Michael Douglas

• Michael Kirk Douglas

• American Actor Russian-Jewish, Scottish and Irish origin

• Date of Birth: September 25, 1944

• Place of Birth: New Brunswick  

Son of Kirk and Diana Douglas, Michael Douglas was born on September 25, 1944 in New Brunswick, New Jersey. A pupil of the prestigious Choate School, he spends his summers with his father in movie theatres. After graduating from the University of California in Santa Barbara in 1968, he settles down in New York City, attending the Neighborhood Playhouse drama courses with Sansford Meisner. Soon after, he makes his screen acting debut in THE EXPERIMENT, a CBS Playhouse TV film, at the same time as appearing in several off-Broadway productions.

In 1972, his performance in the TV series THE FBI owns him to co-star next to Karl Malden in the TV series THE STREETS OF SAN FRANCISCO. Three times nominated for the Emmy Award for his role, Michael Douglas directs two episodes himself. This is when he starts his own production company, Big Stick Productions, with which he
develops several short projects. At the same time, he buys from his father the rights of Ken Kesey’s novel “One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest”, getting it in production with Saul Zaentz. The film wins 5 Oscars (Best Picture, Director, Script, Male and Female Performance). Michael Douglas then joins forces with Jane Fonda to produce THE CHINA SYNDROME, earning three nominations at the Academy Awards. Despite his successes as a producer, Michael focuses on his acting carrer, appearing in Michael Crichton’s COMA, Claudia Weill’s IT’S MY TURN, Peter Hyams’ THE STAR CHAMBER and Richard Attenborough’s CHORUS LINE.

In 1984, he is acclaimed in ROMANCING THE STONE, which he also produces. The film makes him Producer of the Year according to the National Association of Theatre Owners. Since then, Michael has starred in many successful pictures, such as FATAL ATTRACTION, WALL STREET, BLACK RAIN, THE WAR OF ROSES, BASIC INSTINCT, FALLING DOWN or THE GAME.

In 1988, his performance in Oliver Stone’s WALL STREET earns him the Oscar for Best Actor.

In 1994, together with producer Steven Reuther, he founds Douglas/Reuther Productions, with which he produces John Woo’s FACE OFF and Francis Ford Coppola’s THE RAINMAKER.

In 1998, he stars in A PERFECT MURDER by Andrew Davis, a remake of Alfred Hitchcock’s “DIAL M FOR MUDER” and starts a new company, Further Films, with ONE NIGHT AT MCCOOL'S being the first film produced. He’s back in 2000 in Steven Soderbergh’s TRAFFIC which is awarded several Oscars.

In 2001,remaining true to the thriller genre, he stars in Gary Fleder’s DON’T SAY A WORD. He recently co-starred opposite Eva Longoria in THE SENTINEL, which he also produced.

Filmography

Actor
1969 HAIL HERO ! by David Miller
1970 ADAM AT 6AM by Robert Scheerer
1971 SUMMERTREE by Anthony Newley
1972 NAPOLEON AND SAMANTHA by Bernard Mc Eveety
1978 COMA by Michael Crichton
1979 RUNNING by Steven Hillard Stern
1979 THE CHINA SYNDROME by James Bridges
1980 IT’S MY TURN by Claudia Weill
1983 THE STAR CHAMBER by Peter Hyams
1984 ROMANCING THE STONE by Robert Zemeckis
1985 A CHORUS LINE by Richard Attenborough
1985 JEWEL OF THE NILE by Lewis Teague
1987 FATAL ATTRACTION by Adrian Lyne
1987 WALL STREET by Oliver Stone
1989 BLACK RAIN by Ridley Scott
1989 THE WAR OF THE ROSES by Danny DeVito
1992 SHINING THROUGH by David Selzer
1992 BASIC INSTINCT by Paul Verhoeven
1993 FALLING DOWN by Joel Schumacher
1994 DISCLOSURE by Barry Levinson
1995 THE AMERICAN PRESIDENT by Rob Reiner
1996 THE GHOST AND THE DARKNESS by Stephen Hopkins
1997 THE GAME by David Fincher
1998 A PERFECT MURDER by Andrew Davis
2000 TRAFFIC by Steven Soderbergh
2000 WONDER BOYS by Curtis Hanson
2001 DON'T SAY A WORD by Gary Fleder
2001 ONE NIGHT AT MCCOOL'S by Harald Zwart
2003 IT RUNS IN THE FAMILY by Fred Schepisi
2003 THE IN-LAWS by Andrew Fleming
2006 THE SENTINEL by Clark Johnson
2006 YOU, ME AND DUPREE by Anthony & Joe Russo
2007 KING OF CALIFORNIA by Michael Cahill

Producer
1975 ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST by Milos Forman
1979 THE CHINA SYNDROME by James Bridges
1984 ROMANCING THE STONE by Robert Zemeckis
1984 STARMAN by John Carpenter (executive producer)
1985 JEWEL OF THE NILE by Lewis Teague
1990 FLATLINERS by Joel Schumacher
1991 STONE COLD by Craig Baxley
1991 DOUBLE IMPACT by Sheldon Lettich
1991 10
1991 THE TENDER by Robert Harmon (executive producer)
1992 RADIO FLYER by Richard Donner (executive producer)
1993 MADE IN AMERICA by Richard Benjamin
1996 THE GHOST AND THE DARKNESS by Stephen Hopkins (executive producer)
1997 FACE/OFF by John Woo
1997 THE RAINMAKER by Francis Ford Coppola
2001 ONE NIGHT AT MCCOOL'S by Harald Zwart
2003 IT RUNS IN THE FAMILY by Fred Schepisi
2006 THE SENTINEL by Clark Johnson