Michael Douglas Says His Father Kirk Once Thought He Was A 'Terrible' Actor

Michael Douglas is now an accomplished performer. But when he was just starting out, he very much lived in the shadow of his famous father, Kirk Douglas.

Perhaps even worse, Douglas did not have his father’s approval when he first starting acting, according to a new interview on ITV morning show “Lorraine.”

“I remember the first show I did, he came back and he said, ‘Michael, you were absolutely terrible,’” Douglas said on the program. “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.’”

Not bad is right. At 71 years old, Douglas has earned accolades most actors only dream of ― two Oscars, three Golden Globes, one Emmy and countless other wins and nominations. But after being diagnosed with stage 4 throat cancer in 2010, Douglas feared he would never work again.

“When you are waiting to find out if you are cancer-free or not, you go through your chemo, your radiation, and you’ve lost a dramatic amount of weight,” the actor said, People reported. “And once this is all processed, once this is all done, there is that moment you go back in to be tested and all that to find out whether you’re in good shape or not. So sure, there is always a moment.”

Though Douglas has worked on many films since his diagnosis ― and he is now cancer-free ― the actor admits the scare affected his career.

“If you’ve had a cancer bout, you don’t take time for granted. You kind of choose more selectively how you are going to spend your time,” he said.

To watch the rest of Douglas’ ITV interview, head here.