Caine Blasts Cockney Racism.

11-11-2006 10:01

Caine Blasts Cockney Racism.London-born actor MICHAEL CAINE claims he suffers racial prejudice because of his working class roots and cockney accent.The Oscar winner fumes when people presume he has it easy because he frequently plays people with a similar accent to his own.

Caine says, "I play a butler in BATMAN and this interviewer said to me, 'I thought you were wonderful in Batman.' And I said, 'Thank you very much.' And then he said, 'But then servants are easier to play, aren't they?' And that's the closest he ever came to death, I could have strangled him! But I smiled. he thought that servants were simple, working class people, were simple.

"I have people say to me, I thought you were good in that part but is must have been easy, you had a cockney accent. And I say, so there are about a million cockneys and you think we're all exactly the same do you? Do you realise what a racist remark that is?"All black people can dance. Two of my best friends are black and they can't dance. SYDNEY POITIER and QUINCY JONES. I dance better than they do. And I can't dance!"

CAINE LOVES SIEGFRIED AND ROY

Meanwhile in other news the movie star has confessed he is a secret die hard fan of camp Las Vegas magicians SIEGFRIED AND ROY.The Oscar winner saw the German pair early in their careers when they were performing in Paris, and subsequently followed them around the world - until ROY HORN was mauled by a tiger three years ago.He says, "I tell you who did fascinate me, Siegfried and Roy. A long time ago I was in Paris and I saw them, they were just starting out. I think they make lions and tigers disappear but they had German Shepherds and pussy cats at that time, they couldn't afford the big cats then! But they fascinated me and I always followed them until just a few years ago. And it's quite fascinating what they do".

CAINE HATES WAR MOVIES

In other reports former soldier MICHAEL CAINE refuses to watch war movies because they falsely glamorise conflict.

The British Oscar winner, who fought in the Korean War, is uncomfortable with the message war films deliver - that the good guys always survive after killing the enemy.

He says, "I can't even see a war film, because they fool everybody, they fool young men. My friend JOHN WAYNE fooled me. I went and saw him and you go out there and kill all the enemy.