Hear Michael Douglas' response when asked if Biden is too old for a second term
Summary
TLDRIn a deep and engaging interview, Oscar-winning actor Michael Douglas discusses his illustrious career and current role as Benjamin Franklin in the Apple TV Plus series 'Franklin'. He reflects on how Franklin, with little diplomatic experience, significantly contributed to America's independence by securing French support. Douglas also explores the traits common to the powerful figures he has portrayed, including Gordon Gekko and President Andrew Shepherd, emphasizing a more subtle approach to embodying such characters. Additionally, Douglas shares personal insights into his life, discussing his adoption of Stoicism influenced by Franklin, and his views on political participation and aging, paralleling President Biden's scenario.
Takeaways
- 🎭 Michael Douglas is an Oscar-winning actor and producer known for his roles as an idealistic American president, a Wall Street investor, and Liberace.
- 🏆 He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of Gordon Gekko in the 1987 film 'Wall Street', where he famously stated, 'Greed, for lack of a better word, is good.'
- 🎬 With a career spanning nearly 60 years, Douglas is now playing Benjamin Franklin in the Apple TV Plus series 'Franklin', highlighting a significant moment in American diplomacy.
- 👴 At the age of 70, Franklin was sent to France to secure support for the newly independent United States, a mission that was crucial for America's survival as a nation.
- 🌟 Despite having no formal diplomatic background, Franklin's fame, particularly due to his experiments with electricity, and his charm helped him win over the French monarchy.
- 🧐 Douglas emphasizes the importance of curiosity and the ability to connect ideas to form a comprehensive vision, comparing Franklin's approach to that of Elon Musk.
- 📚 The actor has adopted stoicism, inspired by Franklin's love for Marcus Aurelius, which he finds helpful in personal development and contributing to the world.
- 🤔 Douglas was once encouraged to run for governor of California but declined, suggesting that he was not interested in being a 'kamikaze pilot' in politics.
- 👴 On aging, Douglas shares his thoughts on President Biden's capability, stating that despite common concerns about age, Biden remains sharp and effective.
- 📉 Douglas discusses the importance of local elections and the need for presidential candidates to be actively involved in grassroots politics, advocating for a bottom-up approach to change.
- 🌐 He stresses the significance of the upcoming election, considering it the most critical of his lifetime, and emphasizes the need for a leader with global experience and the ability to manage international relations.
Q & A
What character did Michael Douglas win an Academy Award for Best Actor?
-Michael Douglas won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as Gordon Gekko in the 1987 film 'Wall Street'.
Can you describe the new role Michael Douglas is portraying on Apple TV Plus?
-Michael Douglas is currently starring as Benjamin Franklin in the Apple TV Plus series titled 'Franklin'. In this role, he portrays Franklin during a pivotal time in history, focusing on his diplomatic efforts in France to support the American Revolution.
What key moment of diplomacy does Michael Douglas discuss about Benjamin Franklin?
-Michael Douglas discusses Benjamin Franklin's mission to France to seek support for the American Revolution, highlighting his strategic efforts and challenges, including dealing with spies and securing French alliance, which was crucial for America's independence from British rule.
According to Michael Douglas, what common trait does he bring to his portrayals of powerful characters like Gordon Gekko and Benjamin Franklin?
-Michael Douglas believes that when portraying powerful characters, the actor can afford to play against the expected traits of power due to the character’s established reputation. He suggests a more passive approach, letting the audience's knowledge of the character add to the portrayal rather than overtly displaying power.
How does Michael Douglas relate Benjamin Franklin to Elon Musk?
-Michael Douglas compares Benjamin Franklin to Elon Musk based on their similar traits of immense curiosity and the ability to link ideas to create comprehensive innovations. He notes both figures' capabilities to transform complex concepts into executable realities.
What philosophical approach has Michael Douglas adopted from his role as Benjamin Franklin?
-From his role as Benjamin Franklin, Michael Douglas has embraced Stoicism, which he describes as a philosophy that emphasizes internal personal growth and resilience, similar to the blend of Protestant and Jewish ethical values.
What impact did the film 'The China Syndrome' have on Michael Douglas' real-life activities?
-The film 'The China Syndrome' significantly influenced Michael Douglas' real-life involvement in nuclear nonproliferation efforts, demonstrating how his roles can inspire his off-screen interests and activities.
What did Michael Douglas reveal about potential political ambitions?
-Michael Douglas shared that he has been approached to run for political office, such as governor of California, but has declined. He jokingly compared the recruitment for the role to looking for a 'kamikaze pilot'.
What are Michael Douglas’ thoughts on President Biden’s capability as he ages?
-Michael Douglas believes that despite concerns about aging, President Biden remains 'sharp as a tack'. He compares himself to Biden, highlighting their shared experiences and challenges with aging, and shows support for Biden’s potential continuing leadership.
Why does Michael Douglas emphasize the importance of local elections?
-Michael Douglas stresses the importance of local elections as foundational to political change. He argues that effective governance and societal improvement often start from the grassroots level, advocating for active participation in local politics to enact change.
Outlines
🎭 Michael Douglas: Versatile Actor and Portrayer of Icons
The first paragraph introduces Michael Douglas, an Oscar-winning actor and producer, known for his diverse roles, including an idealistic American president, a Wall Street investor, and Liberace. Douglas is celebrated for his Academy Award-winning performance as Gordon Gekko in 'Wall Street.' With a career spanning nearly 60 years, he is now taking on the role of America's first diplomat, Benjamin Franklin, in the Apple TV Plus series 'Franklin.' The discussion touches on Franklin's lesser-known diplomatic efforts in France during the American Revolution and Douglas's approach to portraying powerful and historical figures, emphasizing the importance of humility and letting the audience's preconceptions inform their perception of the character.
📚 Stoicism and Service: Douglas's Take on Life and Leadership
The second paragraph delves into how Michael Douglas has applied lessons from his roles to his real life, particularly his activism on nuclear nonproliferation, which was inspired by his film 'The China Syndrome.' He discusses adopting stoicism through the influence of Ben Franklin and his love for Marcus Aurelius. Douglas also shares his thoughts on aging, his physical fitness, and the possibility of political office. He speaks positively about President Biden's mental sharpness and the support he has within his cabinet. The paragraph concludes with Douglas's perspective on the importance of experience in leadership, the significance of the upcoming election, and the need for engagement in local politics.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Michael Douglas
💡Benjamin Franklin
💡Diplomacy
💡Gordon Gekko
💡Stoicism
💡Nuclear Nonproliferation
💡Curiosity
💡Protestant Ethic
💡Local Elections
💡President Biden
💡Global Situation
Highlights
Michael Douglas has brilliantly played diverse roles like an idealistic American president, a wicked Wall Street investor, and Liberace on screen.
Douglas won an Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as Gordon Gekko in the 1987 film Wall Street.
His rich career in film and theater spans nearly 60 years.
Douglas is currently starring as Benjamin Franklin in the Apple TV Plus series 'Franklin'.
Franklin was sent to France at age 70 to secure support for America during the Revolutionary War.
Without France's support, America might have remained a British colony.
Franklin had no background in diplomacy but was chosen for his fame and charisma in France.
Douglas finds playing powerful figures like Ben Franklin allows him to play against their public image and be more humble.
Douglas sees a parallel between Ben Franklin's curiosity and ability to form a complete picture and Elon Musk.
Douglas has adopted stoicism from playing Ben Franklin, and it has become a major part of his life philosophy.
Douglas believes being a stoic involves being the best you can be every day and nurturing what is inside yourself.
He was once asked to run for governor of California but declined, joking he didn't want to be a 'kamikaze pilot'.
Douglas believes President Biden is sharp and his entire cabinet would be happy to serve with him again.
He thinks Biden's experience is crucial for the current critical time, and the world can't afford isolation.
Douglas emphasizes the importance of local elections and believes change needs to start from the bottom up.
After 60 years of acting, Douglas is enjoying his time off and doesn't plan to retire.
Transcripts
What do an idealistic American president,
a wicked Wall Street
investor and Liberace have in common?
Well,
these roles have all been
brilliantly played on screen
by my next guest,
the Oscar award
winning actor and producer
Michael Douglas.
Michael won an Academy Award
for best actor for his role
as Gordon
Gekko in the 1987 film Wall Street.
Greed, for lack of a better word,
is good.
His rich career in film
and theater spans nearly 60 years.
He's now
adding America's first diplomat
to his list of roles.
So what on earth are you meant to.
Be
an American?
Michael is currently starring as Benjamin
Franklin in the Apple
TV Plus series Franklin.
Welcome, sir.
Fareed, it is an honor to be here.
I'm a big, big fan of your show, So
thank you for having me.
Thank you.
Now, it feels very appropriate
because what you are portraying
is not just Franklin,
but Franklin at a moment of it
is one of the great moments
of diplomacy in history.
You know, tell us about that.
Well, it is.
And it's one
that people don't seem to know
that much about. Fact.
I didn't
I think we all have from my sixth grade
education.
We know the fact that had hardly
any schooling at all,
about two years of schooling left to 12.
We know him
as a publisher,
a great, great writer,
University of Pennsylvania
libraries, post offices.
They did all this inventions.
But when he was 70,
right after they declared independence,
they signed it.
And July 4th of 1776,
six weeks after that,
the founding fathers
get together is a bell.
We need you to go to
France
because General Washington is suffering.
We've been fighting the British
now for more than a year.
We're in bad shape.
Ragtag armies have no ships.
They want you to go to France
and Rue
Louis, the 60,
the largest,
you know,
monarchy in the world
to support this little tiny democracy
that America has just been formed.
And so he went over there
and ended up
spending eight years
trying to woo and cajole
and with all of the
complications that existed
with spies and backstabbers and all that,
to get France to support America.
And the truth be told,
if it was not for France's support,
we would not have had in America,
we would have been a British colony
for how much longer?
And he had no background in diplomacy?
None.
I mean, he was
I think they probably picked him
because he was a bit of a rock star.
He was very famous
in France in particular
because of his experiments
with electricity.
And he was probably a bit of a seducer.
You know,
he was a quite a flatterer in his day.
I would well have been his wife
and imbibed and had this vast knowledge,
but was just incredibly effective
going over there.
When you portray powerful people.
You've portrayed Gordon Gekko,
you know, Great Wall Street tycoon.
You portray these other characters,
the American president
and the American president.
Do you think that
there is some common trait that
that power you know,
is there something you say to yourself,
I've got to puff up my
you know, is there something you do?
It's actually it's the
opposite, Fareed,
because of powerful people,
the audience or the other people
already know all about you.
So with like Ben Franklin,
he has this incredible resumé.
You know, Gordon Gekko
had this great resume.
President Andrew Shepherd
We were present president.
So you could actually play against that
because you're going to be the humble.
Oh, look at him for that geckos case.
But at Ben Franklin, everything
because the audience
knows so much about you.
You don't have to push.
So in a strange way, it's
become a little more passively
let them come to you.
Did you find that
there was something about Ben
Franklin, the actor?
Sometimes say, there's a trick.
There's something that made me understand
his personality.
Either a gesture or a voice or something.
What do you.
Was there
something that was at the core of Ben
Franklin? His curiosity?
He had an immense curiosity,
and he had the mindset
to try to be able
to complete a whole picture.
I mean, the way I think of it as well,
we all have ideas, but very few.
We can take our ideas
and link them together to a full
a full consensus.
And in this area,
he reminds me a bit of Elon Musk.
You know,
he had that same kind of wild imagination
about taking Things were impossible.
A good self-deprecating
sense of humor and all that.
Some differences of of,
of course you are.
You also have great curiosity.
And you have often, I've noticed,
taken something from your roles
and applied it to your real life.
So very famously,
you're a very you're very active
on nuclear nonproliferation
and all that
came out of the China Syndrome, correct?
I read somewhere that you have taken from
Ben Franklin,
his love of Marcus Aurelius.
I have I have
I have become a stoic.
I've started
doing a lot of reading about stoicism,
and I'm very impressed and do.
TEGMARK
Do you think, Benjamin Franklin
for giving me that?
What what does it mean
to you to be a story?
Well, it's
it's something somewhere
between the Protestant ethic
and my my own Judeo roots.
But it basically involves
being the best you can
be every single day,
not reaching
necessarily outside of yourself,
but nurturing
what is inside of yourself
and drawing the best from everybody
which you're out and giving the best
that you can can give.
In the Jewish faith,
they have an expression called cyclamen,
which means to repair the world,
to make it a better place.
And I and it's
we have to remember that stoicism
300 years
B.C., was was
that was it
That was the major, major faith
in Christianity.
Seemed to push it to the side.
But there's a lot of qualities that I've,
I find very helpful.
So Jewish, stoic.
Yes.
So let's talk about age.
You're about President Biden's age.
You're doing fantastically.
You look like a million bucks.
Why don't you fully run for president?
Oh,
I did the movie once, you know.
But I did.
Ever attempt to.
Well,
I knew
I had the ending, you know, So
the difference really had the ending?
No.
They asked me to run for governor
a couple of times in California
earlier time.
And I remember saying, well,
where do you want me?
Well,
we need a man
who can finance his own campaign.
So, yeah, you know,
who has a credibility, notoriety, who
who is well known around the around
everything.
And I remember saying,
You sure you're not
looking for a kamikaze pilot?
I said, I don't think so.
So you and Biden are about the same age.
What do you do you think?
Are you
one of those people who wished
he had bowed out
and left the field to somebody else?
How do you how do you think about that?
Well, I think I think that I
walk a little similar to him
and the people that I've
talked to and everybody that I have
say he is as sharp as a tack.
He's fine.
We all have an issue of memories.
And as we get older, we forget names,
something he's overcome, a stutter,
his life, and sometimes he might.
But
let's just say that his
is his entire cabinet,
including his vice president.
Everybody in his cabinet
would be more than happy
to work with him again in the next term.
I cannot say that
about the other candidate running
because nobody in his in his cabinet
for 2016 wants to be involved with him.
Do you
do you think when you you know,
everyone says, yeah, he's
okay now,
but you know,
what's it going to be like
the next four or five years?
But you're
you're going to work
for the next four or five years.
You're not retiring. Well, I'm not.
However, I will say
we did, frankly,
in 2022 and after 165 days
of shooting
for seven months, I haven't worked since.
So I look,
I took 23 off
and we're going into 24
and I must say, I'm
enjoying the time off.
And I think he'll be he'll be fine.
Thank you very much. We have a
this is
probably the
most important election of my lifetime.
I share with my kids to the Vietnam War.
This is the most
critical time in my lifetime,
and I can't remember where
we're at right now.
We need somebody in control in power
who has some experience
and knows
how to work on a global situation.
The world.
You can't ask for one side.
For us to be active globally,
but then internally say
we're just going to isolate.
It doesn't work that way anymore.
I think this
a year also for us
to really remind ourselves
about local elections.
And I think
if we're going to kind of
adjust,
we have to start from the bottom up,
not the top down.
And so I think all of us who
go for president
should be actively involved
in our local elections, too.
Well, this is an honor and a pleasure.
And what a career.
I mean, all in all of you.
You're very kind for me to keep going.
Keep on.
I can't wait to see you again on Sunday.
Thank you, sir. Thanks.
Thank you very much.
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