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Veteran American actor and two-time Oscar winner Michael Douglas, known for iconic films like “Wall Street” and “Fatal Attraction,” has announced he is largely stepping away from acting, stating he hasn’t worked since 2022 by choice.
The 80-year-old actor made the comments on Sunday at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, where he was celebrating the 50th anniversary of “One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest,” which he co-produced.
Douglas explained his decision, saying, “I had been working pretty hard for almost 60 years, and I did not want to be one of those people who dropped dead on the set… I’m very happy with taking the time off.”
While he doesn’t consider himself officially “retired,” he has “no real intentions of going back” unless “something special comes up,” preferring to watch his wife, Catherine Zeta-Jones, act.
A Storied Career and Cancer Battle
Douglas’s impressive seven-decade career spans both acting and producing. It began with an uncredited role in 1966’s “Cast a Giant Shadow,” a film that featured his father, Kirk Douglas.
His breakthrough came in 1972 with the TV series “The Streets of San Francisco.”
He later won his first Academy Award in 1976 for producing “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” followed by his second Oscar in 1987 for Best Actor in “Wall Street.”
In recent years, Douglas’s output slowed, particularly after his stage 4 throat cancer diagnosis in 2010. Reflecting on that challenging period, he said, “Stage 4 cancer is not a holiday, but there aren’t many choices, are there?”
He recounted undergoing successful chemo and radiation, noting he was “fortunate” compared to friends who weren’t as lucky.
He avoided surgery that would have impacted his speech and jaw, which would have been “limiting as an actor.”
After his recovery, Douglas notably appeared in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Dr. Hank Pym in the “Ant-Man” films and “Avengers: Endgame.”
Douglas still has two unreleased projects: the movie “Looking Through Water” and the miniseries “Reagan & Gorbachev.”
