Michael Douglas says he has 'no real intentions' of returning to acting
Michael Douglas is pressing pause on acting -- at least for now.
While speaking recently at the Karlovy Vary Film Festival in the Czech Republic, where he presented a newly restored print of Miloš Forman’s classic 1975 film "One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest," which Douglas co-produced, the Oscar-winning actor opened up about his future in the industry.
“I have not worked since 2022 purposefully because I realized I had to stop,” Douglas said, according to Variety. “I had 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.”
He continued, “I have no real intentions of going back. I say I’m not retired because if something special came up, I’d go back, but otherwise, no.”
Douglas, who will turn 81 years old in September, last appeared on the big screen in 2023’s "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania," and most recently portrayed Benjamin Franklin in the 2024 Apple TV+ miniseries "Franklin."
He’s also set to star alongside his son, Cameron Douglas, in the upcoming film "Looking Through Water," which has yet to receive a release date.
The conversation during the Karlovy Vary Film Festival press conference also touched on Douglas’ past health struggles. Reflecting on his 2010 battle with stage 4 tongue cancer, he shared that he opted for chemotherapy and radiation over surgery, which would have involved removing part of his jaw and threatened his ability to speak and act.
“Stage 4 cancer is not a holiday but there aren’t many choices, are there?” he said. “I went with the program, involving chemo and radiation, and was fortunate. The surgery would have meant not being able to talk and removing part of my jaw and that would have been limiting as an actor.”
Douglas, who is married to longtime wife, actress Catherine Zeta-Jones, also revealed that he has “one little independent movie” in the works but joked that these days that “in the spirit of maintaining a good marriage,” he’s “happy to play the wife” to Jones.
