Short answers, pulled from the story.
Michael Douglas has won two Academy Awards. He won the Academy Award for Best Picture as a producer of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) and the Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of Gordon Gekko in Wall Street (1987).
Michael Douglas's father is actor Kirk Douglas (1916-2020). Kirk provided Michael with the rights to Ken Kesey's novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, which Kirk had acquired through Bryna Productions in February 1962. Michael produced the film, which won the Academy Award for Best Picture. Michael and Kirk Douglas are the only father and son pair to have both received the Cecil B. DeMille Award.
Michael Douglas was diagnosed with tongue cancer, which he publicly described as throat cancer on his physician's advice due to the condition's more severe prognosis and potential for disfigurement. The diagnosis was made by a doctor in Montreal, Quebec, after numerous American specialists had failed to identify it. He announced the cancer in August 2010, confirmed it was stage IV, and declared the tumor gone on the 11th of January, 2011.
Michael Douglas was appointed as a United Nations Messenger of Peace in 1998 by Secretary-General Kofi Annan. His work in the role has focused primarily on disarmament issues.
Michael Douglas played Liberace in the 2013 HBO film Behind the Candelabra, opposite Matt Damon as Scott Thorson. The film dramatizes the last ten years of Liberace's life. Douglas won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie at the 65th Primetime Emmy Awards for the performance.
In July 2025, Michael Douglas said he retired because he did not want to be one of those people who dropped dead on the set, citing his age and his desire to spend more time with his family as the deciding factors. He remained attached to one additional project and did not fully rule out future work if something special came up, but said he had no plans to work regularly again.