Michael Douglas reveals heartbreaking exit from acting

After nearly 60 years in Hollywood, the legendary Michael Douglas, 80, recently shocked fans by announcing that he has “to stop” acting before he drops “dead on the set.”

Before establishing himself as a charismatic, often ruthless on-screen presence in the 1980s and ’90s, Michael Douglas – 31 at the time – won his first Academy Award in 1976 as a producer for One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.

Over his career, the 80-year-old Douglas – the son of the legendary Kirk Douglas – has redefined the image of the complex male lead with roles like the morally ambiguous Gordon Gekko in Wall Street, which earned him his second Oscar, to steamy psychological thrillers like Fatal Attraction and Basic Instinct.

Marvel’s ‘Ant-Man’

Though Douglas has tackled a wide range of roles throughout his almost 60-year career, younger audiences likely know him best as Dr. Hank Pym in Marvel’s Ant-Man franchise.

He last appeared in 2023’s Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania – but don’t expect a return to the MCU anytime soon.

“I had the experience, and I was excited to do it. I’d never done a green screen picture before,” Douglas told Deadline in an interview marking the 50^th anniversary of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest – the film that his father handed him the rights to produce. “I did the The Kominsky Method because I wanted to work with Chuck Lorre and try some comedy.”

Discussing his career and the challenges of balancing life as both a performer and producer, Douglas admitted that the nonstop demands took a toll.

“I’m enjoying my hiatus and enjoying my life. It was overwhelming running the production company and acting at the same time,” he said, referring to Further Films that he founded in 1997. The independent production company has backed projects like Don’t Say a Word, One Night at McCool’s, and Ratched – a 2020 TV series based on Nurse Mildred Ratched from the Cuckoo’s Nest.

Won’t drop dead on set

Now, it seems, Douglas is stepping away from Hollywood all together.

Speaking at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (KVIFF), the two-time Oscar winner revealed that, after nearly six decades in the business, he doesn’t plan to return to acting – unless something “special came up.”

“I’ve had a very busy career. Now, I have not worked since 2022, purposefully, because I realized I had to stop,” he said, per Deadline. “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.”

Happy to watch his wife work

Douglas, who last appeared on screen as Benjamin Franklin in 2024’s Apple TV+ miniseries Franklin, explained that he looks forward to focusing on his personal life, according to People.

“I’m very happy with taking the time off. But I say I’m not retired, because if something special came up, I’d go back. 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 work,” he added, referring to his Golden Globe nominated wife, Catherine Zeta-Jones, whom he married in 2000.

Cancer was ‘not a holiday’

At the festival, Douglas also reflected on his battle with stage IV cancer, which he was diagnosed with in 2010. After undergoing aggressive chemotherapy, he told reporters at KVIFF that he was “lucky to continue working,” having avoided a more severe form of tongue cancer that could have cost him part of his jaw and affected his ability to speak.

“Stage 4 cancer is not a holiday,” he said. “I went with the program, involving chemo and radiation, and was fortunate. The surgery would have meant not being able to talk and removing part of my jaw and that would have been limiting as an actor.”

Father-son film

The Golden Globe nominee is set to appear in at least one more film, Looking Through Water, originally called Blood Knot. The movie, that’s still in post-production, also stars his 46-year-old son Cameron, who last appeared in the 2022 action film Wire Room, starring Bruce Willis.

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