Michael Caine says he spent eight years trying not to blink on the screen

Veteran actor Michael Caine has revealed that he once spent eight years trying not to blink in his attempt to master the art of acting.

The Oscar-winning actor, best known for his critically-acclaimed roles in films such as "Alfie", "A Bridge Too Far" and "The Cider House Rules", said he learned the trick from a book called "Teach Yourself Acting".

"One thing that stuck in my mind was, "Don’t blink. You must never blink''. For the next eight years, I walked around trying not to blink. People around me, my mother and everybody, thought I had gone nuts," Caine told Mirror UK.

"They thought I was a psychopath. I used to frighten the life out of people," the 88-year-old actor said.

Another English star, Anthony Hopkins, had tried the trick of not blinking while acting when he played Hannibal Lecter in the cult classic movie "The Silence of the Lambs".

Caine believes that if an actor does not blink, then he can "keep the audience mesmerised".

"It’s not so much not blinking, it’s just being still. Stillness has an economy and a power about it," he added.

The veteran actor was most recently featured in filmmaker Christopher Nolan's "Tenet".

Caine will be seen next in Czech historical drama "Medieval", "Now You See Me 3" and "The Great Escaper".