Sir Michael Caine, one of England's finest actors, has been part of a string of Hollywood blockbusters recently. With his work in Children of Men, Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, and The Prestige, Caine proves that older actors still make quite an impression on the silver screen.

Currently, Caine is busy working on the latest Batman sequel with fellow Englishman Christian Bale. The 76-year-old actor is showing no signs of slowing down, and with multiple movies in the works, Caine's latter years are shaping up to be much busier than his early ones.

Michael Caine was born Maurice Joseph Micklewhite, Jr. on March 14, 1933 in Rotherhithe, Southeast London, England. Caine grew up in Camberwell and was moved to North Runcton during WWII. In 1944, Caine earned a scholarship to Hackney Downs Grocers School, and in 1952, Caine served two years in the British Army. He would see combat in the Korean War.

Wanting to become an actor, the young Maurice wanted to change his name. The first name he chose, Michael Scott, was already in use, and Caine's agent suggested he find a new stage name immediately. He took the screen name Michael Caine after seeing a movie poster from The Caine Mutiny.

Although the acting was slow, Caine eventually landed parts in 1956, playing various roles in British productions like Hills in Korea and How to Murder a Rich Uncle. His success was mediocre, but the British establishment didn't respect his acting. The proverbial big break came in 1965 when Caine was hired to play British spy Harry Palmer in The Ipcress File. This would be the first of four films featuring the Harry Palmer character.

After the first Harry Palmer film, Michael's star was big enough to land the leading role in Alfie, the film that made his career. He received a nomination in 1966 for best actor, and throughout the rest of the 60s, Caine starred in various films, including Gambit, The Wrong Box, Hurry Sundown, and The Italian Job.

It was clear to movie producers that Caine had great appeal and was a superb character actor. No matter what type of role they cast him in, the film always turned out great. In America, Caine was one of the biggest actors of the era. In the UK, however, Caine was still snubbed.

In 1971's Get Carter, Caine completely broke out in America, cementing his status as the biggest star of the year, and in 1972, Caine followed the success with Sleuth and The Man Who Would be King in 1975. Throughout the 80s and 90s, Caine continued to pop up in movies, sometimes two per year.

To date, he's been in over 100 legitimate motion pictures and has earned the respect of Hollywood ten-fold. Caine is one of only two actors to have been nominated for lead or supporting actor in each decade since the 60s (Jack Nicholson).

Caine won his second Oscar for 1999's The Cider House Rules. He won his first for Hannah and Her Sisters in 1986. In total, he's been nominated 6 times.