In the lead-up to the release of Michael Douglas' long-awaited memoir, the actor is getting more candid than ever before about his legendary life and career.
The 82-year-old two-time Academy Award winner opened up about some of the most pivotal moments of his life during an appearance on the podcast SmartLess, released the day before his memoir, One Helluva Ride, is published.
© Getty ImagesOne of the topics he broaches during his conversation with hosts Jason Bateman, Will Arnett and Sean Hayes is his relationship with his father, renowned classic film star Kirk Douglas.
Michael explained that while he had the "greatest adoration" for his father, who passed away in 2020, that wasn't always the case. "He was rough when we were kids," he shared. "He was out of that abusive generation."
The actor noted him and his siblings being "pretty scared" of their father, who was not only "larger than life" but also had "a temper that went along with it."
The moment in particular that made their dynamic fraught was the making of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. As the story goes, Kirk and his production company, Joel Productions, were the first to acquire the rights to the Ken Kesey novel, intending to adapt it both for the screen and the stage.
The Broadway adaptation of the story did eventually make its way to the stage in 1963, with Kirk starring as Randle McMurphy as intended. He also intended to star in the film version as the title character.
© Getty ImagesHowever, the production was delayed for several years, particularly over disputes concerning screenwriters and the ability to get Miloš Forman as director. Michael, then just 27, petitioned his dad to let him take over the production, but then had to be the one to deliver the difficult news that he wouldn't play Randle McMurphy after all, which instead went to Jack Nicholson.
"He was in his 60s by then, and the business had changed," Michael explained. "And he was hurt, upset," although did say that offering his dad half of his producing deal, which proved to be extremely lucrative, did make things a "little easier." "But it was the toughest thing I ever had to do."
© Getty ImagesWhen asked how long it took for them to mend that relationship, Michael explained that even with the film's enormous success, including five Academy Award wins, their bond was tense for many more years to come.
He noted that while his admiration for his father "grew and grew" as time went on, the Cuckoo's Nest debacle set it back. However, the immense success Michael experienced in 1987, with the success of Fatal Attraction and Wall Street, the latter winning him an Oscar for Best Actor, did help his father see him in a new light.
© Getty ImagesMichael also told Entertainment Weekly in 2025 that Kirk still held the production in high regard. "The fact that Jack Nicholson gave such a great performance. When he saw the picture, he reached out to Jack with a note [and] told him what a good job he did," he remembered.
