Michael Douglas recounts heinous Wall Street shooting with Oliver Stone

Before winning the Oscar, the 1987 film was a high-pressure shoot for Michael Douglas. The actor talks about how the director openly doubted his acting…

Unforgettable Gordon Gecko…

Guest of the TCM Classic Film Festival in New York, Michael Douglas returned (via EW) to the brutal behind-the-scenes of Wall Street (1987). From the first weeks of filming, Oliver Stone was clearly not convinced by the performance of his main actor.

“We were finishing the second week of filming when someone knocked on my door. It was Oliver. He sat down and asked me if everything was okay. I told him yes. And then he asked me: ‘Are you doing drugs?'” Douglas remembers. “I tell him no. And he says to me: ‘Because you look like you’ve never played in your life.'”

Surprised, the actor explains to the director that he never watches rushes, preferring to avoid focusing on what won’t work on screen. “I told him I wasn’t looking at the footage. He said, ‘You better.'” Douglas then does so, analyzes his scenes… and remains convinced that his work holds up.

“I looked at them very carefully, critically, and frankly, it looked pretty good to me. I kept saying, ‘I think it’s good!’ An opinion that Oliver Stone will end up sharing…

In Wall Streetthe star therefore plays Gordon Gekko, opposite Charlie Sheen and Daryl Hannah, in a film centered on the toxic relationship between an ambitious young trader and a formidable financial predator. A role that has become legendary, which earned him the Oscar for best actor.

Looking back, Michael Douglas harbors no resentment:

“He was prepared for me to hate him for the entire movie if it would push me a little further… But hey, his track record with actors is impressive. And in the end, I am deeply grateful to him for giving me this role and pushing me to another level.”

Moreover, it should be noted that this turbulent working relationship did not prevent Michael Douglas and Oliver Stone from meeting again years later. The actor has indeed taken over the role of Gordon Gekko in the sequel Wall Street: Money never sleepsproduced by Stone more than two decades after the original film, in 2010. A late collaboration which testifies to an ultimately mutual trust, despite the tensions…