Harvey Weinstein is currently serving his prison sentence after being found guilty of r-pe and s-xual harassment. These days, his name is only heard in Hollywood when awards show hosts try to generate laughter by attaching different personalities with the disgraced producer.
However, at the peak of his powers, rarely anybody in the industry dared to laugh, let alone raise their voice against Weinstein, for different reasons. Legendary actor Michael Caine once revealed he was aware of Weinstein’s reputation but didn’t realize the gravity of the situation.
Michael Caine Was Left Shocked by Harvey Weinstein Despite Frequent Collaborations
Two-time Oscar-winning actor Michael Caine worked in three Harvey Weinstein-backed films, including The Cider House Rules.
His poignant performance as Dr. Wilbur Larch in the drama about Homer Wells’ (Tobey Maguire) life in a World War II–era Maine orphanage won Caine his second Oscar for Best Actor in a Supporting Role.
The veteran actor, a self-declared feminist and supporter of the #MeToo movement, shared his experience of working with Weinstein.
“I knew him very well,” he said (via Belfast Telegraph). “And I knew about his… we all called it the casting couch. But the casting couch for me was nothing to do with assault or exposure or anything like that. You came to the producer if you were a young actress and he said, ‘You’ve got the part’, you said, ‘Thank you very much’, he said, ‘Provided you do this’, and you said, ‘No, I’m not doing that’, and you walked out and you didn’t get the part. But I never heard of assault or anything like that even in Hollywood in all those years.”
Speaking to Radio Times, Caine added that he knew the disgraceful practice of actresses missing out on a role because they wouldn’t do something s-xual with the producers happened but he didn’t have the power of the big producers to do anything about it.
How Gwyneth Paltrow Played a Part in Harvey Weinstein’s Downfall
Gwyneth Paltrow, however, emerged as one of the leading Hollywood figures to play a part in bringing down Weinstein. Paltrow worked in several Weinstein-backed films in the late 90s. At one point, her then-boyfriend Brad Pitt, even confronted the producer after his unwanted advances towards his girlfriend.
According to a report in The Guardian, the MCU star was named an important figure in the New York Times story that first brought Weinstein’s exploits to the fore by reporting on a series of s-xual harassment allegations against him.
Paltrow became an early, crucial source for the 2017 story, by sharing her account of s-xual harassment and trying to recruit other actresses to speak.
