Caine's roles as effete-seeming aristocrats were to contrast with his next projects, in which he was to become notable for using a regional accent, rather than the Received Pronunciation then considered proper for film actors. At the time, Caine's working class Cockney, just as with The Beatles' Liverpudlian accents, stood out to American and British audiences alike. "Zulu" was closely followed by two of his best-known roles: the spy Harry Palmer in "The Ipcress File" (1965), and the womanising title character in "Alfie" (1966). He went on to play Palmer in a further four films, "Funeral in Berlin" (1966), "Billion Dollar Brain" (1967), "Bullet to Beijing" (1995) and "Midnight in Saint Petersburg" (1995). Caine made his first film in Hollywood in 1966, after an invitation from Shirley MacLaine to play opposite her in "Gambit." During the first two weeks, whilst staying at the Beverly Hills Hotel, he met long-term friends John Wayne and agent "Swifty" Lazar.