The actor, who was filming Now You See Me in a disused theatre, was accidentally locked in a makeshift dressing area overnight before being set free the next morning

No tabloid story about Michael Caine is complete without a headline referencing his famous line from The Italian Job: "You were only supposed to blow the bloody doors off!" Sub-editors at the Mirror must have thought all their Christmasses had come at once yesterday after the unfortunate 79-year-old actor was locked in his dressing room overnight while taking a nap.

According to the newspaper, Caine was on a break earlier this month from shooting thriller Now You See Me, which also stars Morgan Freeman, Isla Fisher, Mark Ruffalo, Jesse Eisenberg and Woody Harrelson, at a disused theatre in Louisiana when he decided to grab some well-deserved shut-eye. Because the actor did not have a personal assistant, staff at the Loew's State Theatre were unaware he had not left for the day when they locked his room. An irritated Caine was only freed the next morning when a carpenter turned up for work and heard his cries.

A production source told the Mirror: "It had been a long day of filming and Michael decided to slip upstairs to a makeshift dressing area and catch 40 winks.

"When Michael eventually woke up, he realised he was locked in. His mobile phone was in his trailer and there was no electricity in the attic, meaning he couldn't see a thing. It was pitch black.

"Michael started shouting for help but no one could hear him. It was only when an on-set carpenter who had left his tools in the theatre went to do some maintenance work the following morning that he was discovered. It's fair to say Michael wasn't in the best of moods – although he was grateful to have been found."

Now You See Me, from French director Louis Leterrier, centres on an FBI hunt for a team of illusionists who pull off bank heists during their performances and hand their audiences the cash. The film is due out in January 2013.