Sir Michael Caine: I’m in competition with myself

Sir Michael Caine feels he is in "competition" with himself.

The 82-year-old film star has admitted that despite becoming one of the most sought-after actors in Hollywood, he never harboured any huge career ambitions and doesn’t worry about competing with other actors.

Asked if he ever felt under-appreciated, he said: "No, that didn’t bother me at all. You have to remember, I was a reparatory actor, I was nobody for years.

"I couldn’t be a star – a cockney guy from Elephant & Castle, son of a Billingsgate fishmonger. I have no sense of competition with any other actors – I love other actors and their performances. Love them. My competition is with myself."

Sir Michael suggested his superstar status has been achieved through good fortune.

He told ShortList magazine: "All I’ve ever done, right to this day, from my first part – I was a butler who came in and said, ‘Dinner is served’ – is to try to be the best possible actor I could be.

"The fact that I became a star, as I said earlier, I just thank God for that. Nothing to do with me whatsoever."