Michael Douglas
Biography
Michael Douglas is an American actor and producer who built a career on both sides of the camera, collecting two Academy Awards among many honors. Born in New Brunswick, New Jersey, the son of actors Kirk Douglas and Diana Dill, he studied drama at the University of California, Santa Barbara and got his break in the police series The Streets of San Francisco, which ran from 1972 to 1976. He produced One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975), which won the Academy Award for Best Picture, and took Best Actor as Gordon Gekko in Wall Street (1987), a role he revisited in Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps (2010). His films include Romancing the Stone (1984), Fatal Attraction (1987), Basic Instinct (1992), Traffic (2000) and Wonder Boys (2000), and he played Hank Pym in the Ant-Man films. He won an Emmy for Behind the Candelabra (2013), and in 2025 said he was largely retired.
82years old
Turns 83 on September 25in 359 days
- Born New Brunswick
- Star sign: LibraThe sign runs September 23 to October 22
- Michael Kirk Douglas (birth name)
Movie Career
- Films
- 48
- Career span
- 51 years1972 to 2023
Genres
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First role
Douglas landed his first TV breakthrough role in a 1969 CBS Playhouse special called The Experiment. It was the only occasion he was credited as "M.K. Douglas."
A role that slipped away
Michael Douglas was asked to appear in Basic Instinct 2, but he turned down the chance to take part in the project.
Behind the camera
In 1992, Douglas started Third Stone Records, a short-lived label distributed by Atlantic Records. He started it with record producer Richard Rudolph, and acts like Saigon Kick and Nona Gaye were signed.
Michael Douglas movies on Netflix
Best known for
The films on Netflix they are best known for, with the part played in each.
Most often with
Peyton Reed directed three of these films, Steven Soderbergh three and Oliver Stone two. Danny DeVito appears in four of them, more than any other actor. Pick a number on the chart or a name in the list to see the films they share.
Films together
Danny DeVito's page
Paul Rudd's page
Kathleen Turner's page
David Dastmalchian's page
Peter Donat's page
Evangeline Lilly's page
All films by Peyton Reed
All films by Steven Soderbergh
All films by Oliver Stone
Box office
What Michael Douglas's films earned in cinemas worldwide.
Combined worldwide box office
$4.7 billion
39 of the 48 films have a worldwide figure.
Of the 48 films: 39 worldwide figure; 3 us gross only; 1 never in cinemas; 5 figure not found.
- 39Worldwide figure
- 3US gross only
- 1Never in cinemas
- 5Figure not found
Highest grossing
The eight biggest films earned 61% of the total. The bars are drawn to scale.
- 1$623M13.3% of the total
- 2$519M11.1% of the total
- 3$476M10.2% of the total
- 4$353M7.5% of the total
- 5$320M6.8% of the total
- 6$214M4.6% of the total
- 7$208M4.4% of the total
- 8$160M3.4% of the total
$1.8 billionfrom the other 31 films with a worldwide figure, 39% of the total
Awards
Twelve awards and honors from 1971 to 2013, five of them major.
| Year | Award | Film | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Academy Awards | |||
| 1988 | Best Actor | Wall Street | Won |
| 1976 | Best Picture | One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest | Won |
| Golden Globes | |||
| Awards | Won | ||
| Emmy Awards | |||
| 2013 | Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie | Behind the Candelabra | Won |
| SAG Awards | |||
| 2001 | Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture | Traffic | Won |
| Other honors | |||
| 2012 | New Jersey Hall of Fame | Won | |
| 2011 | Commandeur des Arts et des Lettres‎ | Won | |
| 2009 | AFI Life Achievement Award | Won | |
| 2001 | Satellite Award for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy | Wonder Boys | Won |
| 1997 | Donostia Award | Won | |
| 1971 | Theatre World Award | Won | |
| Star on Hollywood Walk of Fame | Honored | ||
Online
Official profiles and reference pages.