The best thing about Michael Caine is his laugh, which is a warm, loud “heh heh heh.” The second-best thing about Michael Caine is The Muppet Christmas Carol, the greatest puppet-based holiday film of all time. Caine sings. Caine does a restrained jig. Caine wears an old-timey dressing gown. If you haven’t seen The Muppet Christmas Carol, fear not! It will be on TV every day from now until New Year’s Eve. If you have seen it, revel in the fact that Michael Caine loves it just as much as you do.
GQ: Tell me everything.
Michael Caine: To start, my daughter, who is the mother of my grandchildren, was then seven, and she had never seen me in a movie. I had never made a movie that a 7-year-old can see. And so a man mentioned the Muppets and I said, “That’s it! I’ll do that!” And it’s A Christmas Carol, it’s a fabulous tale! You’ll be old Scrooge, it’ll be marvelous! And it was absolutely perfect at that time for what I wanted. I could make it, and my daughter could see it. That’s why I did it. And it was lovely.
Have your grandkids seen it?
Oh yeah, yeah. They’ve seen it. They loved it. They can’t believe it was their grandpa—and me singing! People say to me, Have you ever sung? I say, Yes, I sang in a movie. They say, Who with? I say, Kermit the Frog.
What was your singing experience prior to Muppet Christmas Carol?
Well I didn’t know I could sing as well as it turned out! I mean it wasn’t bad, I wasn’t ashamed of it. I thought I was going to make a fool of myself but it didn’t matter, because it’s Muppets, you know. Scrooge sings badly, and it’s fine! It’s funny! But I thought we sang quite well as a duet, Kermit and me. There was one extraordinary thing: I was directed in one of my favorite movies, called Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, by Miss Piggy! Miss Piggy, also known as Frank Oz. directed Dirty Rotten Scoundrels.
No shit.
That’s one of the most successful comedies I ever made, directed by Miss Piggy.
That’s full circle.
Yeah, isn’t it funny! There’s one last connection with me and the Muppets, which is that I come from South London where Charlie Chaplin, whom I knew, is from. And the Muppets now have the Charlie Chaplin studio. It’s very weird. Full circle for me.
Kermit is having sort of a moment right now. Who’s more famous, you or Kermit?
Oh Kermit is much more famous, because he’s known by children as well as all adults. And I’m known by many, many, many adults, but he’s known by all adults. And then I’m known by few children, but he’s known by every child.
When you’re talking to Kermit, where do you look? Do you look him in the eye?
Yes. You look him straight in the eye. It’s like talking to a real actor. And the guy is just down below, buried in the floor. And it’s very funny when you see [the puppeteers] rehearsing, because they’re in the corner, and they haven’t got the dolls on their arms, and they’re just talking to each other with their hands. It’s very funny. One of the best things about it is that puppeteers, compared to actors, are much nicer, gentler, kinder people. They’re really the loveliest of people. I’d never worked with a cast where every single person was lovely. You always get a couple of actors who think too much of themselves. But these were all kind, gentle, loving people and I had the best time.
I love the last scene, when you’re sitting around a dinner table with twenty Muppets.
It makes me laugh. I saw it not long ago when my grandchildren were watching it, and I came in and watched a bit of it. One of the funniest things that I remember is when all of my clerks were rats, in the office, and every time I looked away they did something—and when I looked back they were writing scrupulously and behaving properly. It made me laugh a lot.
How do you keep a straight face when you’re acting with Muppets?
Oh it’s very difficult, very difficult indeed. You have to do a couple of extra takes.
Which is your favorite Muppet movie?
Oh, my one. I watch it all the time with the kids, I think it’s the funniest of the lot. But then I would, wouldn’t I? And I see it every year, because it’s on television every year at Christmas. I just saw it in the TV Guide. It’s a good, fun film for kids. And of course it can never grow old, unlike me.
Did you adopt the Scrooge sleeping getup after the film? With the little hat and the man nightgown?
No, I didn’t. It was too good for me. I don’t think my wife would allow it. My wife would have laughed, and you don’t necessarily always want people to laugh when you’re in bed with them.
