Michael Douglas
Born: 1944-09-25 in New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA
Known For: Acting
Biography
Michael Kirk Douglas (born September 25, 1944) is a retired American actor and film producer. He has received numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards, five Golden Globe Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, the Cecil B. DeMille Award, and the AFI Life Achievement Award. The elder son of Kirk Douglas and Diana Dill, Douglas earned his Bachelor of Arts in drama from the University of California, Santa Barbara. His early acting roles included film, stage, and television productions. Douglas first achieved prominence for his performance in the ABC police procedural television series The Streets of San Francisco, for which he received three consecutive Emmy Award nominations. In 1975, Douglas produced One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, having acquired the rights to the Ken Kesey novel from his father. The film received critical and popular acclaim and won the Academy Award for Best Picture, earning Douglas his first Oscar as one of the film's producers. Douglas went on to produce films including The China Syndrome (1979) and Romancing the Stone (1984), for which he received the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture—Musical or Comedy, and The Jewel of the Nile (1985). Douglas received critical acclaim for his portrayal of Gordon Gekko in Oliver Stone's Wall Street (1987), for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor (a role he reprised in the sequel Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps in 2010). Other notable roles include in Fatal Attraction (1987), The War of the Roses (1989), Basic Instinct (1992), Falling Down (1993), The American President (1995), The Game (1997), Traffic (2000), and Wonder Boys (2000). In 2013, for his portrayal of Liberace in the HBO film Behind the Candelabra, he won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie. Douglas starred as an ageing acting coach in the Netflix comedy series The Kominsky Method (2018–2021), for which he won a Golden Globe Award for Best ctor—television series musical or omedy. He has portrayed Hank Pym in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, beginning with Ant-Man (2015). Douglas has received notice for his humanitarian and political activism. He sits on the board of the Nuclear Threat Initiative, is an honorary board member of the anti-war grant-making foundation Ploughshares Fund, and he was appointed as a United Nations Messenger of Peace in 1998. He has been married to actress Catherine Zeta-Jones since 2000. In July 2025, Douglas said that he was largely retired from acting, saying "I realized I had to stop [...] I did not want to be one of those people who dropped dead on the set". He added that while he was attached to one additional project and did not fully rule out future projects "if something special came up", he had no plans to work regularly again.
Filmography
2025
- Looking Through Water as William
- I Am Curious Johnny as Self
2024
- Franklin as Benjamin Franklin
- America's Burning as Self - Narrator (voice)
2023
- Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania as Dr. Hank Pym
- Downwind
- Michael Douglas: The Prodigal Son as Self - Actor
- Marvel Studios Assembled: The Making of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania as Self - Dr. Hank Pym
2022
- Il était une fois Champs-Élysées as Self (archive footage)
2021
- What If...? as Hank Pym / Yellow Jacket (voice)
- Marvel Studios Legends as Dr. Hank Pym (archive footage) (uncredited)
- Crack: Cocaine, Corruption & Conspiracy as Gordon Gekko (archive footage)
2020
- Ratched ... (Executive Producer)
- Deauville et le rêve américain as Self
- Total Excess: How Carolco Changed Hollywood as Self
- Visible: Out on Television as Self
- Basic Instinct: Sex, Death & Stone as Self
2019
- The Kelly Clarkson Show as Self
- Avengers: Endgame as Hank Pym
- Earthquake Bird ... (Thanks)
- Green Eggs and Ham as Guy-Am-I (voice)
- We Have Always Lived in the Castle ... (Executive Producer)
- It Takes a Lunatic as Self
- Sword-and-Sandal: The Story of the Period Epic as Self - Actor (archive footage)
- Still Laugh-In: The Stars Celebrate as Self
- Forman vs. Forman as Self - Forman's Producer (archive footage)
2018
- Ant-Man and the Wasp as Dr. Hank Pym
- The Kominsky Method as Sandy Kominsky
- Animal World as Anderson
- GRAND PRIX Driver as Narrator
- Michael Douglas: Live from the TCM Classic Film Festival as Guest
2017
- Flatliners ... (Producer)
- Unlocked as Eric Lasch
- The Untameable Kirk Douglas as Self - Actor
- Once upon a time on Wall Street as Self
2015
- The Late Show with Stephen Colbert as Self
- The Late Late Show with James Corden as Self
- Ant-Man as Dr. Hank Pym
2014
- The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon as Self
- Late Night with Seth Meyers as Self
- Variety Studio: Actors on Actors as Self
- Beyond the Reach as Madec
- And So It Goes as Oren Little
- Hollywood Banker as Self (archive footage)
- Richard Attenborough: A Life in Film as Self
2013
- Last Vegas as Billy Gerson
- Behind the Candelabra as Liberace
- Supermensch: The Legend of Shep Gordon as Self
- The Prime Ministers: The Pioneers as Yitzhak Rabin (voice)
2012
- Finding Your Roots
- Final Cut: Ladies and Gentlemen as (archive footage)
- Close Up as Self (archive footage)
2011
- The Jonathan Ross Show as Self
- Haywire as Alex Coblenz
- Once Upon a Time… One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest as Self
- The Streets of the Invisibles as Steve Keller (voice)
2010
- Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps as Gordon Gekko
- America: The Story of Us as Self
- Asylum: An Empty Nest For The Mentally Ill? as Self
2009
- Solitary Man as Ben Kalmen
- Ghosts of Girlfriends Past as Uncle Wayne
- Beyond a Reasonable Doubt as Mark Hunter
- Making of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest as Self
- A Call to Arms as Self (voice)
- Miloš Forman: What Doesn't Kill You… as Self
- The Day After Peace as Self
2007
- The Graham Norton Show as Self
- King of California as Charlie
- Dinosaurs Alive as Narrator
- Fog City Mavericks as Self
- Trumbo as Self
2006
- Black Rain: Making The Film as Self
- The Sentinel as Pete Garrison
- You, Me and Dupree as Mr. Thompson
2005
- The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson as Self
- A Father… A Son… Once Upon a Time in Hollywood as Self
- Ben-Hur: The Epic That Changed Cinema as Self
- Nos Bastidores de Hollywood as Self (archive footage)
2004
- Tell Them Who You Are as Self
- The China Syndrome: A Fusion of Talent as Self
- The China Syndrome: Creating a Controversy as Self
2003
- Real Time with Bill Maher as Self
- Jimmy Kimmel Live! as Self
- The Ellen DeGeneres Show as Self
- The In-Laws as Steve Tobias
- It Runs in the Family as Alex Gromberg
- Direct Order as Narrator
- Celebrities Uncensored as Self
- Declaration of Independence as Self
2002
2001
- Don't Say a Word as Dr. Nathan Conrad
- One Night at McCool's as Mr. Burmeister
- In Search of Peace as Narrator (voice)
2000
- Traffic as Robert Wakefield
- Wonder Boys as Grady Tripp
- Inside Traffic: The Making of 'Traffic' as Self
- The Directors: Milos Forman as Self
1999
- Beckmann as Self
- Get Bruce! as Self
- One Day in September as Self - Narrator (voice)
- Forever Hollywood as Self
1998
- Will & Grace as Detective Gavin Hatch
- A Perfect Murder as Steven Taylor
- The Magic Hour as Self
1997
- Leute heute as Self
- The View as Self
- The Rainmaker ... (Producer)
- Face/Off ... (Executive Producer)
- The Game as Nicholas Van Orton
- Completely Cuckoo as Self
1996
- The Ghost and the Darkness as Charles Remington
1995
- The American President as Andrew Shepherd
1994
- Disclosure as Tom Sanders
- Time Team ... (Director)
- Inside the Actors Studio as Self
1993
- Falling Down as D-Fens
- Made in America ... (Producer)
1992
- The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
- Basic Instinct as Detective Nick Curran
- Shining Through as Ed Leland
- Radio Flyer ... (Executive Producer)
1991
- Double Impact ... (Co-Producer)
- Pebble Mill as Self
- Stone Cold ... (Co-Producer)
- Eyes of an Angel ... (Executive Producer)
1990
- Flatliners ... (Producer)
- The Earth Day Special as Self
- If Dolphins Could Talk as Host
1989
- The War of the Roses as Oliver Rose
- Black Rain as Nick Conklin
- When Michael Calls as Craig
1988
- LIVE with Kelly and Mark as Self
- Electric Blue 29 as (archive footage)
- The World's Greatest Stunts: A Tribute to Hollywood Stuntmen as Self
- cascadeurs de stars as Self
1987
- Wall Street as Gordon Gekko
- Fatal Attraction as Dan Gallagher
1986
- Starman ... (Executive Producer)
1985
- The Jewel of the Nile as Jack T. Colton
- A Chorus Line as Zach
1984
- Goldene Kamera as Self
- Romancing the Stone as Jack T. Colton
- Starman ... (Executive Producer)
1983
- The Star Chamber as Steven Hardin
1982
- Champs-Elysées as Self
1981
- Wetten, dass..? as Self
- Entertainment Tonight as Self
1980
- It's My Turn as Ben Lewin
1979
- Running as Michael Andropolis
- The China Syndrome as Richard Adams
1978
- Coma as Dr. Mark Bellows
1977
1976
- TVTV Looks at the Oscars as Self
1975
- Saturday Night Live as Self - Host
- One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest ... (Producer)
- Les Rendez-vous du dimanche as Self
- People's Choice Awards as Self - Presenter
1973
- Hassles and Hangups as Narrator
1972
- The Streets of San Francisco as Steve Keller
- Napoleon and Samantha as Danny Arlington Williams III
- The Streets of San Francisco as Steven Keller
1971
- Summertree as Jerry
1970
- Adam at Six A.M. as Adam Gaines
1969
- Hail, Hero! as Carl Dixon
1966
- Cast a Giant Shadow as Jeep Driver (uncredited)
- CBS Playhouse
1965
- The F.B.I. as Jerry Williams
1962
- The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson as Self
- The Merv Griffin Show as Self
1961
- The Mike Douglas Show as Self
1956
- Tony Awards as Self - Presenter
1953
- The Oscars as Self
1952
- This Is Your Life as Self
1948
- Bambi as Self
1944
- Golden Globe Awards as Self - Presenter