Fans are usually anything but covert.
But as Michael Caine can attest, there are exceptions. Take, for example, when he discovered the Harry Palmer spy films he starred in during the 1960s had attracted some unlikely admirers.
"A friend of mine met (Russian Prime Minister Vladimir) Putin and he was head of the KGB then and he said, 'Tell Mr. Caine we used to watch those movies and laugh because he was such a clever spy and we were never that clever.' "
Palmer, created by novelist Len Deighton, was the anti-Bond of the era. Downbeat and comparatively realistic, he was far removed from the glamour of Ian Fleming's 007. "James Bond was so obvious he couldn't possibly be a spy because he drew so much attention to himself. Which is one way of being a spy. There are spies who are consorts to the king," Caine says. "And then there is the other type of spy, which is the ordinary guy doing his own shopping in the supermarket."
So the 78-year-old Oscar-winner is understandably delighted he's now gotten the opportunity to play a truly suave super-agent -- even if it's only with his voice.
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In Cars 2, opening Friday, he stars as Finn McMissile, a sleek gadgets-fitted Aston Martin who recruits Mater the tow truck (Larry the Cable Guy) for a high-stakes mission after an international case of mistaken identity.
"I get to be a spy and the car that I have is from the '60s. I'm a 1966 Aston Martin, pale blue, which I think is very, very cool. I love my car and (the name) is lovely. It makes me sound dangerous," Caine says during a video conference from London where he's shooting The Dark Knight Rises. "This is a brand new experience for me and it's one of the reasons I did it. I've been in the business a long time and it's very difficult to have a brand new experience."
The Cars franchise, obviously, is rooted in director John Lasseter's adoration of car culture. It's a passion Caine admits he doesn't share. In fact, one of the last places you'll find him is behind the wheel.
"Cars to me are transport. I grew up after the war in London. I didn't know anybody who had a car until I was 15, 16, 17. In London at that time we had the tube, the subway, and buses. There was no reason to have a car."
But when he became rich and famous, he bought his first car -- a Rolls Royce. "I couldn't drive it. I said to them, 'I'll learn to drive it.' And the insurance company, 'You're not going to learn to drive in a Rolls Royce.' And I saw the premium for me to learn to drive was twice the sum I would pay a chauffeur. So I had chauffeurs all my life. I never drove a car until I went to Los Angeles. And there you have to drive a car. So I took my driving lessons in America."
When it came time to take his test, he remembers, "I got in the car very nervous and (the instructor) says to me, 'You're going to have to be rubbish not to pass this test because I loved you in The Man Who Would Be King.' I may be a terrible driver, but I passed that test."
Still, it's a skill he'd rather not use on the congested streets of London. "I'm not a very patient man."
‘Batman’ details tightly guarded
When you're working for Batman, you better be able to keep a secret.
It's a lesson Michael Caine learned after he signed to play butler Alfred Pennyworth in director Christopher Nolan's first Gotham outing, Batman Begins.
"I did an interview and someone said to me, 'What are you doing next?' I said, 'I'm doing Batman.' And I saw Chris and he said, 'Why did you tell them you were doing Batman?' I said, 'Because I am.' He said, 'You're supposed to keep it secret.' I said, 'I couldn't keep that a secret.'"
Caine is currently in London filming the threequel The Dark Knight Rises, which is due next summer.
"We've all signed the Official Secrets Act. I'm lucky to be able to tell you the title of the movie," he says.
"Let me tell you, the plot's extraordinary, completely extraordinary. I know why (Nolan) wants to keep it a secret. You really need not to know till you see the movie."
That said, what is known is that Anne Hathaway is Catwoman while Inception's Tom Hardy will play Bane, the chemically enhanced villain who, in comics lore, crippled Batman. Hardy's Inception co-stars Marion Cotillard and Joseph Gordon-Levitt have also joined the cast.
Says Caine, "As the butler, I do a load of filming at the beginning and everybody goes off and does all the adventures and they all come home shot to pieces and I patch them together when they all get back."
kevin.williamson@sunmedia.ca
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