King of the Turkeys

Michael Caine may be a two-time Oscar winner but at one point in his career his resume boasted more flops, turkeys and movie disasters than any actor would care to have on their CV. Though his early screen career 1966 to 1974 courted American film directors such as Robert Aldrich and Don Siegel, Michael Caine maintained a steadfast Englishness. Until, that is, the soaring taxes in pre-Thatcher Britain turned him, as it had his friends and fellow actors Sean Connery and Roger Moore, into a tax exile. Needing to re-establish his career in Hollywood, the decade from 1976 to 1986 saw Caine accept roles in films so bad the critics derided them. With flop after flop, loss after loss it seemed at this time that the future two-time Oscar winner was bound to be a box-office two-time loser. But Caine persisted, his career rebounded and by the time he returned to the UK was an American and international star.