1. Michael Kirk Douglas was born on September 25,1944 and is an American actor and film producer.
96 Facts About Michael Douglas
2.
Michael Douglas has received numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards, five Golden Globe Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, the Cecil B DeMille Award, and the AFI Life Achievement Award.
3.
Michael Douglas produced One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, having acquired the rights to the novel from his father and later earned the Academy Award for Best Picture as a producer.
4.
Michael Douglas won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of Gordon Gekko in Oliver Stone's Wall Street, a role which he reprised in the sequel Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps.
5.
Michael Douglas played Benjamin Franklin in the Apple TV+ miniseries Franklin.
6.
Michael Douglas portrayed Hank Pym in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, beginning with Ant-Man.
7.
Michael Douglas has received notice for his humanitarian and political activism.
8.
Michael Douglas sits on the board of the Nuclear Threat Initiative, is an honorary board member of the anti-war grant-making foundation Ploughshares Fund and he was appointed as a United Nations Messenger of Peace in 1998.
9.
Michael Douglas has been married to actress Catherine Zeta-Jones since 2000.
10.
Michael Douglas was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey, the first child of actors Kirk Michael Douglas and Diana Dill.
11.
Michael Douglas's parents met at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts.
12.
Michael Douglas's father was Jewish and was born Issur Danielovitch.
13.
Michael Douglas's mother was from Devonshire Parish, Bermuda, and had English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh, French, Belgian, and Dutch ancestry.
14.
Michael Douglas' uncle was politician Sir Nicholas Bayard Dill, and Michael Douglas' maternal grandfather, Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas Melville Dill, served as Attorney General of Bermuda, as a Member of the Parliament of Bermuda, and as commanding officer of the Bermuda Militia Artillery.
15.
Michael Douglas is a US citizen by birth in the United States and has Bermudian Status from his mother's birth in Bermuda.
16.
Michael Douglas's great-grandfather, Thomas Newbold Dill, was a merchant, an MCP for Devonshire Parish from 1868 to 1888, a member of the legislative council and an assistant justice from 1888, mayor of the City of Hamilton from 1891 to 1897, served on numerous committees and boards, and was a member of the Devonshire Church and Devonshire Parish vestries.
17.
Michael Douglas attended The Allen-Stevenson School in New York City, Eaglebrook School in Deerfield, Massachusetts, and The Choate Preparatory School in Wallingford, Connecticut.
18.
Michael Douglas studied acting with Wynn Handman at The American Place Theatre in New York City.
19.
On November 24,1969, Michael Douglas formed his first independent film production company, Bigstick Productions, Limited.
20.
Michael Douglas later said that Malden became a "mentor" and someone he "admired and loved deeply".
21.
In 2004, Michael Douglas presented Malden with the Monte Cristo Award of the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center in Waterford, Connecticut for the Lifetime Achievement Award.
22.
In late 1971, Michael Douglas received from his father, Kirk Michael Douglas, the rights to the novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, which had been purchased by Bryna Productions in February 1962.
23.
Michael Douglas went on to produce the film of the same name with Saul Zaentz.
24.
Kirk Michael Douglas hoped to portray McMurphy himself, having starred in an earlier stage version, but the director, Milos Forman, went with Jack Nicholson, who won the Academy Award for Best Actor.
25.
Michael Douglas won the Award for Best Picture for producing the film.
26.
In June 1979, Michael Douglas appointed Jack Brodsky Executive Vice-president of Bigstick Productions.
27.
Michael Douglas' acting career was propelled to fame when he produced and starred in the 1984 romantic adventure comedy Romancing the Stone.
28.
In 1987, Michael Douglas starred in the thriller Fatal Attraction with Glenn Close.
29.
Michael Douglas reprised his role as Gekko in the sequel Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps in 2010, directed by Stone.
30.
Michael Douglas starred in the 1989 film The War of the Roses, which starred Kathleen Turner and Danny DeVito.
31.
In 1992, Michael Douglas founded the short-lived Atlantic Records distributed label Third Stone Records.
32.
Michael Douglas founded the label with record producer Richard Rudolph, who became the company's president and CEO.
33.
That same year, Michael Douglas had another successful starring role when he appeared alongside Sharon Stone in the film Basic Instinct.
34.
In 1998 Michael Douglas received the Crystal Globe award for outstanding artistic contribution to world cinema at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival.
35.
On November 19,1997, Michael Douglas formed his fourth film production company, Furthur Films.
36.
In 2000, Michael Douglas starred in Steven Soderbergh's critically acclaimed film Traffic, opposite Benicio del Toro and future wife, Catherine Zeta-Jones.
37.
Michael Douglas was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Drama and the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role.
38.
Michael Douglas starred in Don't Say a Word, filmed shortly before his marriage to Zeta-Jones.
39.
Michael and Kirk Douglas are the only father and son pair to have both been awarded this recognition.
40.
Michael Douglas then starred in and produced the action-thriller The Sentinel in 2006.
41.
Michael Douglas was the voice of founding father Benjamin Franklin in Freedom: A History of US, the PBS television adaptation of Joy Hakim's 10-volume book A History of US.
42.
Michael Douglas was approached for Basic Instinct 2, but declined to participate in the project.
43.
In 2006, Michael Douglas was Mr Thompson in You, Me, and Dupree.
44.
In December 2007, Michael Douglas began announcing the introduction to NBC Nightly News.
45.
That same year, Michael Douglas received the Career Achievement Award from the National Board of Review.
46.
In 2011, Michael Douglas voiced Waylon on Disney Channel's cartoon Phineas and Ferb and starred in the dramatic thriller Haywire.
47.
Michael Douglas was honored that year by the French Minister of Culture with the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres with the rank of Commandeur.
48.
Michael Douglas collaborated with Steven Soderbergh again on the 2013 film Behind the Candelabra, playing Liberace, opposite Matt Damon as Scott Thorson.
49.
Michael Douglas won SAG and Golden Globe Awards for the performance.
50.
In 2014, Michael Douglas starred alongside Diane Keaton in the romantic comedy, And So It Goes and he produced and starred in Beyond the Reach.
51.
Michael Douglas played Hank Pym, the Marvel Comics superhero, in the films Ant-Man, Ant-Man and the Wasp, and Avengers: Endgame.
52.
In 2016, Michael Douglas received his second Cesar d'Honneur for Career Achievement from the French Cesar Awards; the first was in 1998.
53.
Michael Douglas received a Golden Globe Award for his performance.
54.
In 2018, Michael Douglas received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
55.
In 2023, Michael Douglas again played Hank Pym in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.
56.
Michael Douglas reprised the role, voicing Hank Pym in the animated series What If.
57.
In May 2023, Michael Douglas was honored with an Honorary Palme d'or for Lifetime Achievement at the Cannes Film Festival and the Satyajit Ray Lifetime Achievement Award at the 54th International Film Festival of India in November 2023.
58.
Michael Douglas has received several honors such as the AFI Life Achievement Award in 2009, two Honorary Cesars in 1998 and 2016, a Film Society at Lincoln Center Gala Tribute in 2010, a Golden Globe Cecil B DeMille Award in 2004, and a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2018.
59.
In March 1999, Michael Douglas began dating Welsh actress Catherine Zeta-Jones.
60.
Parker accused Michael Douglas of hitting him in the groin with an errant golf ball, causing Parker great distress.
61.
Knight claimed she was in love with Michael Douglas and admitted to the offenses, which took place between October 2003 and May 2004.
62.
In 1980, Michael Douglas was involved in a serious skiing accident which sidelined his acting career for three years.
63.
Michael Douglas subsequently confirmed that the cancer was at stage IV, an advanced stage.
64.
Michael Douglas has since participated in fundraisers for Montreal's Jewish General Hospital, where he was diagnosed, and the McGill University Health Centre with which the hospital is affiliated.
65.
Michael Douglas attributed the cancer to stress, his previous alcohol abuse, and years of heavy smoking.
66.
In November 2010, Michael Douglas' doctors put him on a weight-gain diet due to excessive weight loss that left him weak.
67.
Michael Douglas said he would require monthly screenings because of a high chance of recurrence within three years.
68.
In June 2013, Michael Douglas told The Guardian that his type of cancer is caused by the human papilloma virus transmitted by cunnilingus, leading some media to report this as well.
69.
Michael Douglas's spokesman denied these reports and portrayed Douglas' conversation with The Guardian as general and not referring specifically to his diagnosis.
70.
In October 2013, Michael Douglas said he suffered from tongue cancer, not throat cancer.
71.
Michael Douglas announced it as throat cancer upon the advice of his physician, who felt it would be unwise to reveal that he had tongue cancer given its negative prognosis and potential for disfigurement, particularly because the announcement came immediately before Douglas' promotional tour for Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps.
72.
Michael Douglas was born to a Jewish father and an Anglican mother.
73.
Michael Douglas was not raised with a religious affiliation but stated in January 2015, that he now identifies as a Reform Jew.
74.
Michael Douglas donated the prize money to activities designed to raise awareness about inclusion and diversity in Jewish life and to find innovative solutions to pressing global and community problems.
75.
Michael Douglas has been involved in various charitable activities, focusing on healthcare, nuclear disarmament, and human rights.
76.
Michael Douglas has raised awareness about the link between human papillomavirus and oropharyngeal cancer, citing medical evidence and his diagnosis to promote public health education and preventive measures.
77.
Michael Douglas was featured in the "100 Influential Celebrities in Oncology: The 2023 Edition" by OncoDaily for his contributions to public awareness.
78.
Michael Douglas stated this caused her to wear baggy clothing at work, and recalled a one-on-one script meeting where Douglas allegedly undid his pants and fondled himself with her in the room.
79.
Michael Douglas is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
80.
In 2019, Michael Douglas appeared in a short film for RepresentUs titled Unbreaking America: Divided We Fall.
81.
In 2023, Michael Douglas was a key speaker at the American Democracy Summit in Los Angeles.
82.
Michael Douglas is on the board of selectors of the Jefferson Awards for Public Service.
83.
In June 2024, Michael Douglas visited Israel and toured the sites of Be'eri and Nova music festival massacres during the October 7,2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel.
84.
Michael Douglas has been a major supporter of gun control since John Lennon was murdered in 1980.
85.
Since then Michael Douglas has supported gun safety organizations like Everytown for Gun Safety and the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence.
86.
Michael Douglas is an advocate of nuclear disarmament, a supporter of the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation and an advisor and former board member of the nuclear nonproliferation-focused grant making foundation Ploughshares Fund.
87.
In 2003, Michael Douglas hosted a "powerful film" on child soldiers and the impact of combat on children in countries such as Sierra Leone.
88.
In 2009, Michael Douglas joined the project Soldiers of Peace, a movie against all wars and for global peace.
89.
In February 2012, following his return to the character of financial criminal Gordon Gekko, the Federal Bureau of Investigation released a public service announcement video of Michael Douglas calling on viewers to report financial crime.
90.
In 2023, Michael Douglas served as executive producer and narrator for the political documentary by David Smick, America's Burning, that predicts a coming tidal wave of political, social, and economic division in America.
91.
Michael Douglas has given to over 70 organizations including Memorial Sloan-Kettering, the hospital where he was treated for cancer.
92.
Michael Douglas is a benefactor and board member of the Perelman Performing Arts Center in New York City and a longstanding board member of the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center in Waterford, CT where he worked for three summers during college.
93.
Michael Douglas attended the ribbon-cutting opening ceremony in September 2023.
94.
Michael Douglas is a supporter of the Clinton Global Initiative, part of the Clinton Foundation.
95.
Michael Douglas founded and funds the Michael Douglas Foundation Visiting Artists Program for the Department of Theater and Dance.
96.
Michael Douglas serves on the Board of Trustees of The Douglas Foundation which has granted more than $118 million to organizations committed to providing more equitable access to education, healthcare, and the arts.