Caine's Batman Pension Plan

SIR MICHAEL CAINE was pleased to land the role of BATMAN's beloved butler ALFRED in the rejuvenated superhero franchise - because he sees the part as his pension.

The legendary actor has played the loyal man-servant opposite Christian Bale in 2005's Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, set to hit cinemas later this month (Jul08).

The 75-year-old took over the role from his actor pal Michael Gough, who portrayed the lovable character in the first four films before bowing out at the age of 84.

And Caine is keen to follow in Gough's footsteps - insisting he could play the character well into his 80s.

He says, "For me, the greatest thing about playing Alfred is that he's a character for all time and you can play it as long as you like.

"Like Michael Gough, a friend of mine, who played Alfred in the Batman films until he was 84. So I have another 10 years to go. It is really my old age pension."