After 73 years in the entertainment industry, actor Michael Caine recently announced his retirement. The 90-year-old actor has starred in many blockbuster hits throughout his career, earning a loyal fanbase and many prestigious awards. Before becoming an actor, the actor served in the British Army’s Royal Fusiliers at 19. During that period, the actor came to terms with death.
Those 2 years of service changed Caine’s idea of death and he lived his life without being afraid of it. He once explained that he got in a situation where he almost died and how that incident “formed his character.” Today, the actor doesn’t worry himself by thinking about death, instead, he preaches that one should live in the moment.
Michael Caine is not afraid of death
In a past interview with The Talks, actor Michael Caine acknowledged the topic of death, explaining that he is not afraid of death because of his experiences in the army. The actor recalled,
“You quite often see these middle-aged people on television who’ve won the fight against cancer and now they want to live their lives differently and enjoy every moment. Before they just went along and now they’ve had this scare that they were going to die. I had that scare that I was going to die when I was nineteen when I was a soldier, so I have been living my life that way for sixty years now.”
Caine is not scared of death anymore, in fact, the actor doesn’t even think about it and instead focuses on living in the moment.
Michael Caine served in the army between 1952 and 1954
Caine was called up to do his national service in 1952. Between 1952 and 1954, the actor served in the British Army’s Royal Fusiliers, first at the British Army of the Rhine Headquarters in Iserlohn, West Germany, and then on active service in the Korean War. Further in the interview, Caine recalled the time he was in Korea and an incident changed his life forever,
“I was a soldier in Korea and I got into a situation where I knew I was going to die – like the people know they are going to die of cancer, except then we got out of it. But it lasted with me – I was nineteen. That formed my character for the rest of my life. The rest of my life I have lived every bloody moment from the moment I wake up until the time I go to sleep.”
The 90-year-old star announced his retirement from acting in October 2023, mainly because he was worried about not getting any more leading roles. With a remarkable filmography, Caine retired as a legend.
