Michael Caine has been in showbiz for decades, but he swears his career peaked after turning 50.
The 82-year-old actor sat down for an interview on British talk show "The Jonathan Ross Show," which will air Saturday, to promote his new film "Youth" where he surprisingly revealed that not youth, but rather, age has helped his career.
He lamented being offered only "grandpa" roles at his age, and said, in his 60s he thought to himself, "uh oh, it’s over."
"If you’re the star of the movie, you have to get the girl but then they started making pictures which was great for me and people my age, where you didn’t get the girl but you got the part," Caine said. “So I didn’t get the girl, I then won two Academy Awards.”
Caine has had several nominations, but his two wins came after his 50th birthday -- one in 1986 for "Hannah and Her Sisters" and another in 1999 for "The Cider House Rules."
Other post-50 celebs have also seen achievement with age. This year's Oscar nominees include several older actors and actresses, including Bryan Cranston, Charlotte Rampling, Sylvester Stallone and Jennifer Jason Leigh -- that's representation by a post-50 nominee in every best actor or actress category.
It seems Hollywood might be sitting up and taking notice of older talent, despite Caine's comments that the roles don't come rolling in after a certain age. Other actors and actresses have also spoken out about ageism in Hollywood. Antonio Banderas called the pressure to stay young "ridiculous." And similar to Caine, Meryl Streep recalled being offered more roles to play witches after she turned 40.
As for Caine, he said he didn't have to worry about calling it a day in Tinseltown. “You don’t retire from movies," Caine said. "Movies retire you."
H/T The Express
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