Michael Douglas Slams U.S. Politics, Says Idealism Is Dead and Reveals He’s Done With Acting

Michael Douglas isn’t planning to return to acting anytime soon. In fact, he says he’s pretty much done—unless something very special comes along. Speaking at the Karlovy Vary Film Festival in the Czech Republic, Douglas opened up about his career, his health, and what he thinks of the current state of U.S. politics.

“I have not worked since 2022 purposefully because I realized I had to stop,” Douglas said at a press conference. “I had been working pretty hard for almost 60 years, and I did not want to be one of those people who dropped dead on the set. I have no real intentions of going back. I say I’m not retired because if something special came up, I’d go back, but otherwise, no.”

He added that he does have “one little independent movie” in the works, but right now, he’s happy focusing on his family. “In the spirit of maintaining a good marriage,” he joked, “I’m happy to play the wife” to his wife, actress Catherine Zeta-Jones.

Douglas, who was in town to present a restored version of Miloš Forman’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, also used the event to talk about bigger issues, including his fears for democracy in the U.S.

He didn’t hold back when asked about politics. “The nation is flirting with autocracy,” he said. “I look at it generally as the fact of how precious democracy is, of how vulnerable it is and how it always has to be protected. Politics now seem to be for profit. Money has entered democracy as a profit centre. People are going into politics now to make money. We maintained an ideal, an idealism in the U.S., which does not exist now.”

Douglas made it clear that he’s deeply concerned about the direction things are heading in America. “I myself am worried, I am nervous, and I think it’s all of our responsibility to look out for ourselves,” he said. He didn’t want to get too specific, adding that “the news speaks for itself.”

While the press conference focused on Cuckoo’s Nest, which won Best Picture in 1976, Douglas also reflected on the state of Hollywood today. He mentioned how strong that year’s Oscar lineup was, listing films like Dog Day Afternoon, Jaws, Barry Lyndon, and Nashville. “I ask you, in the last 20 years, has there ever been anywhere near that kind of quality of movies there?” he said.

Douglas was joined in Karlovy Vary by producer Paul Zaentz, nephew of the late Cuckoo’s Nest producer Saul Zaentz. Paul talked about a few new projects in development, including a TV series based on Cuckoo’s Nest told from Chief Bromden’s point of view. He said the first season would end with the death of Jack Nicholson’s character, and the second would follow what happens after the Chief escapes.

Douglas also shared a bit about his past health struggles. He survived stage 4 throat cancer, which he said was “not a holiday.” He went through chemo and radiation, and said that avoiding surgery helped him keep his voice. “The surgery would have meant not being able to talk and removing part of my jaw and that would have been limiting as an actor.”

Looking back at his long career and everything he’s been through, Douglas seems at peace with slowing down. He said returning to Karlovy Vary to honor One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest was special, especially since director Miloš Forman was from the area. “The festival was just beginning when we first came here,” he said. “It’s highly unusual to be supporting and honoring a movie from 50 years ago. It’s a treat to come back here to the scene of the crime, where Miloš was brought up, with all of what he accomplished.”

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