“I want the feeling in the whole unit to be one of excitement at our common endeavour.”
GMO’s Director and Co-founder, Graham O’Hehir has recently been reading Sir Michael Caine’s autobiography ‘Blowing the Bloody Doors Off – And Other Lessons in Life’ and has found Mr Caine’s outlook on relationships to be a valuable share.
Below, in an excerpt from his book, Michael describes the way he acts on set during the first day of a new film. A lesson for all; No matter who you are, or how important you feel, we are all people. By treating everyone well, a much greater result can be accomplished.
‘I make a point of treating everyone on set or on location equally – the stars, the unknowns, the crew, the tea boy. On the first day, I introduce myself to everyone as Michael. I don’t want people to think I’m swanning about, assuming they all know who I am. And I don’t want people worrying: ‘Bloody hell, what do I all him? Mr Caine? Sir Michael?’ It’s ‘Hello, my name is Michael’ to everyone. I don’t pull rank. I much prefer to make friends with everyone and create a happy, relaxed atmosphere, to put everyone at their ease. I want everyone to feel ‘I’m fabulous, we’re all fabulous’. I want the feeling in the whole unit to be one of excitement at our common endeavour. It’s the right thing to do and it’s also the best thing to do. I know that how I behave on set will make a difference to everyone’s day, and everyone’s performance.’