In a career of more than four decades, Michael Douglas has played president, gay icon, stockbroker and everything in between, picking up two Academy Awards and five Golden Globes in the process. That he can be bland (Ant-Man) or just plain bad (And So It Goes) may come as a surprise to those unfamiliar with his awful romantic comedies and his surfeit of forgettable thrillers. Still, he inevitably comes back with a performance that is nothing short of phenomenal.
Here are five memorable highlights from his eclectic career. Post your favourites below.
Fatal Attraction
“Tense” is how one critic described this 1987 film – quite the understatement. Douglas hadn’t fully captured critics’ hearts at this point in his career, but his brilliant performance in Adrian Lyne’s flashy, trashy thriller was the turning point. He plays a conceited character who is victimised by a sexually aggressive woman – a trope he would reprise twice more (in Basic Instinct and Disclosure) to complete a steamy trifecta of erotic thrillers.
Wall Street
Douglas was given the lead role in Wall Street, despite director Oliver Stone having been discouraged by everyone in Hollywood from choosing him. But Douglas put in the performance of a lifetime as Gordon Gekko – and won the best actor Oscar for it. The evil charm he builds throughout the movie culminates in the legendary “greed is good” speech, which is now firmly established in popular culture – Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd called those responsible for the financial crisis “the children of Gordon Gekko”.
Falling Down
In this dark comedy about social alienation, Douglas plays William “D-Fens” Foster, an out-of-work white-collar divorcee who snaps, and heads out on a spree of unrestrained violence against society at large. Falling Down was controversial, not least because of its frank depiction of the racist, aggressive “angry white male” stereotype.
Wonder Boys
Despite its good reviews, multiple awards, soundtrack by Bob Dylan and stellar ensemble cast, Wonder Boys was a box office flop – most likely due to the terrible marketing campaign. Douglas plays a professor and writer going through a mid-life crisis, constantly stoned and depressed, and struggling to write a 2,000-page novel which includes the genealogy of every character’s horse.
Behind the Candelabra
“Too gay” for cinemas, the Liberace biopic Behind the Candelabra was released as a television movie in the US. It won several awards and had the highest audience rating for a TV movie since 2004, but the lack of a theatrical run meant that neither Douglas nor Matt Damon could be Oscar-nominated for it – a shame, considering that both performances were universally praised. The romantic, skittish and bratty Liberace was a tricky role, but Douglas made the film an irresistibly entertaining, rampant affair.
