Just as watching Clint Eastwood's cantankerous old Polish pensioner point the barrel of his finger at a passing street gang in Gran Torino had you thinking of Police Inspector Harry Callahan, the sight of Michael Caine as an old London geezer taking on the violent hoodies blotting the landscape of his south-east London high-rise council estate in the eponymous Harry Brown makes you think of Harry Palmer.

Or Jack Carter. Or . . . "Well, let's just say it's a role that comes with a certain amount of my own career baggage," smiles the 76-year old film legend. "You always bring a certain amount of yourself to a role, but, as you get older -- once you've been up on screen as long as I have -- you bring a certain amount of all those characters that people remember you for, too.

"I knew, taking on the role of Harry Brown, there would be echoes."

Thankfully, they're all good echoes. And Harry Brown is a pretty good film, Caine's happily retired soldier content with having a quiet game of chess down the local with his good friend, Leonard (David Bradley, best known as the caretaker in the Harry Potter series). It's where he goes for solace after we witness early on the passing of his hospitalised wife.

All that peace and goodwill to all men evaporates though when Leonard is brutally murdered by the thugs on Harry's rundown estate.

PAUL BYRNE: There's some grit involved in this movie; it was shot in London's notorious Heygate estate, not far from where young Maurice Joseph Micklewhite -- aka Sir Michael Caine -- grew up.

MICHAEL CAINE: Yeah, there's a reality here. It's not Tinseltown, or a cartoon, portrait of life in the undergrowth. That was part of the reason I was attracted to it; it takes on something that is part of our society right now. In many ways, it's always been there, but the fact that we haven't been able to tackle it yet is pretty amazing. You always imagine that evolution will kick in, and people will stop spoiling their own backyards. It's something that has to be sorted out from above -- give these people some pride, some respect, and that will all change.

PB: You must have been wary, taking on the role of Harry Brown, given that people would compare all those iconic gun-toting hero roles you've given us before . . ?

MC: There was a certain trepidation, yeah, but I knew if I played Harry with the same conviction that I'd given those other roles, he'd be real. That's all that matters -- making the character real. I wasn't trying to present some kind of tribute to these other roles.

PB: It's hard-hitting at times -- the scene where you infiltrate the den of drug dealer Stretch makes the skin creep. Sean Harris delivers a terrifying performance...

MC: Sean's incredible in that scene; he even had me going. It was important not to make these guys sexy; they have enormous power over the community and that power can make them extremely macho. It makes them believe that they're somehow superior. I don't think anyone's going to think that such a life is cool after seeing Stretch in his lair.

PB: Such self-referencing roles are just what award committees tend to embrace -- was that on your mind at all? 'Hey, this one could win me another Oscar'?

MC: I'm pretty happy with the awards I've gotten already. I've been incredibly blessed, getting to play roles in some wonderful movies, and gaining the kind of recognition that I really wasn't expecting in my old age, so, I'm just happy to have the luxury of choosing the roles that I like.

PB: Famously, it was said that you used to choose films because of the location.

MC: A nice sunny beach certainly played a part in one or two movies, yeah [laughs] . . .

PB: My favourite is the notion that you would take a script into your study, pour yourself a glass of something vintage, light up a cigar, and then check if your character was on the first page and the last page. If so, you'd do it...

MC: A lot of actors know it's all about being on the first page and on the last [laughs]. I can't say I've always taken this job very seriously -- something that's been well-documented -- but I've always enjoyed it. And I hope I've gotten better at it over the years. As I said, I would never have guessed that I would be in demand at this particular point in my life. It's wonderful! Being able to make movies like Harry Brown and Is Anybody There? alongside the likes of The Dark Knight and Children Of Men. It makes the mind boggle, how lucky I've been . . .

PB: It hasn't all been luck, of course -- there's some talent involved in all this too . . .

MC: Oh, I'm sure there is [laughs], but I know there are thousands of actors out there who are as good, and better, than me, who just didn't get the breaks. I'm not saying that I didn't deserve any of this but I'm also aware of the fickle nature of this business, and how being in the right place at the right time can change everything.

PB: You're currently shooting Inception with Chris Nolan, the man who brought the Caped Crusader back from the dead with Batman Begins and The Dark Knight. This one seems like an enigma wrapped inside a mystery boxed inside a what-the-hell?

MC: It's a twisty one, alright. I'm in it. And so is Leonardo DiCaprio. I would like to tell you more, but that's about all I've grasped -- it's that twisty.

PB: Did you get to talk to Chris about the next Batman outing?

MC: He's working on it, very aware of the pressure that comes with living up to something like The Dark Knight. Chris isn't a box-office-led kind of director though, and that means he's going to make sure that he comes up with something equally spectacular. And I'm sure he will.

Harry Brown hits cinemas on November 13

- Paul Byrne