GIVEN that I chose to go to Trinity College, Dublin, so that I could do my exams in the same room as Julie Walters' character in Educating Rita (well, mostly), I am understandably thrilled to have the opportunity to sit beside her tutor from said classic movie, the esteemed Sir Michael Caine.

And, to add to my joy, I then get to repeat the "sitting beside" experience with the almighty Wolverine, otherwise known as Hugh Jackman, who is Michael's co-star in Christopher Nolan's excellent new movie The Prestige.

Such are the perks of working for The Bas Gaz!

Michael pops his head around the door of the suite upstairs in London's Dorchester Hotel, very low-key in a navy V-neck and trousers. He's unbelievably sprightly for 73 years old, and, despite my fears that he'd be a bit scary, thanks to his legendary status, he smiles and starts to chat, barely pausing in 15 glorious minutes, taking in old Hollywood, his home life and his career resurgence.

The latter is thanks to Nolan, who cast him as Alfred in last year's hugely successful Batman Begins, and then employed him again for this film with Batman himself, Christian Bale. He'll be back as Alfred in 2008's The Dark Knight too.

Michael plays Cutter in The Prestige, a man who's acquainted with two warring magicians in Victorian London. And, as he explains, it allowed him to tap into an accent the London-born actor knows very well, albeit with a little edge because of the weather conditions "In those days, there was always fog.

"I remember when I was young, there was a cold fog and everyone had slightly deeper, husky voices he does an impression.

"In Liverpool, they had chemical fumes, so everybody talked through their nose like The Beatles. That's where they got that accent from.

"Cutter, for me, is you, in the middle of all these lunatics. A clever director like Chris uses a character like me so that when he wants to make the audience jump, he does it to me.

"It's a similar role I play in Batman Begins. The audience is asking, What's going on? There's a guy dressed in a batsuit?' So I ask What's going on? You're dressing in a batsuit?' I'm the audience's representative on earth."

Star factfile Name: Sir Maurice Joseph Micklewhite AKA Michael Caine
Bet you didn't know that: When knighted in 2000, it was under his real name
Where you have seen him before: Among many others, The Italian Job, Get Carter, Educating Rita
Where you will hear him next: Alongside Jude Law in Kenneth Branagh's new treatment of Sleuth

Given that he often plays mentor roles these days, does he see himself in that role in the acting community?

"No, I don't see myself in the acting community at all. I don't mix with a lot of actors. That's not because I don't like them but because I live in Surrey and there's not a lot of actors down there. Leatherhead is very sparsely populated with movie stars, I assure you laughs.

"I don't see myself as anything. I just wander around getting on with my life. I have this whole image in the paper, which I like. I think that's me' and my wife says: That's not you at all.' I say: I'm an icon. It says so in the paper.' She says: OK. Take the rubbish out!' It's like that, my life. It's quite ordinary.

"I never grew old. I see myself as 38, but you don't notice it. I'm in the fortunate, luxurious position of only working when I really, really, really want to, because I don't like getting up early in the morning and learning all that stuff. I work with offers that I can't refuse and Christopher, of course, I can't refuse.

"Otherwise I regard myself as retired. I have to become obsessed about what is offered to me. I don't go to work to make money."

Fair enough. And then it's the turn of Mr Jackman, a very versatile sort. He sings, he dances, he's won countless stage awards, he voices animated films, he charmed the comic book community with his amazing portrayal of Wolverine, and he's a married father of two adopted children.

Plus, he's six feet three inches tall, handsome and absolutely lovely, charming me with his ability to laugh at himself in one of the easiest chats I have ever had with anyone famous.

He first recalls being recently "Punk'd" by Ashton Kutcher on the famous American TV show of the same name, where they led him to believe he had burned down Brett Ratner's (the director of X-Men: The Last Stand) house, in a stunt costing $300,000.

"I was shaking and it just went on and on. It's not just Brett's house, Bruce Springsteen's house next door is on fire and a house next door to that. I thought I'd killed somebody and I almost threw up at that point. I'm fully thinking my life is over."

And yet he reacted so well, laughing when it was revealed to be a joke?

"Maybe it's the Australian in me.

I was so relieved and it was brilliantly done. Complete relief that I wasn't going to jail. I like a good illusion."

Star factfile Name: Hugh Michael Jackman
Bet you didn't know that: He was considered seriously for the role of Bond, James Bond
Where you have seen him before: The X-Men trilogy
Where you will hear him next: Voicing characters in Happy Feet and the new Aardman film Flushed Away

Speaking of illusions, his performance as magician Angier in The Prestige has been acclaimed as one of his most impressive screen performances yet. After wowing theatre audiences, he's now looking to achieve the same success with moviegoers and this film's warm reception is a good start.

Hugh says: "This is a different role for me to play, a guy on a destructive descent into this place.

"I can watch my performance without cringing a lot. One of the interesting things about this character was that, yes, he loved magic and performing, but he loved his wife and had a lot of optimism and hope. He wanted to be number one but, at that point, he wouldn't have done anything to get there. His inability to grieve for his wife really is what loads his obsession.

"In terms of being on stage, the role seemed fairly tailor-made for me. Angier is a great showman.

I've done a lot of stage and I've always felt quite at home because that's sort of what my background is. If I can be honest about my film career, it's probably taken me a few years to feel as at home on a set as I have on a stage."

He then tells a fascinating story about having watched a live operation where a woman had a brain tumour removed as part of his research for a role, which is too long for me to recount here, but which prompts him to comment on his love for his wife of 10 years, actress Deborra-Lee Furness.

"My wife is one of the best things that ever happened to me, I can be quite a serious person.

"She calls me a monk and says I have monkish tendencies. I like to keep it simple and quiet and ordinary and my wife is like - snap out of it, let's go, hey."

Just finally, is it true that he had a rather interesting trip to Las Vegas to meet David Copperfield as research for the role?

"Magic has changed a lot now, but Houdini used to literally cut himself open and hide lock picks inside his flesh and sew himself up, so he could reach inside himself if he needed them, and he'd regurgitate things. That is fascinating to me.

"I met a number of magicians preparing for this role, and Christopher encouraged me to go and see David's show.

"After the show, David said, Come back to my place'.

"We he and his wife went to this street on the outskirts of Vegas, to this sex shop! He pulls out his keys and opens the door. We walked in and I'm thinking, Alright, what have we got into here?' "Then he says, Push the nipple on the mannequin over there'. I pushed the nipple and these doors open and you enter this museum, the size of four football fields, of magic memorabilia. It was 12.30 at night and he did a 90-minute show for us!"

An actor's life, eh?

The Prestige is on general release now.