The best Michael Douglas roles

This 2003 comedy-drama can hardly be considered a hit, but there is a sentimental aspect that can't be overlooked. Douglas stars opposite his real-life father, the late, great Kirk Douglas. Their on-screen dynamic as father and son is touching. Michael Douglas's son, Cameron, is also featured. The movie is easy to forget, but seeing the two Douglas legends on screen is worthy enough to note on this list.

In this Steven Soderbergh action thriller from 2011, Douglas' CIA agent Alex Coblenz is intriguing, mysterious, and one of his more unheralded characters. Douglas unintentionally stands out without taking on a lead role. The film might be mixed between good and mediocre, but Douglas is worth watching.

Douglas and renowned film director Ridley Scott teamed up for this popular 1989 thriller. Douglas is right at home playing NYPD officer Nick Conklin, who is targeted by Internal Affairs but also finds himself wrapped up in a case involving a Japanese crime syndicate. That leads him to Japan, where the fun begins. Douglas shines in this solid role.

Perhaps the casual fan is not familiar with this character from an underrated 2009 film. Kalmen is a car salesman dealing with failing health and the possibility of looming death. So, he goes full bore into living his life, seemingly unabashed. Douglas' effort is made better by a strong ensemble cast, including Susan Sarandon, Jenna Fischer, Mary-Louise Parker, and Danny DeVito.

In 1997, The Game earned plenty of pre-release hype, with moviegoers flocking to grab advance tickets. Nicholas Van Orton is a somewhat tortured banker, estranged from his family, which offers him a chance for some visceral, psychologically charged entertainment to celebrate his 48th birthday. Plenty of twists and turns in this film ultimately become predictable. Still. Douglas is strong in the lead role.

Mildly eccentric and always thinking, for better or worse. Within the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Pym is the original Ant-Man, then soups up the suit to mentor the underachieving Scott Lang (Paul Rudd). Pym is an entomologist and physicist who was once an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. and had lost touch with reality in his old age. He means well but can't stop trying to better his creations or projects and often does so without thinking of ramifications.

This was Douglas' first prominent role. For a little more than four seasons, Douglas starred as a popular homicide inspector opposite the venerable Karl Malden on the hit 1970s network crime drama. There was a mentor-protégé relationship between them, and Douglas has always praised Malden for helping further his career in Hollywood. Douglas seems to feel most comfortable and confident as an actor when stepping into the shoes of a law enforcement character.

Douglas earned a Primetime Emmy nomination for his guest star appearance in Season 4's "Fagel Attraction" episode. When Will (Eric McCormack) files a police report after his laptop is stolen, Douglas' Det. Hatch pursues the case, and the two hilariously go undercover. Will is unaware that his new detective friend and best bud Jack (Sean Hayes) are members of the same therapy group.

Academy Award nominees Glenn Close and Anne Archer overshadowed Douglas in the erotic psychological thriller, but this is still one of his most memorable roles. Dan Gallagher is a successful family man who has an affair with a sexy but psychotic woman. He then struggles to get her out of his life. Dan is weak, mentally and emotionally, and pretty much deserves the ordeal he endures. It's interesting to see the normally confident Douglas play such a submissive character.

Jack Lemmon and Jane Fonda earned Oscar nominations for their performances in this smash 1979 disaster film with a nuclear meltdown subject matter. Douglas, meanwhile, received praise for his role as an inquisitive and determined cameraman trying to find the truth about the Ventana nuclear power plant. The effort opened the door for Douglas, who also produced the movie, to expand his chops further.

Douglas and director Steven Soderbergh have their history together, and 2000's Traffic is a highlight of their collaborative work. Amid the crime drama of intertwined storylines featuring a stellar ensemble cast (Don Cheadle, Benicio Del Toro, James Brolin), Douglas plays a conservative judge trying to fight the war on drugs. Unfortunately for him, the fight hits closer to home than he knows, leaving him conflicted between his professional beliefs and family obligations. 

Douglas and fellow big-screen great Kathleen Turner have shared memorable film moments. Going back to 1984's Romancing the Stone, then 1985's sequel The Jewel of the Nile, Douglas' rugged, devil-may-care bird hunter Jack Colton will forever be one of his notable roles. While he's usually more celebrated in the former film, Colvin is nothing but fun in a pair of movies that aren't meant to be taken seriously.

Basic Instinct (1992) was a box-office hit, mostly because of Sharon Stone's role as a diabolical, sex-dependent writer who fancies Douglas's Nick Curran. Douglas' extremely flawed Curran, a San Francisco detective saddled by plenty of vices, is refreshingly human and perfect for the role. He's troubled but welcomes compassion. He's also a man who has no trouble giving in to his sexual instincts. 

From 2018-21, Douglas worked with iconic television big-wig Chuck Lorre and was rewarded with a Golden Globe win and three Primetime Emmy nominations for his role in this Netflix gem. Douglas is brilliant as a veteran actor who enjoyed his 15 minutes of real fame and eventually made a living as an acting coach. 

As far as fictional university professors go, Grady Tripp is one of the best in this 2000 comedy-drama. Sure, he's having trouble finishing his anticipated second novel, but the complexity of the character and Douglas' portrayal do a fine job of keeping the viewer enthralled. Then again, his methods as an above-average creative writing teacher, interactions with the students, and relationship with university chancellor Sara Gaskell (Frances McDormand) have something to do with the greatness of the role. 

Teamed with Joel Schumacher, another Hollywood heavyweight filmmaker of the 1980s and '90s, Douglas delivers the most riveting and perhaps disturbing performance of his illustrious career. Foster, an unemployed and seemingly bitter former engineer, is trying to get to his ex-wife's house for his daughter's birthday. However, several incidents varying in magnitude impede his trek and set off a variety of emotions.

Give credit where credit is definitely due. Douglas shines as the hilariously unlikable, controlling, and demeaning Oliver Rose. But he could not do without the unhinged comedic excellence of Kathleen Turner as his wife, Barbara Rose. Their ugly divorce, filled with anger and spite to one-up each other when agreeing on settlement terms, makes for one of the best dark comedies of the 1980s. 

Once again, Douglas and Steven Soderbergh joined forces for this 2013 biopic. Many critics believe this is their best work together. They tell the tale of the final years in the life of legendary pianist Liberace and his relationship with a much younger Scott Thorson (Matt Damon). Douglas drew widespread acclaim for his performance in the lead role of this HBO film, winning a Primetime Emmy and Golden Globe Award.

There might not be a more competent, likable, and confident fictional president than Andrew Shepherd. He's Aaron Sorkin's depiction of the "ideal" liberal commander-in-chief, powerful yet down-to-earth. Aggressive when needed but witty enough to ingratiate himself to just about anybody. Shepherd's vulnerability, especially when it comes to relationships and balancing life inside and out of the West Wing, makes him the most appealing.

Douglas won an Oscar for his legendary role as the unrelenting, wealth-and-power-obsessed corporate raider in this famed 1987 Oliver Stone film. The slicked-back hair, suspenders, and cocky dialogue built the persona of this supremely confident and unscrupulous character. When one sees or hears the word "greed," the image of Gekko comes to mind. After all, he let us all know, "greed, for lack of a better word, is good." Gekko resurfaced in 2010's Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, but our first introduction is the only one that matters.