Editing Michael Douglas (section)

== Acting style and reception ==
According to film historian and critic [[David Thomson (film critic)|David Thomson]], Douglas was capable of playing characters who were "weak, culpable, morally indolent, compromised, and greedy for illicit sensation without losing that basic probity or potential for ethical character that we require of a hero".<ref name=Thomson>Thomson, David. ''The New Biographical Dictionary of Film'', Alfred A. Knopf (2002) pp. 247–249</ref> 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".<ref name=Edelman>Edelman, Rob; Unterburger, Amy L. (Ed.) ''International Dictionary of Films and Filmmakers-3: Actors and Actresses'' (3rd Ed.), St. James Press (1997) pp. 347–348</ref>

These themes of perceived male victimization are seen in films such as ''[[Fatal Attraction]]'' (1987) with [[Glenn Close]], ''[[The War of the Roses (film)|The War of the Roses]]'' (1989) with [[Kathleen Turner]], ''[[Basic Instinct]]'' (1992) with [[Sharon Stone]], ''[[Falling Down]]'' (1993), and ''[[Disclosure (1994 film)|Disclosure]]'' (1994) with [[Demi Moore]]. For his characters in films such as these, "any kind of sexual contact with someone other than his mate and the mother of his children is destined to come at a costly price."<ref name=Edelman/> Edelman describes his characters as the "Everyman who must contend with, and be victimized by, these women and their raging, psychotic sexuality".<ref name=Edelman/>

Conversely, Douglas also played powerful characters with dominating personalities, including [[Gordon Gekko]], in the ''[[Wall Street (1987 film)|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 (American film)|Black Rain]]'' (1989), he proved he could also play a [[Sylvester Stallone|Stallone]]-like action hero as a New York City cop.<ref name=Edelman/>

Having become recognized as a successful producer and actor, he describes himself as "an actor first and a producer second". He has explained why he enjoys both functions:

{{blockquote|I love the fact that on one side, with acting, you can be a child—acting is wonderful for its innocence and the fun ... On the other side, producing is fun for all the adult kinds of things you do. You deal in business, you deal with the creative forces. As an adult who continues to get older, you like the adult risks. It's flying without a net, taking chances and learning. I was never good in economics or business—had no business background, you know, and I like it.

I think I'm a chameleon. I think it's something that I possibly inherited early on as a child going back and forth between two families. 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. I think that same chameleonlike quality can transfer into films. I think if you can remember the reason you got involved with it in the first place and try to keep that impulsive, instinctive feeling even when you're being beaten down or exhausted or waylaid, you'll be successful."<ref name=RollingStone>Hirschberg, Lynn. ''Rolling Stone'' magazine, Jan. 16, 1986 pp. 28–32, 41</ref>}}