Michael Caine may be a famous celebrity, but he's also an actor. A great one, at that. And if you ask him, he wouldn't say the same thing about today's crop of young stars.
At an event honoring British Academy Award winners, hosted by Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall, the "Alfie" star pointed out the differences between his generation and the new age.
"These days they just say 'I'm going to be an actor because I want to be rich and famous,'" he said. "And then they do a little part on television and everyone knows who they are. They can't really act."
He continued, "I knew I wasn't going to be rich, I knew I wasn't going to be famous, I knew I wasn't going to be a movie star, I just wanted to be a good actor, that's all."
Emma Thompson was also at the event and added her two cents about the state of the industry, especially in terms of casting roles.
One of the things that "really worries" her about how the industry uses social media is that "we're casting actors who have big followers so the studios can use their followings to sell their movie."
"The actors are becoming attached in the sort of business way to their social media profiles, and I think that's a disaster," Thompson added.
Fellow British actors like Dame Judi Dench, Dame Maggie Smith, Colin Firth and Jeremy Irons were also in attendance.
Dench shared her thoughts about young Hollywood, expressing concern over the lack of funding available to train up-and-coming actors.
"I think it's worrying that training is so expensive," she said. "I must have, I don't know how many letters a week from young actors wanting to get to drama school and not having the money to get them through."
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