ALL GROWN UP
In a small town south of Gordon Gekko’s Wall Street and far from Liberace’s glittering candelabra, Michael Douglas pelts a stray dog in the rump with a paintball gun. Cruel, sure, but the mutt will think twice before soiling his lawn again.
Of course, Douglas, 69, is many things – Oscar winner, acting legend, member of a Hollywood dynasty – but a pooch poacher isn’t one of them. Oren Little, however, the selfish, grouchy real estate agent he plays in the upcoming rom-com And So It Goes, is another story.
“I’m not inherently a comedian but I love the challenge … doing the embittered [character] and finding the ability to have some remnants of some kind of charm,” the actor says of playing Little, whose retirement plans hit a snag when he inherits custody of his nine-year-old granddaughter after his son is incarcerated.
“Obviously, the whole issue with the father with a son going to jail was clearly one I related to,” Douglas, whose eldest son is serving a prison sentence on drug charges, admits.
The film plays like a tribute to midlife shake-ups – a topic Douglas knows well given he’s married, had two children and battled stage IV tongue cancer since turning 56. “I do think you probably treat each day as a little more valuable. Part of that is overcoming cancer, part of that is just getting a little older. You can count the years ahead.”
And it’s what’s ahead that offers perhaps the biggest surprise of all: just a few months shy of his 70th birthday, he’s as in demand as ever.
“At an age where people talk about retirement, it’s the last thing on my mind,” he admits, pointing to his award-winning turn as Liberace, opposite Matt Damon as his love interest, in Behind the Candelabra and future roles like the Marvel film AntMan. “At the same time, I’m really enjoying having young kids with Catherine [Zeta-Jones]. I never ex- pected or anticipated that ... It’s been a great shot in the arm to see the amount of stuff that I have been able to do at this age, and upcoming.”
Part of his late-career surge is thanks to “the need and demand for movies for an older audience.
“And I like And So It Goes because it deals with a lot of the problems that older people have – do you, at the twilight of your life, have to change your lifestyle and how do you overcome that or keep that spark alive?”
Working with director Rob Reiner, son of Hollywood legend Carl Reiner – “we always have shared this … second generation feeling; there’s not many of us who’ve had extremely successful fathers and have been able to have a career of our own” – is always fun, and acting opposite a leading lady as “charming and clever and funny” as former Zoomer cover subject Diane Keaton proved a special treat.
“I was fascinated by her quirkiness, love her style, and she has a wonderful sense of humour. Plus she’s a hell of a singer … and a good kisser,” Douglas chuckles, before adding the footnote: “Matt [Damon’s] right up there, too, now. We can’t forget Matt.” —MC
And So It Goes hits theatres July 11.