Michael Douglas feared Kirk comparisons
Michael Douglas has admitted he "lacked confidence" following in his father’s footsteps.
The 71-year-old actor took a long time to feel "a sense of security" in his work because he always worried he would be compared unfavourably to his dad Kirk Douglas, 99, and his career achievements.
Speaking on ‘Good Morning Britain’ on Thursday (07.09.16), the ‘Fatal Attraction’ actor said: "I lacked confidence I would say. It took me a while to have a sense of security. I mean clearly when you have a father like Kirk, he was a big figure to look up to and think, ‘wow how do you be the man that he is?’ But I’m not complaining you know, everybody has got their strengths and weaknesses and you just try to overcome those situations and improve your lot in life."
And to add to the ‘Basic Instinct’ star’s lack of self-confidence, the actor also revealed that his father – who turns 100 in December – wasn’t completely convinced by his son’s acting abilities and thought he was "terrible" when he started his career.
Michael recalled: "I remember the first show I did he came back and he said, ‘Michael you were absolutely terrible.’ And he was so relieved because he thought, ‘I don’t have to worry about my son becoming an actor, he was so bad.’
"And I kind of stayed with it and kept working with it and a few shows later he came back and said ‘not bad’."
The ‘Ant-Man’ star recently revealed his and wife Catherine Zeta-Jones’ children, Dylan, 15, and Carys, 12, are keen to follow in their famous family’s footsteps and he has already given them warnings about how tough it is to make it in Hollywood.
He said: "My son and my daughter both want to be in the business.
"They both want to act and I’ve told them to be ready for rejection.
"That’s the one part I always warn everybody starting out in the business. You have to be able to take a hit and keep on going no matter what. It’s hard, but you have to deal with it because it’s going to happen.
"I experienced lots of rejection in my career and it’s never easy. You have to keep on going and someone will say yes."
