Actor Michael Douglas reportedly didn’t take kindly to being called a ‘nepo baby’, saying: “Who doesn’t try to help his son?”
On Friday (December 6), speaking at the Red Sea Film Festival in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Douglas spoke about how challenging it was to make it as an actor in Hollywood in the shadow of his father, Kirk, who was widely regarded as one of Hollywood’s greatest actors. He died aged 103 in 2020.
The Hollywood Reporter wrote that Douglas dislikes the “Hollywood nepo baby” label, but went on to say any father would help their son if able.
He explained: “I don’t know a father in whatever business, be it a plumber or a contractor or a carpenter, who doesn’t try to help his son join him. I’m a nepo baby too, you know? So that’s the way it goes,” he added.
He went on to explain how his father Kirk helped him executive produce Milos Forman’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, which eventually won an Oscar for Best Picture.
Douglas explained how Kirk acquired the rights to make Broadway stage and film adaptations of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest in 1962. Douglas then said he had had to convince his father to allow him to produce the movie adaptation.
“I sort of impulsively said, ‘Let me run with it,’ Douglas explained, before expanding on how he finally got permission from his father to run with the project.
“There’s a risk factor that also gives you the nerves when you’re starting a project. But then the nerves are just part of your career, part of your work,” he continued.
Throughout his career, Douglas has earned numerous accolades including two Academy Awards, five Golden Globes and a Primetime Emmy.
He received acclaim for his performances in films such as Wall Street, Fatal Attraction, Basic Instinct, Falling Down and Wonder Boys. For his portrayal of pianist Liberace in HBO film Behind the Candelabra alongside Matt Damon, he won a Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or Movie.
Since then, he’s enjoyed work on Netflix comedy The Kominsky Method and has even appeared in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Hank Pym in Ant-Man.
Douglas was also diagnosed with stage four throat cancer in 2010 – following treatment, was given the all clear in 2013.
The post Michael Douglas doesn’t take kindly to being called a ‘nepo baby’: “Who doesn’t try to help his son?” appeared first on NME.
