Two-time Oscar winner Michael Douglas has admitted that he may be done with acting, stating that he "has no real intentions" of returning to the industry, UNN reports, citing The Guardian.
Details
Speaking at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival in the Czech Republic on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the film "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest," which Douglas co-produced, the 80-year-old actor and producer stated at a press conference that unless "something special happens" for him, he will no longer act.
His last role was Benjamin Franklin in the Apple TV+ series "Franklin," which was filmed in 2022 and released in 2024.
"I've had a very busy career. Now I haven't worked intentionally since 2022 because I realized I had to stop," he said.
"I worked pretty hard for almost 60 years and didn't want to be one of those people who dropped dead on set," he added.
"I'm very happy that I took a break. I have no real intentions. But I say I haven't retired, because if something special happened, I would come back. But otherwise, I'm perfectly happy. I just like watching my wife [actress Catherine Zeta-Jones] work," Douglas said.
He added that he is "trying to get a good script" for a "small independent film," but joked: "I'm not chasing work. My golf game is improving."
In 2010, Douglas underwent chemotherapy and radiation for stage four throat cancer. In Karlovy Vary, he said he was "lucky" to avoid surgery, which "would have meant being unable to speak and having part of my jaw removed… which would have limited him as an actor."
Douglas also addressed the current state of US politics, saying he feels his country is "flirting with autocracy."
"I look at it broadly as how valuable democracy is, how vulnerable it is, and how it always needs to be protected," he said. "I hope that what we are struggling with now is a reminder of all the hard work the Czechs have done to gain their freedom and independence. Politics now seems to be designed for profit. Money has entered democracy as a profit center. People now go into politics to make money. We upheld an ideal, idealism in the US, which no longer exists."
However, he added that he "won't go into too much detail" because "the news speaks for itself."
"I myself am worried, I am nervous, and I think it is our duty to take care of ourselves," he added.