Michael Douglas, 82, Shares Why He’s ‘Not Very Active’ Making Movies and What It Would Take for Him to Act Again (Exclusive)

Eric AnderssonWed, October 7, 2026 at 2:07 PM UTC

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Michael Douglas photographed for PEOPLE in New York City on Sept. 17Credit: Gavin Bond -

Michael Douglas tells PEOPLE he’s “not very active” in Hollywood these days as his focus has shifted to family

The two-time Oscar-winner also shares what it would take him to get back in a movie

His memoir One Helluva Ride is available now

Michael Douglas has a basic instinct to enjoy a life away from movie sets.

The two-time Oscar winner, who has starred in dozens of films over the past several decades, tells PEOPLE that he’s “not very active anymore” when it comes to starring in movies. But if an amazing project came along, he’d consider it.

“I told my agents if they had a good director and a good script, sure. But I’m really not too involved in the career,” continues the Wall Street and Fatal Attraction star, whose new memoir One Helluva Ride, is available now.

His last major role was in the 2024 Apple TV miniseries Franklin, playing one of the Founding Fathers of the U.S., Benjamin Franklin. And though he recently did a “small part” for his Wall Street director Oliver Stone in the filmmaker’s upcoming movie White Lies, he’s more focused on family.

“I’m trying to find beautiful places to enjoy,” says Douglas, who plans trips for wife Catherine Zeta-Jones, 57, their children Dylan, 26, and Carys, 23, and son Cameron, 47, whom he shares with ex-wife Diandra Douglas.

As he writes in One Helluva Ride, “I haven’t slowed down but I spend my time very differently now. I’ve traded the adventures for making movies for adventures with my family. For the past few years, I’ve made sure to plan at least one big family trip every year. Catherine has declared me the world’s best travel agent and she is the momarazzi, recording every last detail for posterity.”

Michael Douglas photographed for PEOPLE in New York City on Sept. 17Credit: Gavin Bond

So is Douglas retired? “No, not officially,” he writes. “But it takes something special to pull me away from my wonderful life now.”

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“No matter what happens,” he continues, “even if I never appear in another picture again, it’s been a magical, wonderful career.”

Michael Douglas as Benjamin Franklin in ‘Franklin’Credit: Apple TV+

Douglas largely framed the book around that incredible career. He picked 13 of his major projects, dedicating a chapter each to films like Fatal Attraction, Wall Street, The War of the Roses, Basic Instinct and The American President.

Chapters take readers behind the scenes of a single project, including what happened on and off set in his life at the time — like his relationships with costar Kathleen Turner while making 1984’s Romancing the Stone and his affair with Basic Instinct’s Jeanne Tripplehorn while they made the 1992 thriller.

Michael Douglas in ‘Fatal Attraction’Credit: Paramount/Shutterstock

“I don’t think that anybody’s life is that interesting, so what I really wanted to do was focus on chapters about movies that my audience knew, but take them through the whole process from the beginning to the end,” Douglas tells PEOPLE. “And I had a lot of good pictures!”

One Helluva Ride by Michael Douglas is available now, wherever books are sold.

To watch the full interview, visit the PEOPLE App. For more from Michael Douglas, pick up the new issue of PEOPLE on newsstands everywhere Friday.

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Original Article on Source

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