Michael Douglas is already looking forward to his next film role.
The 66-year-old actor, who has been battling throat cancer since August, told the Hollywood Reporter that he’ll play the title part in Steven Soderbergh’s Liberace, which is set to begin shooting in May or June.
Michael said he will learn in January if his cancer has been eliminated. Doctors have told him there is an 80% cure rate.
The actor also revealed his cancer diagnosis brought him closer to his 93-year-old father, Kirk Douglas.
The two had a strained relationship for many years, but “he really made an effort” after the diagnosis, Michael said. “He was back here almost 10 days. He came over every day. He was great.”
Michael said that when he was growing up, his father was angry and often absent. “In those key years, when Kirk was doing five movies a year, if we saw him it was only out of his guilt.”
He also acknowledged that he may have repeated that pattern with his own son, Cameron, 31, who was recently jailed on drug-related charges.
“I’m sure it’s not easy, either, being a third generation,” Michael said. “Kirk was all-consumed, was overworked. Probably like myself at a certain time in my life.”
Douglas also reflected on his recent difficulties with ex-wife Diandra, whose bid to claim half of his earnings from Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps was dismissed in a New York court earlier this month.
The actor is optimistic about his recovery, and while the disease “certainly has put a little perspective on mortality” it has also “shown me what family is”. Michael added: “It showed me a love that I never knew really existed.”
