Michael Douglas Shares Advice for His Kids as They Enter the 'Tough' Acting Business (Exclusive)
Michael Douglas and his dad, Kirk Douglas, may have carved out impressive acting careers and established their family name as legendary in Hollywood, but get ready for four more of their clan to potentially make their mark in showbiz!
ET’s Courtney Tezeno caught up with the 74-year-old icon at the premiere of his new Netflix series, The Kominsky Method, at the AFI Fest in Hollywood, California, where he dished on the next generation of Douglas actors.
“Right now, all three of my kids want to be actors, Cameron, Dylan and Carys, and my niece, Kelsey,” he shared. “So that’s four of the next dynasty. Dad and I got about 120 years and about 130 movies, so it will be more and we just got a grandchild — little granddaughter Lua.”
Cameron, 39, is from Douglas’ first marriage to Diandra Luker and he already made his film debut in 1997’s Mr. Nice Guy, with several acting appearances since. Dylan, 18, and Carys, 15, are from Douglas’ marriage to Catherine Zeta-Jones, with whom he will celebrate his 18th wedding anniversary on Sunday.
So, what’s his advice for his children as they follow in his footsteps?
“Don’t do it if the only thing that’s going to make you happy is being a star,” he advised. “You gotta just love acting. The odds are so tough as it is, but if you have that passion, that joy. Look [at] me — I’m in my seventies now and it’s so great.”
“I don’t want to stop working,” Douglas added. “People say, ‘Oh, why don’t you stop?’ It’s not a question of retiring. We’re so blessed and fortunate that we can do what we’re doing for the rest of our lives.”
Created by Chuck Lorre, The Kominsky Method, which premieres on Netflix on Nov. 26, centers on an acting coach named Sandy (Douglas) and his best friend, Norman, played by Alan Arkin.
Meanwhile, Zeta-Jones is preparing for the launch of her own series, Queen America. “I just talked to her back east. Queen America is her show on Facebook and she is really fun,” he said, before noting his wife has a Southern accent on the show.
With the couple now preparing for their kids to pursue acting, Douglas says it’s the continuation of the “Douglas dynasty” that he relishes during family gatherings over the holidays.
But don’t expect the fam to gather around watching his show together!
“We’re getting ready for Thanksgiving,” Douglas shared. “I just got my first eight [The Kominsky Method] episodes that I saw a little while ago. Chuck Lorre was great and he got some for my father to see to give him an idea of what’s going on. But we are all going to get together for Thanksgiving and probably by Thanksgiving we will have had enough Kominsky Method in my household to last a lifetime.”
With season one of the show featuring guest stars like Danny DeVito and Jay Leno, Douglas said he’ll “go through my Rolodex” to potentially pull off further celebrity cameos in season two. In the meantime, he gushed about working with Arkin.
“He’s a comedic genius really,” Douglas said. “I was really looking forward to learning about timing. Wonderful actor. It’s just exciting. He makes it easy and fast and funny.”
See more on Douglas and his family below.
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