Michael Douglas
(CONTINUED FROM PAGE 45)
personified the arrogance of late-’80s
Wall Street, and one that earned him
an Academy Award for Best Actor in
1988. That coup not only caused his
stock in Hollywood to spike; it had a
profound personal impact. “It allowed
me to feel like I had finally stepped out
of the shadow of my father,” Douglas
admits. “It also identified me as a se-
ductive villain. It’s fun as an actor to be
bad, because you get to do things on-
screen that people would think about
only in their darkest dreams.”
Oliver Stone, who directed both
Wall Street movies, is bemused by
Douglas’s penchant for playing charm-
ing villains. “Michael has the ability
to simulate the toxic ingredients—a
reptilian quality to his smile, his eyes—
and bring coldness to a character like
Gekko,” Stone says. “He can shape
his voice to be either villainous or
entrancing. Some of his greatest roles
have been as heels.”
The point can’t be argued. In 1998’s
A Perfect Murder (with Gwyneth
Paltrow) he played a silky manipula-
tor who masterminds a plot to kill his
cheating wife. And who can forget him
as the caddish husband in 1987's Fatal
Attraction, the movie that put a terri-
fying spin on one-night stands?
But Douglas has also displayed
remarkable range over the years.
He’s been a romantic lead—most
notably opposite Annette Bening in
1995’s American President. He has also
played cop roles (1992’s Basic Instinct)
and comic leads (Wonder Boys in
2000). And his next scheduled starring role will shift him from cunning
to kitsch, portraying Liberace, with
Matt Damon as his young lover.
Douglas has been producing movies
almost as long as he’s been acting in
them, beginning with One Flew Over
the Cuckoo’s Nest in 1975. By wearing
two hats—actor and producer—he’s
enjoyed tremendous financial success
and is reportedly worth $200 million.
Still, he resisted cashing in on a Wall
Street sequel (CONTINUED ON PAGE 80)
