Michael Douglas: Found acting very offensive in my early career

Actor Michael Douglas did not enjoy acting when he began his career.

The Wall Street (1987) star explains he did not find his profession fun at first because he had a hard time being in front of the camera, reports aceshowbiz.com.

“When I first started early on in my career I did not enjoy it,” he told People magazine. “I did not like the camera, I found it very offensive. I had a lot of stage fright. A lot of times, I wondered why I kept doing it because it wasn’t fun,” he said.

However, after Douglas adjusted his mindset, he began to appreciate his craft more.

“At a certain point in my career, I changed a couple of attitudes, a couple of little decisions that I made and it became much more pleasant,” he added.

“It was the year of Fatal Attraction (1986) and Wall Street. And I think with Wall Street getting an Oscar I got out of my father’s (Kirk Douglas) shadow,” he added. “Also around that time I changed my attitude around how I dealt with acting.”

“I was sort of a method actor before and tried to get down to the truth and what the truth is and understand the pain (of the acharacter). Then, realising that it is all about lying. It’s not about the pain, it’s about lying about the pain, making everyone believe. And once I did that, it kind of freed me up a bit, it allowed me more choices,” he said.

I did not like the camera. I had a lot of stage fright. A lot of times I wondered why I kept doing it because it wasn’t fun. I changed my attitude of how I dealt with acting.

MICHAEL DOUGLAS,

ACTOR