Has Michael Douglas ever done a film roll where he was a nice guy?

[Poiuyt]

I watched The China Syndrome last night and found the Michael Douglas character to be totally disagreeable. Now, I haven't seen all his films, but the ones that I have seen, he's played people that are not very likable. They're always very brash and cocky, never sympathetic characters. It's been a long time since I've seen Romancing the Stone, so I don't recall what he was like there. Can you think of a Michael Douglas film where you liked him?

[Radio_Lady]

1. Well, he did have a bagel on one set, but never a roll... (just kiddin').

It's a "role" in a movie, a "roll" for breakfast. They're homonyms.

[Radio_Lady]

5. Here's a list of his movies. Let's look together... sorry for the format... it's IMDB.com's idea...

The Mechanic (2007) (announced) (attached) .... Kevin Bishop
Racing the Monsoon (2008) (pre-production)
King of California (2007) .... Charlie
Romancing the Stone: A Hidden Treasure - The Screenwriter (2006) (V)
The Jewel of the Nile: Adventures of a Romance Novelist (2006) (V)
You, Me and Dupree (2006) .... Mr. Thompson
The Sentinel (2006) .... Pete Garrison
The In-Laws (2003/I) .... Steve Tobias
... aka Ungleiches Paar, Ein (Germany)
... aka Wild Wedding - Ein ungleiches Paar (Germany: DVD title)
It Runs in the Family (2003) .... Alex Gromberg
... aka Family Business (UK: TV title)
"Liberty's Kids: Est. 1776" (2002) TV Series .... Patrick Henry (unknown episodes)
"Will & Grace" .... Detective Gavin Hatch (1 episode, 2002)
- Fagel Attraction (2002) TV Episode .... Detective Gavin Hatch
Don't Say a Word (2001) .... Dr. Nathan R. Conrad
One Night at McCool's (2001) .... Mr. Burmeister
Traffic (2000) .... Robert Wakefield
... aka Traffic - Die Macht des Kartells (Germany)
Wonder Boys (2000) .... Prof. Grady Tripp
... aka Wonder Boys, Die (Germany)
... aka Wonderboys - Lauter Wunderknaben (Germany: TV title)
A Perfect Murder (1998) .... Steven Taylor
The Game (1997) .... Nicholas Van Orton
The Ghost and the Darkness (1996) .... Charles Remington
The American President (1995) .... President Andrew Shepherd
Disclosure (1994) .... Tom Sanders
The 1993 World Music Awards (1993) (TV) .... Host
Falling Down (1993) .... William 'D-Fens' Foster
... aka Chute libre (France)
Basic Instinct (1992) .... Det. Nick Curran
... aka Basic Instinct (France)
... aka Ice Cold Desire (Singapore: English title: censored version)
Shining Through (1992) .... Ed Leland
The War of the Roses (1989) .... Oliver Rose
Black Rain (1989/I) .... Nick
Wall Street (1987) .... Gordon Gekko
Fatal Attraction (1987) .... Dan Gallagher
A Chorus Line (1985) .... Zach
The Jewel of the Nile (1985) .... Jack Colton
"Saturday Night Live" .... Host (1 episode, 1984)
... aka SNL (USA: informal title)
... aka SNL 25 (USA: alternative title)
- Episode #9.16 (1984) TV Episode .... Host
Romancing the Stone (1984) .... Jack T. Colton
... aka 2 bribones tras la esmeralda perdida (Mexico)
The Star Chamber (1983) .... Superior Court Judge Steven R. Hardin
It's My Turn (1980) .... Ben Lewin
... aka A Perfect Circle
Running (1979) .... Michael Andropolis
... aka Vainqueur, Le (Canada: French title)
The China Syndrome (1979) .... Richard Adams
Coma (1978/I) .... Dr. Mark Bellows
"The Streets of San Francisco" .... Inspector Steve Keller (98 episodes, 1972-1976)
- The Thrill Killers: Part 2 (1976) TV Episode .... Inspector Steve Keller
- The Thrill Killers: Part 1 (1976) TV Episode .... Inspector Steve Keller
- The Honorable Profession (1976) TV Episode .... Inspector Steve Keller
- Most Likely to Succeed (1976) TV Episode .... Inspector Steve Keller
- Alien Country (1976) TV Episode .... Inspector Steve Keller
(93 more)
The Streets of San Francisco (1972) (TV) .... Insp. Steve Keller
Napoleon and Samantha (1972) .... Danny
When Michael Calls (1972) (TV) .... Craig
... aka Shattered Silence
"Medical Center" .... Jonathan Crowley (1 episode, 1971)
- The Albatross (1971) TV Episode .... Jonathan Crowley
Summertree (1971) .... Jerry
"The F.B.I." .... Jerome Williams (1 episode, 1971)
- The Hitchhiker (1971) TV Episode .... Jerome Williams
Adam at Six A.M. (1970) .... Adam Gaines


Hail, Hero! (1969) .... Carl Dixon
"CBS Playhouse" (1 episode, 1969)
- The Experiment (1969) TV Episode (as M.K. Douglas)
Cast a Giant Shadow (1966) (uncredited) .... Jeep driver

Producer:
In Production
2000s
1990s
1980s
1970s
The Mechanic (2007) (announced) (producer)
Racing the Monsoon (2008) (pre-production) (co-producer)


The Sentinel (2006) (producer)
It Runs in the Family (2003) (producer)
... aka Family Business (UK: TV title)
One Night at McCool's (2001) (producer)


The Rainmaker (1997) (producer)
... aka John Grisham's The Rainmaker
Face/Off (1997) (executive producer)
... aka Face Off
The Ghost and the Darkness (1996) (executive producer)
Made in America (1993) (producer)
Radio Flyer (1992) (executive producer)
Eyes of an Angel (1991) (executive producer)
... aka The Tender (USA: TV title)
Double Impact (1991) (co-producer)
Stone Cold (1991) (co-producer)
Flatliners (1990) (producer)


"Starman" (1986) TV Series (executive producer) (unknown episodes)
The Jewel of the Nile (1985) (producer)
Starman (1984) (executive producer)
... aka John Carpenter's Starman (USA: complete title)
Romancing the Stone (1984) (producer)
... aka 2 bribones tras la esmeralda perdida (Mexico)


The China Syndrome (1979) (producer)
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) (producer)

[Kerrytravelers]

15. Of the ones I've seen, here is my list.

The In-Laws (2003/I) .... Steve Tobias
He wasn't necessarily the model father, but he wasn't pure evil, either.

Traffic (2000) .... Robert Wakefield
While he had his flaws, I think that this character came to terms with their shortcomings with his family and tried to do right by coming to the aid of his daughter.

The American President (1995) .... President Andrew Shepherd
He was a good guy in this one.

The War of the Roses (1989) .... Oliver Rose
He was just as guilty as Kathleen Turner's role. They were both so rotten to one another, but in the end, he still loved her.

Fatal Attraction (1987) .... Dan Gallagher
Ok, really bad behavior, but not evil, just a betrayal to his family. It's not like his Gordon Gekko character, where his evil hurt thousands of people.

A Chorus Line (1985) .... Zach
As nice as a director is allowed to be!

[Deja Q]

2. Nice guys are boring.

:D

[terrya]

3. "The American President"

He played a likable President of the United States.

[Aristus]

6. Likeable indeed. President Andrew Shepard was the prototype for

President Josiah Bartlet, also created by Aaron Sorkin and played by Martin Sheen. Sheen played A.J. Mcinerney in "The American President", Shepard's Chief Of Staff.

[Radio_Lady]

7. Yes, that was my first choice!

[Poiuyt]

10. That's one of my favorite movies & I thought Douglas was very believable as a

president. But I didn't find him particularly likable. He was still kind of a hard ass. Not much of a sense of humor.

[Shell Beau]

4. War of the Roses!!

:rofl:

[WI_DEM]

8. Yes, "Napolian and Samantha" from 1971 for Disney with Jodie Foster and Johnny (Jody) Wittaker

as a young guy who rode a motorcycle who befriends these two young kids with a pet lion. Will (Grandpa Walton) Geer is also in the film.

[patricia92243]

9. Romancing the Stone and it's sequal

[BlueIris]

11. He was kind of a nice guy in "Don't Say A Word."

Then again, I have a preference for psychiatrists and the actors who play them. SHRINKS RULE.

[Susang]

12. China Syndrome?

[jeff30997]

13. Coma (1978)

He was the good guy(I think).But I always liked his characters good or bad.

[xmas74]

14. Well, according to the list

from another poster, he did an episode or two of the cartoon Liberty's Kids. My daughter seemed to sympathize w/ his character so I guess he's had a nice role.

[poiuytsister]

16. I like brash and cocky

he reminds me of...me

[seaglass]

17. The Game - with Sean Penn. I'm fairly certain he was a nice

guy in that one. Good movie too.

[cmkramer]

18. Didn't want comparisons with his father

He has said that early in his career he deliberately chose "sensitive" roles because he thought if he played more phyiscal, tough characters, he'd be compared unfavorably with Kirk.

I remember him doing at least one generation gap type movie - draft dodger hippie son vresus conservative dad.

[dysfunctional press]

19. the star chamber.

hal holbrook was the bad guy.

[CanuckAmok]

20. Falling Down.

He's pretty nice in that.





But then he flips out.

[Deja Q]

22. Well, nobody's perfect...

:spray:

[Spirochete]

21. Hail Hero

one of his early ones. He was a good guy in that one.

[Frank Cannon]

23. Hey, he was Inspector Keller on "Streets of San Francisco"

I know it's not a movie role, but that gave him "good guy credentials" to last a lifetime.

[peekaloo]

24. I think he was a likable stoner in 'The Wonder Boys'.

or maybe I need to see it again. :-)