Michael Caine, 91, makes heartbreaking admission about his family: 'I won't be here'

Two-time Oscar winning actor Michael Caine has opened up in a candid chat about his life, and how he's got high hopes for the younger generation after speaking with his grandkids

Michael Caine has made a heartbreaking admission about his grandchildren, saying he'll watch them "from upstairs" as they get older.

The 91-year-old actor, who recently called time on his career, has won two Oscars and been nominated for many more, going down as one of the most respected in the industry. But in a candid chat, he's said he's excited for the younger generation, although he won't be here to see them create a "new and exciting world".

While discussing his new book, Deadly Game, he spoke to Matthew d'Ancona on Fane, a media platform for spoken word events. At one point in his conversation, he revealed he's optimistic for the younger generation, saying: "I have two grandsons - one is 14 and one is 15. If you talk to them, you'd think they're 20 and 21.

"They're so advanced, it's fabulous. I think the younger generation are much smarter than my lot." Agreeing that he's got high hopes for them, he said: "Oh my god, yeah. I won't be here to see it, but I'll watch it from upstairs."

Michael, who has appeared in The Dark Knight Trilogy, Zulu and The Italian Job, among many more, most recently starred alongside Glenda Jackson in The Great Escaper (2023). Glenda died shortly after it was completed, with Michael going on to retire.

He told the BBC at the time: "The only parts I'm liable to get now are 90-year-old men. Or maybe 85. They're not going to be the lead. You don't have leading men at 90, you're going to have young handsome boys and girls. So I thought, I might as well leave with all this."

Michael added: "I keep saying I’m going to retire. Well, I am now. I’ve figured, I’ve had a picture where I’ve played the lead and had incredible reviews… What am I going to do that will beat this?"

In another slightly morbid, yet reassuring, interview with The Telegraph, he spoke frankly about getting older, reflecting: "The worst thing about it is that so much disappears from your life. You can’t run around, you can’t play football, and you gradually realise you’re approaching death. [Death] could be just around the corner at 90.

“But I’m quite happy. I’m sitting here writing, doing my thing. I like it. I have two children, three grandchildren and a wife… Everyone’s going to join me eventually. No one’s going to say, ‘I’m so sorry you’re going to die — I wish you were like me and not going to die’.”

He added: "Everybody’s going to die. At least I’ve lived to f***ing 90; I didn’t die at 9, or 19 or 29. I’m 90, and I’ve had the best possible life I could have thought of."

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