actor’s work, said that the actor did nothing well. In characteristic Hitchcock fashion, it was a compliment. He meant that the actor reacted well when other actors were speaking. Caine is very high on reacting well.

“Listen and react,” he says. “If you’re thinking about your lines, you’re not listening. Your lines should sound like spontaneous conversation, not like acting at all. And that comes from active listening.”

In general, says Caine, “Less is more. That’s the hottest tip I can give any young actor. To do nothing at all can be very useful in extreme reactive situations.” Adopt a blank look if, say, you find your wife murdered, and “The audience will project their own emotions on your face.”

Keep the action and the bits of business simple, Caine advises. The actor is going to have to repeat them endlessly, often days apart. The golf club that leaps from the right hand to the left hand can mean an expensive retake and make the actor drastically unpopular with producers and directors.

The best acting is invisible, but it is still acting, and the best actors are in a sense, Caine suggests, inspired thieves. He based Frank, the alcoholic university lecturer in “Educating Rita,” on two friends of his, one who had been to university (as Caine never had), the other who was famous as a carouser.

“When becoming a character, you have to steal,” Caine says. “You can even steal from other actor’s characterizations, but if you do, only steal from the best. If you see Vivien Leigh do something, or Marlon Brando or Robert De Niro or Meryl Streep do something that fits your character, steal it. Because what you’re seeing them do, they stole.”

Early in his career, critics complained that Caine appeared in too many films, and not always prime material either. But there was more than financial thirst in his decisions, Caine says. “I did as many films a year as I could, to get the experience,” he explains in “Acting on Film.”

“Success,” it may surprise some to hear, “comes from doing, not waiting, not negotiating, not counting lines, not weighing credits. Do it, do it, don’t wait for it.”

Caine admits to being vain, and admits without false modesty that he is a star, but he says, “Movie stardom is not necessary. From my own experience, not a lot of it is recommended.” But being a good actor is worth all it takes.

He might one day turn to directing--after the stardom, and he’ll know when the time is right. “If I’m a star, I get a script and they say, ‘We know it’s about an Australian dwarf but we’ll change it a bit.’ If I’m on the way down, they’d say I was too short to play in ‘The Michael Caine Story.’ Maybe then I’ll direct.”