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Michael Douglas revealed that he is stepping away from acting for now. The 80-year-old actor said this during his recent press conference at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival in the Czech Republic. He was present there to celebrate the 50th anniversary of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975) with a newly restored print.
The 1975 film earned Michael Douglas his first Academy Award as a producer, before winning another for his widely-acclaimed performance in Wall Street (1987). In the following years, he stayed busy with other projects like Falling Down (1993), Basic Instinct (1992), and Fatal Attraction (1987), among others. After this long career, he has decided to take a time off from acting.
“I’ve had a very busy career. Now, I have not worked since 2022, purposefully, because I realized I had to stop,” Douglas said during the press conference.
He further added,
“I’d been working pretty hard for almost 60 years, and I did not want to be one of those people who dropped dead on the set. I’m very happy with taking the time off. I have no real intentions. But I say I’m not retired, because if something special came up, I’d go back. But otherwise, I’m quite happy. I just like to watch my wife work.”
Michael Douglas seemed thrilled to see his wife, and acclaimed actress Catherine Zeta-Jones, on screen in the future. Zeta-Jones will soon return as Morticia Addams in the second season of Netflix's Wednesday. She is also slated to star in a TV series, tentatively titled Kill Jackie, based on Aidan Truhen‘s thriller novel, The Price You Pay.
Michael Douglas reflected on his past and revealed his acting plans for the future.
In 2010, Michael Douglas underwent chemotherapy for his stage IV cancer diagnosis. Afterwards, he continued working in film and television, which were recognized by the Critics' Choice Awards, the Emmys, the Golden Globes, and more. So, in Karlovy Vary, he said that he was "lucky to keep working" in the following years and avoided a surgery that could have affected his speech.
Although stepping away, Douglas admitted that he would return if "something special comes up." He has previously suggested that he is interested in working on a good horror movie (per Deadline). At the film festival, he hinted at an independent project he had been trying to get on its feet. In jest, he further added,
“I’m not pursuing work. My golf game is getting better.”
Previously, while present at the Deauville American Film Festival to receive a career tribute award, Douglas spoke about his career and what drew him to the projects he ended up choosing. In September 2024, he said,
“I think the successes I have in my career [come from] my belief in material and not worrying about my role."
He further added,
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“I would rather have a small part in a good movie than a big role in a bad movie. So I really want to thank all of the wonderful, talented craftsmen that I’ve worked with over the years, my directors, my fellow actors, my producers, andcostume designers."
Michael Douglas most recently appeared on screen in 2024 in the Apple TV+ miniseries, Franklin. (Douglas likely referred to this project when he spoke about working in 2022.) Besides, he was seen in Netflix's The Kominsky Method and the MCU's Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023). Based on his latest comments, those might be the last projects we would see him in.
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