Michael Douglas on stage and screen

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Douglas in 1969 Michael Douglas headshot 1969.JPG
Douglas in 1969

American actor and producer Michael Douglas began his film career with a brief uncredited role in Cast a Giant Shadow (1966). [1] In the same year he played a small role in the play Bedford Forrest. His performance in Hail, Hero! (1969) earned him a nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Male Newcomer. [2] He won the 1971 Theatre World Award for Pinkville. During 1972–76, he played the lead role in the TV series The Streets of San Francisco . In 1975, Douglas produced One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest which won the Academy Award for Best Picture, Golden Globe for Best Picture and BAFTA Award for Best Film. [3] [4]

Contents

Douglas' role of Gordon Gekko in Oliver Stone's Wall Street (1987) won him the Academy Award for Best Actor. [5] For his portrayal of a fictional American president in the 1995 comedy The American President , he was nominated for Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy. [6] His performance in Wonder Boys (2000) earned him nominations for the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role and Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama. [7]

He shared the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture with his co-actors in Traffic (2000). [8] He reprised the role of Gekko in Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps (2010) and was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture for the same. [9] Douglas' portrayal of Liberace in Behind the Candelabra (2013) earned him the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie. [10]

For his contributions to the film industry, Douglas won the 2004 Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award and the 2009 AFI Life Achievement Award. [11] [12]

Film

Feature film

YearTitleRoleNotesRef(s)
1966 Cast a Giant Shadow Jeep DriverUncredited [1]
1969 Hail, Hero! Carl Dixon [13]
1970 Adam at 6 A.M. Adam Gaines [14]
1971 Summertree Jerry [15]
1972 Napoleon and Samantha Danny [16]
1975 One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest Producer only [5] [17]
1978 Coma Dr. Mark Bellows [18]
1979 The China Syndrome Richard AdamsAlso producer [5] [19]
Running Michael Andropolis [20]
1980 It's My Turn Ben Lewin [21]
1983 The Star Chamber Judge Steven R. Hardin [22]
1984 Romancing the Stone Jack ColtonAlso producer [23] [24]
Starman Executive producer only [17]
1985 The Jewel of the Nile Jack ColtonAlso producer [24] [25]
A Chorus Line Zach [26]
1987 Fatal Attraction Dan Gallagher [27]
Wall Street Gordon Gekko [28]
1989 Black Rain Nick Conklin [29]
The War of the Roses Oliver Rose [30]
1990 Flatliners Producer only [31]
1991 Stone Cold Producer only; uncredited [32]
Double Impact Producer only [33]
Eyes of an Angel Executive producer only [34]
1992 Shining Through Ed Leland [35]
Radio Flyer Executive producer only [36]
Basic Instinct Detective Nick Curran [37]
1993 Falling Down William "D-Fens" Foster [38]
Made in America Producer only [39]
1994 Disclosure Tom Sanders [40]
1995 The American President President Andrew Shepherd [41]
1996 The Ghost and the Darkness Charles RemingtonAlso executive producer [42]
1997 Face/Off Executive producer only [17]
The Game Nicholas Van Orton [43]
The Rainmaker Producer only [44]
1998 A Perfect Murder Steven Taylor [45]
2000 Wonder Boys Professor Grady Tripp [46]
Traffic Robert Wakefield [47]
2001 One Night at McCool's Mr. BurmeisterAlso producer [48]
Don't Say a Word Nathan Conrad [49]
2003 It Runs in the Family Alex GrombergAlso producer [50]
The In-Laws Steve Tobias [51]
2006 The Sentinel Pete GarrisonAlso producer [52] [53]
You, Me and Dupree Mr. Thompson [54]
2008 King of California Charlie [55]
2009 Ghosts of Girlfriends Past Wayne Mead [56]
Beyond a Reasonable Doubt Mark Hunter [57]
Solitary Man Ben Kalmen [58]
2010 Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps Gordon Gekko [28]
2011 Haywire Alex Coblenz [59]
2013 Last Vegas Billy Gherson [60]
2014 And So It Goes Oren Little [61]
Beyond the Reach John MadecAlso producer [62]
2015 Ant-Man Hank Pym / Ant-Man [63]
2017 Unlocked Eric Lasch [64]
Flatliners Producer only [65]
2018 Animal World Anderson
We Have Always Lived in the Castle Producer only [66]
Ant-Man and the Wasp Hank Pym / Ant-Man [67]
2019 Avengers: Endgame [68]
2023 Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania [69]
2025 Looking Through Water WilliamPost-production [70]
Key
Denotes films that have not yet been released

Documentary and short film

YearTitleRoleNotesRef(s)
1972American Revolution: The Impossible War John Laurens Short film [71]
American Heritage: The Cause of Liberty [71]
1997Completely CuckooHimselfDocumentary [72]
1999 Get Bruce
1999 One Day in September Narrator [73]
2007 Dinosaurs Alive! [74]
2010 Nuclear Tipping Point [75]
2013 Supermensch: The Legend of Shep Gordon [76]
The Prime Ministers: The Pioneers Yitzhak Rabin Voice; documentary [77]
2024 America's Burning NarratorDocumentary [78]

Television

Douglas (right) made his television debut in the play "The Experiment" (1969) Tisha Sterling Michael Douglas 1969.JPG
Douglas (right) made his television debut in the play "The Experiment" (1969)
Year(s)TitleRoleNotesRef(s)
1969 CBS Playhouse Young ScientistEpisode: "The Experiment"; credited as M. K. Douglas [79]
1971 The F.B.I. JerryEpisode: "The Hitchhiker" [80]
Medical Center Jonathan CrowleyEpisode: "The Albatross" [81]
1972 When Michael Calls CraigTelevision film [82]
1972–1976 The Streets of San Francisco Inspector Steve KellerMain role; also directed episode: "Spooks for Sale" (1975) [83] [84]
1980Celebrity Challenge of the SexesHimselfSeason 4 [85]
1984 Saturday Night Live Host; episode: "Michael Douglas/Deniece Williams" [86]
1986–1987 Starman Executive producer only [87]
1988World's Greatest Stunts: A Tribute to Hollywood's StuntmenHimselfTelevision documentary [88]
1990If Dolphins Could TalkNarrator [89]
That's What Friends Are For: Arista Records 15th Anniversary Concert Himself [90]
Tribute to John LennonHost [91]
The Earth Day Special HimselfTelevision special [92]
1992Oliver Stone: Inside OutTelevision documentary [93]
1993Rock the VoteTelevision film [94]
1997Burt Lancaster [95]
1998To Life! America Celebrates Israel's 50thCo-hostTelevision special [96]
Where It's At: The Rolling Stone State of the UnionHimselfTelevision documentary [97]
2000We All Dream of Oz [98]
2001Independence Day 2001Television film [99]
2002 Will & Grace Detective Gavin HatchEpisode: "Fagel Attraction" [100]
Liberty's Kids Patrick Henry Voice; episodes: "Liberty or Death" & "United We Stand" [101]
2003What's Going On?HostEpisode: "Child Soldiers in Sierra Leone"; documentary series [102]
Freedom: A History of US Benjamin Franklin / Benjamin French Episodes: "Revolution" as Benjamin Franklin & "A War to End Slavery" as Benjamin French [103]
2005... A Father... A Son... Once Upon a Time in HollywoodHimselfTelevision documentary [104]
2011 Phineas and Ferb WaylonVoice; episode: "That's the Spirit/The Curse of Candace" [105]
2013 Behind the Candelabra Liberace Television film [106] [107]
2014Richard Attenborough: A Life in FilmHimselfDocumentary [108]
2018–2021 The Kominsky Method Sandy KominskyMain role [109]
2019–2022 Green Eggs and Ham Guy-Am-IVoice; main role
2020 Ratched Executive producer only [110]
2021–2023 What If...? Hank Pym / Yellowjacket / Ant-ManVoice; episodes: "What If... the World Lost Its Mightiest Heroes?" & "What If... Peter Quill Attacked Earth's Mightiest Heroes?" [111]
2023 Marvel Studios: Assembled HimselfEpisode: "The Making of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania"
2024 Franklin Benjamin FranklinMiniseries [112]

Stage

Year(s)ProductionTheaterRoleNotesRef(s)
1966Bedford Forrest Eugene O'Neill Theater Center Soldier [113] [114]
1969–1970The Whistling Wizard and the Sultan of Tuffet Bil Baird Marionette Theater Understudy [115]
1970–1971Pinkville The American Place Theatre Jerry the Naz [15] [116]

Music video

YearTitleArtistNote(s)Ref.
1985"When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Going" Billy Ocean [117]
2000"Things Have Changed" Bob Dylan [118]

See also

References

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Bibliography