Barber: 'Michael Caine is like your grandpa'

Rex Features

Director Daniel Barber has compared his Harry Brown star Michael Caine to his grandfather.

Caine stars as a vigilante pensioner in Barber's feature debut, and the filmmaker admitted that he felt "really nervous" when he met the British acting icon for the first time.

He told DS: "I was going to meet him in this very nice restaurant and on the way my sister phoned me and said, 'You sound a bit weird, Dan'. I said, 'I'm really nervous, I'm going to lunch with Michael Caine'. She just said, 'Don't be so silly, it's like going to lunch with grandpa!' And that's right. He's a very easy-going guy, when you meet him he's very warm and easy to get on with."

Speaking about his decision to cast Caine in the part, Barber added: "I don't think there are many other British actors who could play that role. Not with that degree of stature... and give the film a sense of importance, a sense of gravity. He's in that Clint Eastwood category of being awesome all the time."

Harry Brown opens in UK cinemas today.

> Click here to watch our interview with Daniel Barber