20 September 2023 , 21:56
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Sir Michael Caine was seen using a walking stick in a rare public appearance at his film premiere.
The legendary actor, 90, joined his The Great Escaper cast members at the London screening of the new film on Tuesday night. He appeared in good spirits at the BFI in London as he posed for a number of photos. The Educating Rita star looked smart in a blue shirt and navy blazer, paired with black trousers. He attended the event with his wife Shakira Caine and two daughters, Dominique, 67 and Natasha, 50.
Michael stars in BAFTA nominated Oliver Parker's new film based on the true-life story of a British World War II veteran who 'broke out' of his nursing home to attend the 70th anniversary D-Day commemorations in France, in June 2014. The actor was spotted holding onto director Oliver's arm during the London premiere as he posed for pics with his walking stick.
Michael attended the event with his wife Shakira and two daughters (Dave Benett/WireImage)
The acting legend used a walking stick on the red carpet (Ash Knotek/REX/Shutterstock)He also sat on a frame for group snaps on the red carpet alongside Will Fletcher, Danielle Vitalis and Sir John Standing. Michael's rare public appearance comes after his wife Shakira, 76, shared he'd had surgery. She told the Daily Mail in March 2022: “He had a back operation quite recently. He had spinal stenosis.” According to the NHS, spinal stenosis is a condition that narrows the spinal canal and can cause back and leg pain that mostly occurs when walking.
But Michael recently shared the devastating news that he might not appear in any more films. Speaking to The Telegraph, he said that The Great Escaper was "probably" his last movie. He said: "I was so happy to do it. I just loved the character of Bernie. I thought he was incredible, and it’s so beautifully written.
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"With COVID and all that, I hadn’' done a picture for three years, and I thought I was finished. And I suddenly did it – and had such a wonderful time." He added: "I am bloody 90 now, and I can’t walk properly and all that. I sort of am retired now. Anyway…"
The Academy Award-winning actor has been using a walking stick in public since 2018 after a nasty fall left him with a broken ankle. Caine has previously said the secret to his good health is the food he had to eat during the Second World War. The Zulu star grew up in Bermondsey in South London and he believes the lack of sugar in his diet due to rationing and the amount of fish he had to eat taught him important lessons about food and nutrition which have lasted throughout his entire life.
Michael even learned how to catch rabbits and other animals when he was evacuated from London and into the countryside to escape the Nazi bombings. His latest role sees him reunited with actress Glenda Jackson, 86, as Bernard Jordan’s wife Irene, 47-years after they famously starred in director Joseph Losey's The Romantic Englishwoman. Bernard’s story made headlines around the globe in 2014 when he staged a "great escape" from his care home to join fellow war veterans on a beach in Normandy, where they commemorated their fallen comrades.
He disappeared from The Pines care home in Hove, East Sussex, embarking on a cross-channel trip for the 70th anniversary of D-Day wearing his war medals underneath his grey mac. Jordan's disappearance sparked a police search and his whereabouts was only uncovered when a younger veteran from Brighton phoned later that night to say he had met the veteran on a coach on the way to France, and that they were safe and well in a hotel in Ouistreham.
"It was a story that captured the imagination of the world – Bernie seemed to embody the defiant, 'can-do' spirit of a generation that was fast disappearing," The Great Escaper's official synopsis reads. "But of course, it wasn’t the whole story. It was the story we all tell ourselves to make war and old age bearable. The bitter-sweet script explores the reality with wit and a very big heart."