Michael Caine’s 70-plus years in Hollywood allowed him to form friendships with some major stars — and the actor has no qualms when it comes to sharing stories about them.
Caine’s latest memoir (his eighth published book) Don’t Look Back, You’ll Trip Over: My Guide to Life was released in the United States on Tuesday, March 25, and features “life hacks” from the legendary star. While sharing tricks of the trade he’s learned along the way, Caine couldn’t help but spill the tea on his famous friends. (This book was initially released in the U.K. late last year.)
From anecdotes about working with Beyoncé to referring to the late Quincy Jones as his “celestial twin,” Caine has some pretty epic anecdotes up his sleeve.
Keep scrolling for stories from the actor about his famous friends:
Remembering Heath Ledger
Ledger worked with Caine on 2008’s The Dark Knight, the second movie in Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy. Caine recalled the late Ledger as a “lovely guy, very gentle and unassuming,” but noted that the late star really turned it on when it became time to transform into The Joker.
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“It was chilling. Absolutely floored me the first time I saw him in action – I was terrified!” Caine wrote of Ledger’s portrayal, noting that the late star will be remembered as a “great actor.” Ledger died at age 28 from an accidental overdose in January 2007.
“You think of what he might have gone on to achieve, it’s just heartbreaking. We were all terribly shocked, and it made doing the publicity for The Dark Knight that summer much more intense, because all the journalists wanted to talk about his death,” he recalled. “I was so pleased when he was awarded the posthumous Oscar, because it must have been at least some sort of comfort for his poor family. The truth is, we’d all hoped he would win an Academy Award and thought he should, even while we were still filming the movie.”
Going Out With Peter O’Toole
Caine worked with “the amazing” O’Toole in the 1959 stage show The Long and the Short and the Tall, and they struck up quite the friendship.
“We became great friends and one night he took me out on the Saturday after the show to get pissed. Which I did, as did he,” Caine recalled. “We woke up the next morning and we had no idea where we were. We were both fully clothed lying on top of a double bed.”
When they woke up, it was Monday!
How He Introduced Woody Allen and Mia Farrow
Caine and Allen frequented the same restaurant and once, Farrow asked to meet the famed director.
“She said, ‘Well, if you’re ever there and you see Woody Allen at another table, invite me along to dinner.’ And so I did. Which is how they really met,” Caine recalled, noting elsewhere in the book that he didn’t anticipate how things would end between them. (Farrow accused Allen in 1992 of molesting their adoptive daughter Dylan Farrow, which he has vehemently denied.)
His Bond With Quincy Jones
Caine immediately clocked the late Jones as “a great person” when they first met. After Caine invited Jones to his birthday party, the two stars realized that they share a birth date and time.
“We call ourselves ‘celestial twins,’” Caine wrote, noting that it became “a bit of a tradition” for him and Jones to celebrate their milestone birthdays together.
“For our sixtieth birthdays in 1993, we had a great bash in L.A. Ice-T came along and challenged me to rap with him!” he recalled. “Then we had another great party for our eightieth in Vegas, with Stevie Wonder singing ‘Happy Birthday’ and Chaka Khan doing the theme song from Alfie.”
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Jones died in November 2024 but was still alive when Caine wrote this book.
“Those are amazing memories, to be cherished,” he wrote. “We had a sense of humor in common, and he was such easy company from the get-go. I think that’s the heart of friendship, isn’t it? You don’t have to watch yourself and what you say, you can relax and be natural. When I say we are twins, I do mean that he feels like another brother to me. A great addition to my life, and I hope I was to his. I can’t remember a bad moment in our friendship.”
Becoming Friends With Vin Diesel
Caine called the actor “special” in his book, recalling the first time they crossed paths.
“I just instinctively greeted him with a hug and announced to the whole room, ‘This is my son!’ Sometimes, you sense a connection,” Caine shared. “I just liked the guy immediately, he has a big heart. It turned out he was going through some tough times back then, so I think perhaps it made an impression upon him to be embraced and treated with love. Anyway, we’ve been great friends ever since.”
The actor said that he always has dinner with the “multi-talented” Diesel when they’re in the same place at the same time.
Working With Beyoncé
Caine got a chance to work alongside Beyoncé in the 2002 movie Austin Powers in Goldmember. The singer shared her big dreams with the legendary star.
“You could already tell how focused she was and how big a star she was going to be,” he recalled. “I remember the first day on set, I asked her what her ambition was, and she said, ‘I want to win an Academy Award for a movie.’ Not a trace of arrogance, just clarity. She was nominated a couple of years ago. I’m sure she’ll win an Oscar eventually.”
