Page 73 - Rolling Stone - India (December 2019)

Michael Douglas

The legendary actor on learning his
craft and escaping his father’s shadow

What’s the best advice it’s rushing ahead. My son is “OK, you’re there now.” I think
you’ve ever been given? a sophomore in college now. when you come from the sec-
Know that when you walk He wants to be an actor. [He] ond generation, and you don’t
away from something, you asked, “Do I [need to] have an have that rags-to-riches story,
gave it your best. And then: agent?” Just calm down. Enjoy your arc is a little smaller. It
Fuck it. Just keep moving on school, man. School’s the best takes you longer to figure out
and say, “Fuck it.” time you’re ever going to have. who you are. The assump-
What’s the most import- This career is...Just enjoy tion is that everything is laid
ant rule you live by? that girl in front of you. out for you. And the reality is
No dickheads. You see them When you were in school, that, in an industry all about
a lot in our business, actually. you weren’t planning to establishing your own identi-
You know, when you’re num- become an actor, right? ty, you’re being judged against
Yeah. I had to get a major in your father’s persona.
college when I was a junior, so You’re being judged
Douglas co-stars I thought, “Well, what about against Spartacus.
in Season 2 of ‘The theater? Mom’s an actress, [Laughs] You’re being
Kominsky Method,’ Dad’s an actor.” I thought it judged against the
out now on Netflix.
would be easy. You know, I guy from Champion.
didn’t know what else to do. I Which, you know,
had terrible stage fright when he’d begun his ca-
ber one on a call sheet, you set I first started reer playing sen-
a tone on the set. If you’re late performing. sitive young men
to the set, other people will You’ve said that your dad before he got that
be late. If you’re an asshole, told you that you were an role. He played a
other people will be assholes. awful actor at first. prick for the first
You work with talented peo- He did, and he was right! It time and gets nom-
ple who are nice to work with. was in those early college pro- inated for an Oscar.
And then there are talented ductions. I started getting a You won an Oscar
people who are dickheads. So little better, but I had a long for playing a prick [in
as I’ve gotten older, my rule way to go. Wall Street]!
now is: No dickheads. Don’t So at what point did you Yeah. Those are the roles
need ’em. start to feel like, “Hey, I may that always pay off.
Don’t have time for ’em. actually be a legitimate The Kominsky Meth-
What’s the most indul- actor”? od is a comedy, but it con-
gent purchase you’ve ever Where I actually felt like I fronts aging and illness in
made? had something to offer? That a very candid way. Hav-
Probably, it was a few years would have to be the year of ing been through your own
ago, [a] time-share in a jet. It Fatal Attraction and Wall health scare, was that part
allowed the luxury to fly pri- Street...around 1986, 1987. of what drew you to the
vate. I stopped that. Just very Up until then, I still dealt with show?
expensive. But that was a nerves in front of a camera. I didn’t think it was. The writ-
great luxury, I must say. I felt I was competent; I did ing was just so good. And I
I enjoyed it. 104 hours of a TV show [The said, “Well, this is fabulous.
What do you do to relax? Streets of San Francisco]! But I mean, a comedy about get-
I’m a big sports junkie. Mov- I couldn’t tell you that I was ting older? Where do I sign
ies, you always guess the end- really enjoying the process or up?” Everything else is so de-
ing. Sports — you never know that people were benefiting pressing about getting older.
how it’s going to end. That’s from what I was doing. I wasn’t consciously aware
exciting. But it was the commer- [that] my cancer [played a
What advice would you cial success of Fatal At- part in drawing me to the
give your younger self? traction that gave role], but it became part of the
Cherish the moment. We’re me the confir- package, because it was part of
always rushing ambition, as mation that my life. DAVID FEAR

ILLUSTRATION BY Mark Summers 73 | Rolling Stone | December 2019