Proving that age is just a number, renowned actor Sir Michael Caine has penned his first novel at the remarkable age of 90.

The novel, called Deadly Game, tells the story of police detective Harry Taylor who discovers a high-level criminal enterprise and is drawn into a race against time to solve the mystery of a nuclear package that has fallen into the wrong hands.

Caine has reportedly long had the desire to write a thriller but only found the time to put pen to paper when the Covid lockdowns forced people across the globe indoors.

Caine spoke with The Times about always wanting to write a thriller novel, given it’s a genre he loves to read himself.

“It’s been my ambition for years to write a thriller,” he told the publication.

“It’s the genre I most love to read, and I’ve really got a buzz out of working on Deadly Game and teaming up with Hodder once again to publish it.

“I hope readers enjoy getting to know Harry Taylor as much as I did.”

The Italian Job star teased his fans with details about the upcoming novel in 2021, telling The Guardian that he had begun work on his latest literary project.

“I only read thrillers. I’m an adventure man, I’m not a literature person, so I’m not trying to replace Shakespeare here,” he said.

“But it’s based on something I once read about two dustmen, two rubbish collectors in the East End . . . and they find uranium in the rubbish.”

Caine recently celebrated his milestone 90th birthday with a rare public appearance at a star-studded affair.

The Alfie star celebrated his birthday in March this year at London’s The River Cafe alongside his wife, Shakira, and several fellow celebrities including Mission Impossible star Tom Cruise and David Walliams of Little Britain fame.

Walliams treated fans to a series of photos from the night’s celebrations in a post to Instagram while wishing the star all the best for his birthday.

“Happy 90th Birthday to the legendary Sir Michael Caine,” Walliams wrote.

In addition to his upcoming novel Caine has enjoyed a stellar acting career, having appeared in over 160 films over seven decades.

Caine is best known for his role as Alfie Elkins in the 1966 film Alfie and has since gone on to appear in a number of successful films such as the multi-award-winning film Interstellar, to the crass comedy Austin Powers in Goldmember and Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy.