Michael Douglas has revealed that legendary director Oliver Stone was less than impressed with his acting when they were filming “Wall Street.”
Stone originally wanted Richard Gere to play Gordan Gekko in the 1987 flick but eventually settled on Douglas despite being advised not to hire the actor.
“I was warned by everyone in Hollywood that Michael couldn’t act, that he was a producer more than an actor and would spend all his time in his trailer on the phone,” Stone said.
And not being able to act is exactly what Stone blasted Douglas for when they were filming a scene in the back of a limo where Gekko brags about the size of his fortune to Bud Fox (played by Charlie Sheen).
“Oliver said, ‘How are you feeling ?’” Douglas recalled in an interview with Sunday People.
“ I said, ‘I am feeling good’. He said, ‘Michael, are you doing drugs ?’ I said ‘No.’ He said, ‘Because you look like you have never acted before in your life .'”
“I say, ‘Oliver, I thought it was pretty good.’ Oliver wanted just a little bit more anger. And I went to town after that, I worked my ass off.”
Douglas went on to win the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in the film.
“You look back at Oliver Stones’ career — Jimmy Woods in ‘El Salvador,’ Charlie Sheen in ‘Platoon,’ Tom Cruise in ‘Born on the Fourth of July,’ Kevin Costner in ‘JFK,’ Val Kilmer in ‘The Doors’ — and every actor has probably given their best performance with Oliver Stone,” Douglas told Sunday People.
“Because, whether it is his Vietnam mentality, he wants you in the trenches with him.”