Michael Douglas: ‘I think the audience sees there’s a struggle – I’m not just a violent, nasty person’
You recently said you channel your characters through your hair. What do you mean? TopTrampA long time ago, after Black Rain (1989) with Ridley Scott – where I got this sort of Angloafro perm – my dear friend Jack Nicholson said: “What’s with your hair?” I looked at him and said: “Wait a minute. You always act with your hair.” Falling Down (1993) – I have a hairdresser to thank for deciding at the very last minute: “Let’s just go with a flat top.” On Wall Street (1987), Pat Riley, the basketball coach for the Lakers, always had his hair greased back, so I thought the lizard look would work. A lot of times, I do lead with my hair.
What societal injustices would DFens from Falling Down be raging against in 2023?WunWunWagDerWunI think the social acceptance of two people having a conversation, looking at their phones all the time. Multitasking gets me very frustrated. It’s amazing. I’ll insist my son gives me his attention and he’ll look at me as if to say: “What’s the problem?” He says he’s listening but will do two other things at the same time, which just seems rude.
Is it nice when the younger generation geek-out because they associate you with Ant-Man or is it weird? TiTeddyBearThat was one of the reasons to do Ant-Man, other than I had never done a green screen-type movie. Most of my films have been R-rated – for adults only. I get a big kick out of having these kids pulling on my jacket, saying: “Hank Pym! Ant-Man!” It’s as close to immortality an actor can get.
Would you sell your digital image so you can continue to star in movies after you are dead? LarboIrelandIt’s funny you should mention that. You get to an age where you start thinking about your will and estate. Now I’m thinking I’m also going to have to license my name and likeness so the rights go to my family rather than to the metaverse. I see what AI is doing with pictures with text. It’s only matter of time before you’ll be able to recreate any dead person at any age with the voice and the mannerisms, so I want to have some control.
What attracted you to The Streets of San Francisco (1972-1977)? Was it the opportunity to work with Karl Malden? teabags12Well … it was a job. It was early in my career; I didn’t have a whole lot of options. I started as an off-Broadway actor in New York. I did a CBS playhouse (1967-1970) on television, which brought me to Hollywood. I did a couple of unsuccessful movies, then drifted into episodic television. Streets of San Francisco was offered as an entire season: 26 hour-long episodes with Quinn Martin, a major television producer, and Karl Malden, a wonderful actor, befriended by Marlon Brando and many others, and a mentor in my life. It was the greatest opportunity I ever had, but also the hardest. We shot 14 hours a day, six days a week, for eight and a half months. I’ve never worked harder, but I learned so much about acting and producing. It was a tremendous opportunity.
Would life be much different if you had become a movie star at a younger age? ClassicMacGruberIn The Streets of San Francisco, I was still in my early 20s, and it gave me worldwide acclaim. That was followed by One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. I did have success at a relatively young age. Cuckoo’s Nest was a magical experience. Saul Zaentz, my producing partner, and I were naive idiots. But thank God we did the stupid things we did, like filming in Oregon State hospital in January. Everybody said: “Why aren’t you down on a stage in LA? Most of the movie takes place on a hospital ward, which you can recreate.” We said: “But it won’t have the similitude and association with actual patients.” Ignorance is bliss, and we made a really good movie.
Ever order the rabbit stew or is too awkward? Rockchick76Goat, yes. Rabbit, I seem to stay away from.
How do you portray such deeply unlikable characters in such a sympathetic and compelling manner? FussyandhonestI’d say it’s something about my persona. I was at a screening of Fatal Attraction (1988), and told this story how the night before I’d been out with Glenn Close, came home the next morning and had to rustle the bed covers so my wife at the time [Diandra Luker] thought I’d slept at home. The audience laughed and the producer Sherry Lansing said: “I can’t believe it. They’ve forgiven you already.” Maybe it’s because, in my evilness, the audience can still see there is a struggle and an ambivalence to do the right thing, so I’m not inherently just a violent, nasty person.
Which of your films make you smile the most? SemperFudgeI love the ones that were unpredictable. Falling Down, The War of the Roses (1989) and Wonder Boys (2000) are quirky and have a sense of humour. I’d love to fully accomplish comedy, which is such an underappreciated area, and I never understand why the Academy Awards fails to acknowledge it. I have tried! Last Vegas (2013) with Bobby De Niro, Morgan Freeman and Kevin Kline, Romancing the Stone (1984) and The Kominsky Method (2018-2021) were certainly comedic.
Was the V-neck green jumper you wear in the disco scene in Basic Instinct your own choice? Hooplehead1967It was the costume designer’s choice. I don’t know why people keep asking me that! I have a deep appreciation for the preparation these designers do. It’s like the hair – once you have put the clothes on, the character follows: from Falling Down with the tight, white, buttondown shirt with the plastic thing in the pockets for the pens, to the beautiful design for Wall Street, and Liberace (in Behind the Candelabra, 2013), whose costume was just magical.
What do you consider to be your greatest film? reed87To use a baseball term: I have a pretty good batting average. I can’t say they are all grand-slam home runs, but I have a lot of hits, singles, maybe doubles, a couple of triples. I appreciate my batting average over my span of 50 years. In some films, you are helped immensely by how great the script is. Sometimes you have a great part. Others, you work hard to create a good environment. Being a producer has really helped me as an actor because when you’re the lead – No 1 on the call sheet – you set a tone and an example. Something I learned from Paul Newman early in his career was [that] all he wanted was to be surrounded by better actors than himself because that just makes everybody good.
Iechyd da! Speak much Welsh? TurangaLeela2I do not. I love the country. It’s a magical place, especially the Mumbles. The Gower is of one the most stunning places on Earth. It reminds me of northern California.
Do you have a favourite pub? Bobbio39I don’t remember them. I go with the Joneses, whichever Joneses they may be. Half the town is named Jones, so you have always got someone to go with.
Does Catherine still make you take your trousers off as a forfeit if she beats you at golf, as she told Graham Norton? fuzzybearThe rules are I have to whip it out if I don’t hit it past the ladies’ tees, which I manage most of the time. But there have been times when we’re playing alone, and have to give her a little show because we are competitive. But only when I play with my wife.
• Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is in cinemas now