Michael Caine’s father use to think he was gay.
The Oscar-winning actor – who grew up in Southwark, South London – remembers how taken aback his dad was when he first revealed he wanted to be an actor as it was unusual for a heterosexual man to enter the industry at the time.
He told Esquire magazine: "My dad was a Billingsgate fish market porter. When I told him that I was going to be an actor he never said a word but I saw his face and thought, he thinks I’m gay. The theater in those days was very gay. But I wasn’t."
Michael, 80, may be known for playing boisterous confident characters on the big-screen but he admits when growing up he would avoid speaking to anyone he didn’t know and would hide himself away whenever the occasion arose.
He added: "I was the shyest child. If strangers came into the house I’d hide behind the curtains and wouldn’t come out until they’d gone."
The ‘Inception’ star has since gained a tremendous amount of self-belief and credits his upbringing for helping him turn into the successful actor he is today.
He quipped: "My three great achievements with which I had absolutely nothing to do are that I was born an Englishman, a Londoner and a Cockney."