Michael Douglas reveals has ‘no real intentions’ of acting again

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After more than 50 years working in the entertainment industry, Michael Douglas has hinted he may be finished as an actor.

During an appearance at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, Douglas said that unless “something special” comes along, he has “no real intentions” of acting again.

“I’ve had a very busy career. Now, I have not worked since 2022, purposefully, because I realized I had to stop,” the two-time Oscar winner explained during a press conference to promote a newly-restored print of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, as reported first by Variety.

“I’d been working pretty hard for almost 60 years, and I did not want to be one of those people who dropped dead on the set,” the 80-year-old son of the legendary Kirk Douglas added. “I’m very happy with taking the time off. I have no real intentions. But I say I’m not retired, because if something special came up, I’d go back. But otherwise, I’m quite happy. I just like to watch my wife (Catherine Zeta-Jones) work.”

Douglas, who aired his concerns about Joe Biden ahead of last year’s election, also took a thinly-veiled shot at U.S. President Donald Trump, saying America was “flirting with autocracy.” 

“Politics now seem to be for profit. Money has entered democracy as a profit centre. People are going into politics now to make money. We maintained an ideal, an idealism in the U.S., which does not exist now,” he said.

The father of three also opened up about his battle with Stage 4 oral cancer in 2010 that nearly sidelined his career. Douglas made the admission during his press tour for Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps.

“This particular type of cancer is caused by alcohol and drinking,” he told David Letterman at the time, according to the New York Times. When the former late-night host asked him about his chances of recovery Douglas said,  “The percentages are very good. I would hate to say, but right now, it looks like it should be 80%, and with certain hospitals and everything, it does improve.”

“Stage 4 cancer is not a holiday, but there’s not many choices, are there?” Douglas said. “I went with the program, involving chemo and radiation, and was fortunate…. I was fortunate with my medical attention and was lucky to continue working. We were able to handle it with radiation and chemotherapy, because otherwise, the surgery would have caused me not being able to speak, to talk, as well as removing part of your jaw, so it would have been limiting as an actor.”

Douglas’ last big screen role came in the 2023 Marvel film, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. More recently, he played American Founding Father Benjamin Franklin in the miniseries Franklin for Apple TV+.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Douglas’ next film, Looking Through Water, will be released later this summer. The drama co-stars his real-life son Cameron and centres on a father who attempts to bond with his estranged child by entering them in a father-son fishing competition.

Douglas also hinted that he may have another role in the wings before stepping away for good, saying he has “one little independent movie” he is “trying to get a good script out of.” 

mdaniell@postmedia.com