Michael Caine said his performance in *The Cider House Rules* was heavily criticised by British reviewers, a reaction he said did not surprise him given his long history of difficult relations with the UK press. The criticism helped prompt remarks at the BAFTAs about feeling like an outsider in his own country, which in turn caused controversy.

Released in 1999, *The Cider House Rules* featured Caine as Dr Wilbur Larch and was widely recognised elsewhere, while he felt British critics had been especially harsh. He linked this treatment partly to longstanding prejudice against his Cockney, working-class background, although he later noted that British film critics also awarded him Best Actor for *The Quiet American*.