I have always loved watching Michael Douglas act – Wall Street and The Game are my favorite films starring this legendary actor.
But today, this 78-year-old has changed noticeably, and his latest public appearances have turned some heads.
I grew up during Michael Douglas’s heyday, and I felt like everyone recognized that he was one of the most handsome and charismatic actors.
At the time of his breakthrough in Hollywood, he represented something of the ideal American man. Over the course of his five-decade career, the veteran actor has shown that he can master many different roles and characters.
But the Academy Award winner is perhaps best known for playing the sleazy Gordon Gekko (Wall Street) and the depressed millionaire Nicholas Van Orton (The Game).
“For some people, there is security in having an image and maintaining it and cultivating it,” Douglas told Today. “But I never had to worry about the dark, slick look of some of my roles.
The best compliment anyone can give me is “when I see your name, I don’t know what the film is going to be about, but I know it will be good”.
In 2023, Michael Douglas will turn 79, and he can certainly boast a fantastic film career, with many iconic films to his credit.
Michael was introduced to the profession of acting from a very young age. He spent his summers with his father, Kirk Douglas, who most often made films. He hung out with his father on movie sets, and as a teenager he knew he wanted to become an actor, asking his father to find roles for him.
Michael Douglas made his debut in Cast a Giant Shadow – which his father also starred in – where he played an uncredited driver. Before his first film role, Michael Douglas starred briefly in the television series The F.B.I. Producer Quinn Martin was impressed and Michael Douglas got a role in the new crime series The Streets of San Francisco. The series first aired in 1972 and proved to be Douglas’ breakout role.
In 1975, Michael produced the classic One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, a film that placed him among the greatest. The film won several Academy Awards – Douglas himself won the Academy Award for Best Picture.
Michael became a major Hollywood star after playing Gordon Gecko in Wall Street (1987), Falling Down (1993) and The Game (1997). When asked to choose his favorite film, the Hollywood star couldn’t decide.
“To use a baseball term: I have a good batting average. I can’t say they’re all grand slam home runs, but I have a lot of hits, singles, maybe doubles, a few triples,” he told the Guardian in 2023.
Recently, several people have pointed out that Michael Douglas’ appearance has changed. As we age, it’s no surprise that our physical attributes change. Aging is a natural process, which we all know
However, according to Spanish newspaper Marca, it is remarkable how quickly his physical appearance has changed. Marca wrote an article in 2022 after Michael Douglas’ visit to France.
The actor was in Paris for a few days of work and was spotted strolling the cobblestone streets of a picturesque neighborhood. But reporters noted that he looked emaciated and his face appeared “much worse.”
Say what you want about the actor’s astonishing physical transformation, but the fact is that Michael Douglas has had a rough few years. Some would say it started in 2010, when the veteran actor was diagnosed with tongue cancer.
Douglas had been in trouble for a long time and suffered from oral discomfort, but several doctors could not find the source of the problem. When Douglas finally visited a friend’s doctor in Canada, he received an answer he would have preferred not to hear.
“I will always remember the expression on his face,” he says.
He told me: “We need to do a biopsy”. There was a tumor the size of a walnut at the base of my tongue that no other doctor had seen.”
The actor soon learned that his undetected cancer was at an advanced stage, so he needed to begin brutal treatment immediately.
After eight weeks of radiation and chemotherapy, Michael was at his lowest point. He went on an all-liquid diet and lost 45 pounds – there was not much left of him at the end of the treatment.
Fortunately for Michael and his loved ones, the therapy worked and the actor was declared cancer-free in 2011. According to Michael, his tongue cancer was due to stress, excessive alcohol consumption and smoking.
But during a rather surprising interview in 2013, Michael Douglas opened up to another explanation. Incredibly, Michael Douglas said it was oral sex that caused his cancer.
He talked about HPV (human papilloma virus), which is the most common sexually transmitted infection, and how it was responsible for his cancer.
“I wondered if the stress caused by my son’s incarceration had not contributed to triggering it. But yes, it is a sexually transmitted disease that causes cancer. And if you have it, cunnilingus is also the best remedy,” said Michael Douglas.
After the attention-grabbing interview, Michael Douglas’ spokesperson said the actor was talking about HPV in general and was not referring to his diagnosis.
After undergoing grueling cancer treatment, Michael Douglas seems to have enjoyed life and stayed in shape. But when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, it affected his health in more ways than one.
“I was quite surprised to realize how much energy I had lost throughout the pandemic,” he said.
During the pandemic, Michael made “a lot more sweet potatoes” and began having problems with short-term memory and remembering short-term details.
“My long-term memory is fine, but my short-term memory… not so much. I’m looking into it,” Douglas explained during an interview with ARRP magazine in 2021.
His thoughtlessness, which was perhaps considered a little charming before, is no longer okay at all. As Douglas has been very open about his weed smoking habits, many have assumed that this is the explanation for his failing memory.
But according to the actor, his love for the dried leaves and flowers of the hemp plant is not to blame in this case.
“I used to blame it on weed. But I have friends who have been smoking as long as me and have fabulous memories, so I don’t think that’s the problem. I’m researching this,” he said.
