My Favorite Michael Douglas Performances

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13.

Nathan Conrad, Don't Say a Word



Douglas plays a psychiatrist who must retrieve a six digit number out of the brain of a mental patient (the late Brittany Murphy) in order to rescue his kidnapped daughter.



12.

Steve Tobias, The In-Laws (2003)



I was surprised how much I enjoyed Douglas' performance in this big budget remake of the 70's comedy playing a mentally unbalanced spy who almost ruins his son's wedding.



You can't make a rainbow without a little rain.
14.

Andrew Shepherd, The American President



Douglas plays the recently widowed POTUS who finds himself attracted to an attractive political strategist (Annette Bening).

I watched The American President recently, and I liked it a lot. It was one of my favorite Michael Douglas performances,
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11.

Richard Adams, The China Syndrome



Douglas was also one of the producers of this nail biter where he played a television cameraman who accidentally films an "accident" at a nuclear power plant that may turn out to have dire consequences for the entire state of California.



10.

Tom Sanders, Disclosure



Douglas plays a software executive who loses a big promotion to a former lover (Demi Moore) who then forces him to have sex with her and the next day reports him for sexually harassing her.



9.

Oliver Rose, The War of the Roses



Douglas appears to be having a ball in this black comedy playing a wealthy attorney who battles his wife (Kathleen Turner) for possession of their house after they decide to divorce.



8.

Nichols Van Orton, The Game



Douglas is solid as a businessman whose life turns into a nightmare courtesy of a birthday gift from his brother (Sean Penn).



7.

Detective Nick Curran, Basic Instinct



Douglas plays a police detective investigating a brutal murder where a sex-on-legs writer (Sharon Stone) is the primary suspect.



6.

Jack Colton, Romancing the Stone




Douglas went the pure sex on legs route for the only time in his career playing an adventurer who drops into the life of a spinsterish romance novelist (Kathleen Turner) who has traveled to South America to rescue her kidnapped sister.



5.

Gordon Gekko, Wall Street




Douglas won the Outstanding Lead Actor Oscar of 1987 for his charismatic performance as a Wall Street tycoon who begins coaching a mentor (Charlie Sheen) on the art of insider trading.



4.

Grady Tripp, Wonder Boys



Douglas offered one of his most inventive performances as a college professor and writer who is suffering from writer's block, dealing with a troubled new student (Tobey Maguire), and his boss (Frances McDormand) who he has just impregnated.



3.

Liberace, Behind the Candlelabra



Douglas won an Emmy and a Golden Globe for his dazzling performance as the famed gay Las Vegas icon who spent years hiding in the closet until his relationship with a naive young dog trainer (Matt Damon).



2.

Dan Gallagher, Fatal Attraction



Douglas had one of his most popular roles in the biggest smash of 1987 playing an attorney whose weekend-long affair with a psychopath (Glenn Close) changes his life forever.



Well, that's # 2...and now, My favorite Michael Douglas performance:



I was thinking A Perfect Murder.
Maybe... Gideon didn't give it a very good rating but he could have really liked the performance I guess.
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mattiasflgrtll6's Avatar
The truth is in here
Michael Douglas is great in everything he's in. I don't think I would have liked The Sentinel nearly as much if it wasn't for his (as well as Kiefer Sutherland's) performance. I also want to give a shoutout to Black Rain, where he does a nice job playing a detective who acts like a tough guy no-nonsense detective, but with a heart underneath.

I'm glad to see Solitary Man made the list, even if it's early on. He plays a very challenging character who easily could have just been an unlikable assh'ole if the wrong actor played him, but he manages to give him a very complex personality, where he almost feels pitiful because of how much his self-destructive behavior fractures relationships with all the people close to him.