Other notable roles include in The China Syndrome (1979), Romancing the Stone (1984), The Jewel of the Nile (1985), Fatal Attraction (1987), The War of the Roses (1989), Basic Instinct (1992), Falling Down (1993), The American President (1995), The Game (1997), Traffic (2000), Wonder Boys (2000), and Solitary Man (2009).

On television, he started his career earning three consecutive Emmy Award nominations for playing a homicide inspector in the ABC police procedural series The Streets of San Francisco (1972-1976).

He won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie for portraying Liberace in the HBO film Behind the Candelabra (2013), and a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Musical or Comedy for playing an aging acting coach in the Netflix comedy series The Kominsky Method (2018–2021).

Thomas Newbold Dill's father, another Thomas Melville Dill, was a sea captain who took the Bermudian-built barque Sir George F. Seymour from Bermuda to Ireland in thirteen days in March 1858, but lost his master's certificate after the wreck of the Bermudian-built Cedrine on the Isle of Wight while returning the last convict laborers from the Royal Naval Dockyard in Bermuda to Britain in 1863.

[31] Kirk Douglas hoped to portray McMurphy himself, having starred in an earlier stage version, but the director, Milos Forman, went with Jack Nicholson, who won the Academy Award for Best Actor.

[37] In the 1980s, Douglas formed a new film production company, The Stone Group (later renamed Stonebridge Entertainment) with partner Rick Bieber.

That same year he played tycoon Gordon Gekko in Oliver Stone's Wall Street for which he received an Academy Award as Best Actor.

[41] In 1989 he starred in Ridley Scott's international police crime drama Black Rain opposite Andy García and Kate Capshaw; the film was shot in Osaka, Japan.

[44] That same year, Douglas had another successful starring role when he appeared alongside Sharon Stone in the film Basic Instinct.

In 1998 Douglas received the Crystal Globe award for outstanding artistic contribution to world cinema at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival.

[47][48] In 2000, Douglas starred in Steven Soderbergh's critically acclaimed film Traffic, opposite Benicio del Toro and future wife, Catherine Zeta-Jones.

[49] That same year he also received critical acclaim for his role in Wonder Boys, as a professor and novelist suffering from writer's block.

"[70][71] Douglas collaborated with Steven Soderbergh again on the 2013 film Behind the Candelabra, playing Liberace, opposite Matt Damon as Scott Thorson.

[89] Critic and author Rob Edelman points out similarities in many of Douglas' roles, writing that in some of his leading films, he personified the "contemporary, Caucasian middle-to-upper-class American male who finds himself the brunt of female anger because of real or imagined sexual slights".

[20] These themes of perceived male victimization are seen in films such as Fatal Attraction (1987) with Glenn Close, The War of the Roses (1989) with Kathleen Turner, Basic Instinct (1992) with Sharon Stone, Falling Down (1993), and Disclosure (1994) with Demi Moore.

[20] Conversely, Douglas also played powerful characters with dominating personalities, including Gordon Gekko, in the Wall Street franchise, who was described as the "greedy yuppie personification of the Me generation," and says "greed is good" in the movie; in Romancing the Stone and The Jewel of the Nile, he played an idealistic soldier of fortune; in The Star Chamber (1983), he was a court judge fed up with an inadequate legal system, leading him to become involved with a vigilante group; and in Black Rain (1989), he proved he could also play a Stallone-like action hero as a New York City cop.

I know that whether it's right or wrong, I have an ability to sort of fit into a lot of different situations and make people feel relatively comfortable in a wide range without giving up all my moral values.

[109] Douglas credits the discovery of his cancer to the public Canadian health system when a doctor in Montreal, Quebec diagnosed the actor's medical condition after numerous American specialists failed to do so.

[117] In June 2013, Douglas told The Guardian that his type of cancer is caused by the human papilloma virus transmitted by cunnilingus,[6] leading some media to report this as well.

He donated the prize money to activities designed to raise awareness about inclusion and diversity in Jewish life and to find innovative solutions to pressing global and community problems.

[129] Douglas has supported the Motion Picture & Television Fund, which aids those in the entertainment industry, and has participated in fundraising efforts for the Jewish General Hospital and the McGill University Health Centre in Montreal, where he was diagnosed with cancer.

[131] Michael Douglas has also raised awareness about the link between human papillomavirus (HPV) and oropharyngeal cancer, citing medical evidence and his diagnosis to promote public health education and preventive measures.

She stated this caused her to wear baggy clothing at work, and also recalled a one-on-one script meeting where Douglas allegedly undid his pants and fondled himself with her in the room.

[134][135] Zeta-Jones, asked about the allegations while promoting Cocaine Godmother, did not address them directly but said that her husband was "110 percent behind" the #MeToo movement and that she was "very, very happy" with his statement.

[136] Douglas is a registered Democrat and has donated money to the campaigns of Barack Obama, Christopher Dodd, Al Franken,[137] Edward Markey[138] Michael Bloomberg,[139] and Joe Biden.

[149] In 2003, Douglas hosted a "powerful film" on child soldiers and the impact of combat on children in countries such as Sierra Leone.

Of one such child he interviewed, Douglas stated, "After being kidnapped by a rebel group, he was tortured, drugged, and forced to commit atrocities.

Douglas made several appearances, saying: The conference is an opportunity for UN member states to build on the Program of Action and to encourage countries to strengthen their laws on the illicit trade, ... an issue that affects us all ... [and] while owning guns is a legal right in most countries, the illegal trade in guns continues to fuel conflict, crime and violence.

[153][154][155][156] In August 2014, Douglas was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter to The Guardian opposing Scottish independence in the run-up to September's referendum on that issue.

[164] He serves on the Board of Trustees of The Douglas Foundation which has granted more than $118 million to organizations committed to providing more equitable access to education, healthcare, and the arts.