[3] A native of Montreal, Quebec, he served in the Royal Canadian Air Force during World War II, and decided to pursue acting after participating in variety shows.
[5] He began his acting career in New York City, appearing in dramatic anthology television series such as Lights Out, The Web, Omnibus and Camera Three.
[8] In 1959 he starred as Jamie in a production of Long Day's Journey into Night for Montreal's Théâtre du Nouveau Monde, alongside Ian Keith as James, Mildred Dunnock as Mary, Eileen Clifford as Cathleen and Roland Hewgill as Edmund.
[9] In the early 1960s he moved to England,[10] where he had some success in stage roles until his career was disrupted by the rise to fame of the similarly-named Michael Caine.
[12] He returned to living in Canada permanently soon afterward, and was again regularly featured in Canadian television and stage productions, including a 1968 guest appearance in Quentin Durgens, M.P.,[13] the theatrical film Love in a Four Letter World,[14] and the television films Fringe Benefits,[15] The Day They Killed the Snowman,[16] The Disposable Man,[17] and The Sloane Affair.