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On Jan. 31, 2026, Michael Douglas attended a screening of Wall Street as part of the TCM Classic Film Festival in New York
The movie first premiered in 1987 and features stars like Charlie Sheen, Martin Sheen and Daryl Hannah
During the event, Douglas spoke to TCM's Alicia Malone and recalled a harsh note from the film's director, Oliver Stone, that changed his performance
Michael Douglastook on Gordon Gekko inOliver Stone's1987 thrillerWall Street, becoming one of cinema's most infamous villains and earning an Academy Award in the process.
Known for his charisma, Douglas faced the challenge of mixing charm with ruthlessness, but Stone wanted someone who could embody ambition, greed and moral ambiguity to the fullest.
In a recent interview with TCM's Alicia Malone, Douglas recalled a moment, just two weeks into filming, when Stone's feedback truly hit hard.
"Okay, so we were finishing the second week of filming, and there was a knock on my door. 'Hey Mike, it's Oliver. Can I come in?'" Douglas, 81, recalled. "I say, 'Yeah, come on in.' He comes in the trailer and sits down. He says to me, 'You okay?' I said, 'Yeah, I'm okay.' "
"[He asks], 'Are you doing drugs?' I said, 'No, I'm not doing drugs.' And he said, 'Because you look like you've never acted before in your life,'" the actor continued at the TCM Classic Film Festival in New York on Jan. 31.
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Still, Douglas said that, even though Stone's critique was harsh, he handled it well. The director pushed him to closely examine his performance, especially in the key scenes that showed Gekko's manipulative side.
Up until that point, Douglas explained that he never looked at the dailies — the raw, unedited footage shot that day.
"So I said, 'Well, I don't like to look at the dailies because I'm one of those guys that always sees what's wrong or what's not going to be in the film'… so I don't pay attention to the dailies," Douglas noted. "So I said, 'I guess I'd better take a look,' and he said, 'Yeah, you better.' "
So, Douglas went to the editing room and looked at two scenes, one of which was the limo scene alongsideCharlie Sheen.
"And I'm looking at them really hard, and critically, and they seemed pretty good. So I keep saying, 'I think it's pretty good,' and [Stone said], 'Yeah, it is, isn't it,'" he recalled.
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The experience highlighted Stone's willingness to get under Douglas' skin to help him explore the darker edges of Gekko – demanding more "nastiness," "vengeance" and "meanness" from the character.
"He was willing for me to hate his guts for the rest of this movie to get that extra little push," Douglas said.
The legendary actor noted that Stone has always found a way to "push actors" to give "their best performance" — pointing to James Woods inSalvador, Tom Cruise inBorn on the Fourth of July, Kevin Costner inJFK, Val Kilmer inThe Doorsand more.
"His record of successes with actors is quite impressive. So I'm deeply, deeply appreciative of the fact that it gave me part and the fact that he pushed me to another level," Douglas ended.
In the end, the dedication paid off, withWall Streetcementing Douglas as a masterful actor and earning him an Academy Award for Best Actor.
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