Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, April 16, 1994 TAG: 9404160082
SECTION: TV/RADIO PAGE: SPECTATOR 1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JACKIE HYMAN Associated Press
DATELINE: LOS ANGELES LENGTH: Medium
"I have blond hair and blue eyes and I'm 6-foot-2, and I'm playing a little short, fat guy with black hair and brown eyes," Caine says. "You have to act short."
"When Lions Roared" also stars Bob Hoskins as Winston Churchill and John Lithgow as Franklin D. Roosevelt. The four-hour project, airing Tuesday and Wednesday, focuses on the relationships among the Soviet dictator, the British prime minister and the American president during World War II.
In some scenes, split-screen techniques are used to show the men reacting to each other's long-distance communications.
"To me, it seemed like an enormous stretch for me to do," said Caine, who won an Academy Award for "Hannah and Her Sisters" and received nominations for "Alfie," "Sleuth" and "Educating Rita."
Most of Caine's film roles have been in comedies in recent years, and he says even his friends have him somewhat typecast.
"Even when I tell people I'm playing Stalin," he said, "Everybody goes, `You're playing what? You're playing who?"'
Interviewed during a break in shooting, scheduled in both Los Angeles and Prague, Caine wore a gray-streaked black wig, brown contact lenses and makeup that altered his nose and eyes.
"The first morning I looked at myself when it was all done and it was bloody eerie. I looked at myself and there was Stalin staring back at me," said Caine, whose accent off-screen reflects his Cockney origins.
"I'm just looking forward to (shooting in) Prague, to scaring the life out of all the Czechs. They'll say, `Come back, has he?' "
Caine was pleased by the chance to bring history to life.
"I was 12 when the war finished," said the actor, who turned 61 last month. "It's history that we all thought we knew but we really didn't. When I read this (script), I was stunned to learn things. The end meeting in Yalta was the meeting that carved up the world for the Cold War, and we're still suffering for that."
"Another reason for doing it is you very seldom do things which you imagine might outlive you," he said. "This is a piece of history that will last."
Although he has never seen any other actor portray Stalin, Caine did watch videos of the dictator himself. Since Stalin didn't speak English, Caine arranged for a Russian actor to tape his lines so he could learn them with an authentic accent.
"Stalin wasn't a verbose man like the other two, but he was the only one who could order someone out to be shot," Caine said. "He never had to shout and he never had to cajole. He was a very quiet, sinister man.
"It's the voice and the eyes that mainly bring it out," he noted. "You speak with almost a smile and so ordinary, but the eyes just stay cold. ...
"When you're smiling, the eyes don't change. It allows a lot of understatement, which I like."
Also, he noted, "Evil people do not see themselves as evil. Actors always make that mistake. Hitler loved children and animals. He thought he was a nice man."
The son of a London fish market porter and a charwoman, Caine defied the family expectation that he would become a laborer. He began his career working backstage and performing in repertory theater.
He now lives in London with his wife of 21 years, Shakira Baksh, a former Miss Universe contest runner-up. The actor, who was married once previously, has two daughters, ages 20 and 37.
Born Maurice Micklewhite, he chose a stage name inspired by the title of the film "The Caine Mutiny." Following a series of small roles, he drew attention in 1965's "The Ipcress File" and was launched as a star a year later by the title role in "Alfie."
His career, in which he has easily shifted back and forth from comedy to drama, has lasted through more than 70 films, including a villain in the current Steven Seagal action film, "On Deadly Ground."
by CNB