Michael Douglas has spoken about the complicated relationship he had with his father, actor Kirk Douglas, while discussing his memoir, “One Helluva Ride.” In a 2026 Associated Press interview promoting the book, he recalled a remark his father made after Douglas won the Academy Award for Best Actor for “Wall Street” in 1988: “You know, I would have been nicer to you if I knew how successful you were going to be.”
Douglas described looking up to his father as “Superman,” praising his dynamism, strength and tenacity. He also said Kirk had a “big temper” and that he would have felt uncomfortable writing about their early years and his father’s physical abuse while Kirk was alive. Douglas said he was able to forgive him as he grew older.
The memoir also recounts a long acting career that included “The Streets of San Francisco,” “Will & Grace” and the HBO film “Behind the Candelabra,” for which Douglas won an Emmy in 2013. He most recently played Benjamin Franklin in Apple TV’s 2024 series “Franklin.”
Sources: TVLine.