Michael Douglas has spoken out against the “nepo baby” label that has shadowed his family across generations.
The “Wall Street” actor, 82, dismissed the term as “an unfortunate title” in an exclusive interview on Wednesday while promoting his new memoir, “One Helluva Ride.” He pushed back against the idea that his Hollywood success was simply handed down from his legendary father, the late Kirk Douglas.
“I guess you could say that about any business,” he continued. “The same thing with Hollywood royalty. My father’s father was a junkman.”
Douglas explained that tracing the career evolution of the Douglas men became a central thread in his book. “That was that was part of my motivation, to tell about the ups and the downs anyone has in their life, and how hard you work for it versus something that’s just handed to you,” he shared.
The Oscar winner also expressed gratitude for his genetic inheritance from both parents. He described himself as “blessed with the combination of genes” from Kirk, who died in February 2020 at age 103, and his mother, Bermudian-American actress Diana Douglas, who passed away in July 2015 at age 92.
The “nepo baby” conversation extends to Douglas’s own children, all three of whom have pursued acting. With his wife, fellow Oscar winner Catherine Zeta-Jones, he has Dylan, 26, and Carys, 23. His oldest son, Cameron, 47, from his previous marriage to Diandra Luker, has also acted and faced well-publicized struggles with addiction, including seven years in federal prison on drug-related charges.
Douglas defended his younger children’s preparation for the craft, noting they’ve “been acting since they were in kindergarten.”
“Every play, every show, summer theater camps, graduating, I mean, they’ve done so much work. It’s unbelievable,” he told the outlet, clarifying that Cameron “is also working” now.
His core advice to all three children is blunt: “If you don’t like rejection, don’t do it.”
Douglas revealed that Kirk experienced deep anxiety about his son’s chosen path. “I know how worried my father was,” he said. Still, he expressed confidence in the next generation: “They’re very talented, all three of them. I think it will all work out.”
The “Basic Instinct” star had previously addressed the nepo baby debate earlier in the week during an interview. “Is there any business in the world that the mother or father doesn’t try to get their son or daughter into?” he asked. “We all try to help our kids to some degree.”
Early in his own career, Douglas frequently encountered comparisons to his father. People would tell him, “You remind me so much of your father,” and he’d offer thanks while privately chafing at the resemblance.
“But I would think to myself, ‘I don’t want to hear that. I’m going to be my own person,'” he recalled.
In his memoir, Douglas grappled directly with his father’s towering legacy. “Much of my story is about finding my way in the world as I carried the weight of my legendary father’s legacy,” he wrote. “How could it not be? After all, I am the son of Spartacus.”
The “Romancing the Stone” star’s reflections come as Hollywood continues debating how family connections shape opportunity in the entertainment industry, with Douglas positioning himself as someone who earned his place despite his famous surname rather than because of it.
