Umair
Michael Caine knew it about Beyoncé all along.
In his new book, Don’t Look Back, You’ll Trip Over: My Guide to Life, the 92-year-old actor reflected on his time working with a then-19-year-old Beyoncé in Austin Powers in Goldmember—a film that poked fun at the Swinging Sixties while letting its cast have an absolute blast on set.
“The whole series was a send-up of the Sixties, and the fashion, and all the psychedelic stuff,” Caine shared in his conversation with journalist Matthew d’Ancona.
“Just lampooning the whole decade in the best possible way.” Playing Nigel Powers, father to Mike Myers’ eccentric spy, was an opportunity he simply couldn’t turn down.
“I loved doing that movie, poking fun at the Sixties but also celebrating it all again. It was great fun.”
Of course, one of the biggest highlights for Caine was working alongside Beyoncé, who played Foxxy Cleopatra, an over-the-top tribute to blaxploitation heroines.
Even at that young age, Caine saw something special in her.
“Only nineteen at the time, I think, and a very nice person,” he recalled. “You could already tell how focused she was and how big a star she was going to be.”
And that focus? It was crystal clear from day one. “I remember the first day on set, I asked her what her ambition was, and she said, ‘I want to win an Academy Award for a movie.’ Not a trace of arrogance, just clarity,” Caine said.
Goldmember marked Beyoncé’s big-screen debut and came just before she launched her solo career.
And while she hasn’t taken home an Oscar yet, she did score a nomination in 2023 for Be Alive.
Caine has no doubt that she’ll get there one day. “I’m sure she’ll win an Oscar eventually. She’s already won a bunch of Grammys!” he said, calling her 30 Grammy wins a “phenomenal achievement.”
As for his approach to acting, Caine shared a valuable lesson in his book: perfection isn’t the goal.
“Everybody makes mistakes – in fact, something’s gone wrong if you don’t. It shows you’re being too cautious, too wary of risk. What makes the difference is how you deal with failure, how you get its measure, and move on.”
And if there’s one thing Caine and Beyoncé both understand, it’s that success is all about moving forward—preferably with a little rock ’n’ roll playing in the background.
